Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup

If it’s possible for a dish to be hearty but also, somehow, light, roasted butternut squash lentil vegetable soup is it! It’s a substantial bowl of comfort, rich in nutrition and protein, not heavy, just luscious!

You’re probably going to laugh (I did when I cut it open!) but I bought this butternut squash back in February and never got around to cooking it until, I kid you not, September. But to show you the longevity and storability of a butternut, it was absolutely perfect. 

We love it simply roasted with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper but the weather had turned a little chilly on us so I was craving soup. I added the lentils to up the protein content and it was a very good decision. And since I was using the urad dal, a little curry powder seemed like it would be another good addition. And, indeed, it was.

Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup

To make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock instead of chicken. I make mine from stock cubes. For a vegan soup, also skip the yogurt to serve or use a non-dairy version. I give the weights of my vegetables below as a guideline but more or less won't affect the flavors of this lovely soup. Serves six. 

Ingredients

3 ½ oz or 100g red (masoor dal) or white (urad dal) lentils

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 butternut squash - small, medium, large - all good! 

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion – about 150g

2 cloves garlic

4 small carrots – about 7 oz or 200g

New potatoes, about 8 oz or 227g 

2 teaspoons curry powder

4 cups or 946ml chicken (or vegetable) stock

Good pinch asafetida – if you have it

3 ½ oz or 100g baby spinach (I like to pinch off the stems but you can leave the leaves intact, if you prefer.)

For garnish: small handful cilantro, roughly chopped

Optional to serve: dollop plain yogurt per bowl

Method

Rinse the lentils. If you are using red lentils (masoor dal), carry on. If you are using the white ones (urad dal) they need to be soaked in water for 30 minutes. Rinse and soak, drain, then carry on.

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and prepare a baking pan by lining it with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Halve the butternut squash and scoop the seeds out. Cut the halves in half and put them on the prepared baking pan. Drizzle them with half the olive oil then sprinkle with fine sea salt and black pepper. 

Roast in your preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until they are fork tender. 

Set them aside to cool while you finish prepping the rest of your vegetables.

Peel and finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. 

Peel the carrots and cut them into short, bite-sized pieces.

Scrub or peel the new potatoes, as needed. I scrubbed mine then decided they needed to be peeled because they were looking a little scruffy. Sorry, no pics.

In a Dutch oven, add the remaining half of the olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Then, add in the curry powder and give it a stir to combine. 

Add in the stock and bring it to a low boil. 

Try the peel of your butternut squash. If it’s tender enough to eat, chop the whole thing into small bits. If it’s not, scoop the flesh out and discard the peels.

Put the squash into the Dutch oven along with lentils. If you have it, add the good pinch of asafetida now. When added to cooking lentils, it's said to help with the common side effect of eating them, flatulence. I can't say if that's true or not but I do always add it, just in case! 

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and tender. 

Use a hand blender or normal blender to puree the soup at little, being careful not to splash yourself with hot liquid! I like to leave some bits of squash so I don’t puree until completely smooth. 

Add in the carrots and potatoes and cook for a further 30 or so minutes, or until they are both cooked through and tender. 

Add in the baby spinach. As per the note in the ingredients, as you can see, mine are sans stems.

Stir until the spinach is heated through and thoroughly wilted.

Serve the soup with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt, if desired.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with winter squash, sweet and savory, to celebrate the arrival of Autumn. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the link list below. 

• Apple & Butternut Squash Salad from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Creamy Sausage, Tomato, & Squash Pasta  from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Baked Acorn Squash with Butter and Brown Sugar from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Butternut Squash Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Gnocchi with Roasted Squash and Sausage from A Messy Kitchen
• Parmesan and Thyme Honeynut Squash from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pumpkin-Filled Flat White Pumpkin from Culinary Cam
• Pumpkin Soup for Two from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Lentil Vegetable Soup!

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Pan-fried Chicken with Curried Leeks and Lentils

This Pan-fried Chicken with Curried Leeks and Lentils makes a lovely meal full of wonderful flavors, nutrition and protein, with a fab creamy sauce. 

