Back from our honeymoon in windy Oahu! The problem with going on a vacation when you live in San Diego is that the weather is often better where you came from – I know, I’ve got problems, huh? The upside is that the wind and rain forced us to do lots of relaxing, so we had a sleep/eat/drive/eat/sleep kind of a trip – lots of plate lunches from shrimp trucks and delicious shaved ice with ice cream on the bottom and dim sum – ono, brah.
Yum. It’s definitely time to detox from all the vacation food, so I ran straight out to the produce store yesterday and stocked up on all things vitamin-rich. The first thing I made was something I’ve been craving – one of our stand-bys that’s simple and comforting but also spicy and healthy.
I’m pretty sure I got this from a Bon Appetit at some point, but now it’s on an old curry-streaked tattered recipe card with no indication of its source.
Lentils and Butternut Squash with Walnuts
2 lbs butternut squash (1 medium), peeled, seeded and diced in 1″ cubes
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 tsp curry powder
1/3 to 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (we didn’t have any this time so I used pecans – same same)
1 1/2 cup lentils
Garnish: you can use chopped cilantro, lime juice, yogurt or a mixture of any! Or just pop it plain.
Toss the squash, shallots, oil and curry powder in an ovenproof baking pan and bake at 425° for about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, cook lentils in a pan of boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Remove the squash from the oven and sprinkle nuts over the top. Bake 10 minutes more or until the squash is tender. Combine with lentils and garnish as desired.
Chris and I cooked this one together, and he was stoked to have a cooking lesson, as evidenced by this review:
Preacher man told me today that your blog is back so I ran right to the computer to check it out. I hope everyone that tries the Ranger Cookies likes them – they sometimes can be dry so a little milk or water might be indicated to keep the dough together. As for the Lentils and Squash – sounds delicious. Can’t wait to try it. If there’s a garden this summer it’ll be fun to see what you come up with. XOXO
need…. more………… recipes…………………………..
Your recipe sounds delicious – I’m always looking for something new with lentils or beans in general. I decided to post because I have that same smitten kitchen oatmeal cookie recipe on my bulletin board at home.
Too funny, Priscilla! I think it’s from Baking Bites – seems we read the same stuff! Hope you enjoy the lentils – it’s one of our faves.
[...] also the lentil, sweet potato, and walnut dish I threw together based on this recipe and also the one on Epicurious. We had leftover sweet potatoes (I rarely have butternut squash in [...]