Butternut Squash and Lentil Curry

Curry's, stews, chilies, gumbos and other soupy dishes always make for great leftovers and you can take some dull ingredients and create a true symphony of flavors.  This recipe was inspired by Oh She Glows, you can see the original on her site.  We simplified just a bit, because we can.

Ingredients:

1 medium-large butternut squash

1 cup lentils (any kind, although they all cook slightly differently)

1 medium onion (any kind)

1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger

5 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp curry powder

2 cups of greens

     1)      Peel and chop the butternut squash into 1” or so cubes.  Place the cubes into a baking pan or baking sheet and lightly coat with olive oil and lightly spice (we like to use crushed pepper, oregano, and paprika, but whatever you fancy). 

     2)      Preheat oven to 425 and bake the squash for approximately 25 minutes.  Upon removing the squash from the oven, it may not be totally cooked, but it will be finished in the large pot. 

     3)      Immediately after placing the squash in the oven, begin cooking the lentils in a small sauce pan.  We light to cook lentils with a 3:1 water to lentil ratio, bring them to a bubbling boil for a minute or two, then turn back down to medium heat and cook until they are tender, normally 20-minutes.

     4)      Once the lentils are nearly fully cooked, start prepping the final large pot for the stew.  Lightly coat the bottom of the large pot with cooking spray or olive oil and bring to medium heat.  Add in the chopped garlic first, and then onions and cook on medium until they are browned to your liking.

     5)      Dump the entire lentil sauce pan (liquid and all) into the large pan and stir to make sure no onions or garlic are sticking to the bottom.  Add in the cooked squash and get your spices ready.  We followed Angela’s recommendation and used 1 tablespoon of curry powder.  We did add a few pinches of paprika and oregano as well.

     6)      Cook the stew in the large pot for an additional few minutes. 

     7)      Select greens of your choice (we went with spinach on this particular day).  Add in one cup, stir and then turn off the heat.  Once you’re ready to serve, add in the other cup of greens and lightly stir again.  Enjoy!