Recipe: French Lentil Soup from 101 Cookbooks

 My little sister was coming over for dinner, and after reading John Douillard's The Yoga Body Diet she knows her body and mind feel best with a light dinner. I made us the 'Kabocha French Lentil Soup' from the ever-beautiful 101cookbooks blog. It was delicious! This recipe is good for all doshas; how simple! I substituted acorn squash for the kabocha with no trouble. To shorten baking time, I cut the squash into crescent moons and then oiled it and put it in the water. As recommended on 101cookbooks, I served the soup with homemade garlic croutons. Wow, so good. Be sure not to skip the fennel; it's divine.

From 101 Cookbooks healthy recipe blog by Heidi Swanson

Serves 4 as a main. 

1 kabocha or other dark orange winter squash, 1 1/2 lb. / 24 ounces / 680 g
1/2 cup / 120 ml water
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt
1 cup / 7 oz / 200 g green lentils, rinsed
5 coins ginger, 1/8-inch thick
1 whole star anise
6 cups / 1.5 liters water
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 cup / 60 ml olive oil
1 yellow onion, medium dice
1 leek, sliced into 1/4 moons
1 fennel bulb, medium dice  
red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425F/ 220C with a rack in the top third of the oven. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Oil and salt the squash and roast cut side down (in a rimmed baking pan) with the 1/2 cup / 120 ml of water poured into the pan. Roast until tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. When cool enough, scoop out cooked squash and set aside. In the meantime, in a medium saucepan, combine the lentils, ginger, star anise and water. Simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon salt. In a large stockpot combine the olive oil, onion, leeks, fennel and additional salt. Cook covered over low heat until vegetables soften, about 7 - 10 minutes. Remove the star anise and ginger coins from the lentil sauce pan, then add the lentils, lentil broth and squash to the vegetables in the stock pot. Stir well and cook for another 15 minutes or so, allowing the flavors to blend. Taste and adjust the seasoning here with more salt if needed, and in my case I used a few generous pinches of red pepper flakes as well.

Serve as is, or topped with lots of garlicky homemade croutons. For the croutons I simply ripped up the remainder of a day-old loaf of bread into tiny shreds, doused it in olive oil, garlic, and a bit of salt, and toasted it in the oven until golden and crunchy - I think the oven was set to 375 at the time.

• Vata: Though I think of winter squash as being vata pacifiying, Dr Lad says otherwise. So, for a more vata balancing recipe: substitute sweet potato or summer squash for the winter squash. 
• Pitta: to balance pitta more so, eliminate garlic in croutons. Omit red pepper flakes.
• Kapha: great for kapha.