I used to hate coriander. Then one of my Mothers, Louise, started making coriander pesto and I didn’t mind it. The more I ate of it, the more I liked it. And eventually I started liking coriander in everything. I later read an article – which of course I can’t find now – that said that the dairy in coriander pesto breaks down some of the enzymes in coriander that a lot of people hate the taste of, so it can be used to train the palette to like coriander. Science in action (unverified because I can’t find the damn link and googling coriander pesto just delivers a million recipes).

Anyway, last week I had an excess of coriander so I made pesto:

1. Blitz / pummel / chop a handful of coriander and parsley, plus a small garlic clove and a big slosh of olive oil til it’s in tiny bits but isn’t a paste. Then put it in a bowl. (I used half olive oil / half macadamia oil, but this isn’t essential).
2. Blitz a handful of lightly toasted cashew nuts; likewise, you want some crunch to it, not a paste. Add to bowl.
3. Grate a piece of parmesan into your bowl (decide how cheesy you like you pesto and put that much in).
4. Add pepper & salt to taste and squeeze in half a lemon.
5. Optional: I added half a finely diced deseeded chilli.

Last night I wanted to make soup. Even more than this, I wanted to make a soup I could dollop my coriander pesto into. So I did and it was bloody delicious.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• half a butternut pumpkin, chopped
• half a small cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 cup (dry) chana dal
• 2 brown onions, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped (it was nice and garlicky; you can use less if you aren’t a garlic fiend)
• Half a teaspoon paprika
• Half a teaspoon chilli flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• Vegetable stock
• Olive oil
• Pepper & salt

Process:

1. Soak the chana dal in water for 1 hour
2. Drain and then add 4 cups water and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes-an hour. You can use half stock / half water, or add a stock cube if you aren’t using liquid stock. You want the chana dal cooked but still a bit bitey / al dente.
3. Fry off the onion til it’s translucent then add the garlic and continue to fry on a lower heat for 5 minutes.
4. Add the paprika, chilli, pumpkin and cauliflower and stir it around in the garlic and onion mixture for 5-10 minutes, to infuse some of the flavour before you add the stock.
5. Add vegetable stock to cover the vegetables and simmer until they are soft.
6. Once cooked, blitz the cauliflower and pumpkin soup with a stick blender til smooth and add pepper and salt to taste.
7. Add the chana dal and stir to mix.
8. Serve with a dollop of coriander pesto.