Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup

Food and Wine, from their 2007 Thanksgiving in your 20s Menu: "In her reimagining of holiday pumpkin soup, F&W's Melissa Rubel adds pumpkin to dal - the spicy, soupy Indian legume dish. The result is a hearty, healthy soup with a lovely edge of sweetness."

• Ready In: 4 hrs
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 4  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1  medium red onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  serrano chili, seeded and minced
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2  cups  yellow split peas, soaked in water for 1 hour and drained
• 8 1⁄2 cups water
• 1 (15 ounce) can  unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 3⁄4 lb  fresh  sugar pumpkin or 3⁄4 lb  butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
•  kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large pit, melt the butter.
2. Add the onion, garlic, and chile and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the cumin and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add the split peas and water, then whisk in the pumpkin puree and bring to a simmer.
5. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the split peas are tender, about 2 hours.
6. Stir the diced pumpkin into the soup and simmer over moderately low heat until tender, about 30 minutes.
7. Remove from heat. Stir in the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.