I don’t post all the chicken meals we eat but we eat a lot of chicken, especially thighs. They aren’t too expensive and they lend themselves so nicely to a variety of sauces and spices. Chicken is adaptable! Plus, it is a good source of protein, something I’ve been trying to eat more of. 

We loved this dish and writing this up reminds me that I need to add it to the coming week’s menu again. 

Pan-fried Chicken with Curried Leeks and Lentils

This recipe is adapted from one in my (now-defunct) favorite food magazine, delicious. I really miss it. Among other things, the original added two cans of lentils. Our appetites aren’t that large and one suited nicely. Drain and add a second can, if you’d like, but only save and use the liquid from the first one. 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 large chicken thighs

2 shallots, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 leeks, sliced

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

5 oz or 150ml dry white wine

1 can (14.1 oz or 400g) green lentils (or two, see note above)

5 oz or 150ml whipping cream

Fine sea salt, if desired

For garnish: a few leaves cilantro

Method

Peel and finely slice the shallots and garlic. Clean the leeks well and slice them into rounds.

Season the chicken with salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is crisp and golden (about 8-10 minutes.)

Transfer the chicken to a plate. 

Add the shallots, garlic and leeks to the pan. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen all the lovely brown bits. 

Stir in the curry powder. Leave to simmer until the wine is reduced by half.

Drain the can of lentils, saving the liquid. Add the lentil liquid to the pan along with the cream.

Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up, and cover with the lid. 

Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through juices should run clear when a sharp knife is pushed into the thickest part of the thigh.

Remove the lid, push the chicken to one side (or remove it to give yourself more room to stir) and add in the lentils. 

(I tried the side push first and I guess my pan wasn't quite big enough for me to stir well.) Stir to combine.

Add the chicken back again if you removed it or center it in the pan if you didn’t. Simmer for 7-9 more minutes to reduce the sauce a little and heat the lentils through. 

Taste and add salt if needed. Garnish with a few leaves of cilantro to serve. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes made with fresh vegetables. Many thanks to our host, Sneha from Sneha’s Recipe. Check out the links below. 

• Creamy Italian Ranch Corn & Green Bean Salad from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Curry Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus from A Messy Kitchen
• Garlic Basil Wax Beans from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Garlicky Margherita Pizza from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Pan-fried Chicken with Curried Leeks and Lentils from Food Lust People Love
• Pinzimonio from Culinary Cam
• Roasted Chinese Eggplant from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tendli and Potato Fry from Sneha's Recipe
• Veggie Mac & Cheese from Mayuri's Jikoni

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join. 

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with Curried Leeks and Lentils!

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Lentil Mushroom Feta Calzones

These lentil mushroom feta calzones are the perfect picnic food, easy to transport and even easier to eat. The filling is tasty and the crust divine. 

I made these into four large calzones to feed four hungry people but the dough and filling could be easily divided into small portions to make more smaller calzones. The combination of lentils, mushrooms and feta creates a hearty filling that even the carnivores in your family will enjoy. 

Lentil Mushroom Feta Calzones

The folding technique for the edges of the calzones is one that is employed by the bakers of the traditional Cornish pasty. Except I like to leave the little tail out rather than tucking in under. Check out how here: Cousin Jack's Pasty Co.

Ingredients

For the dough:

3/4 cup or 180ml lukewarm water (not hot)

1 teaspoon active-dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

2 cups or 250g strong bread flour, plus more if needed

1 teaspoon salt

Drizzle olive oil for the dough bowl

For the filling:

1/2 cup or 110g uncooked or 1 1/8 cups or 220g cooked/rinsed Puy (French) lentils (If you are cooking them, boil with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda till tender. Drain and rinse.)

6 1/3 oz or 180g baby portabella mushrooms

2-3 medium cloves garlic

Drizzle of oil for the cooking pan

1 medium tomato – about 4 2/3 oz or 130g, cut into small pieces

1 fresh jalapeño, optional but recommended, chopped 

Method

Put the yeast and sugar in a bowl. Pour in the warm water and give it a stir. Set aside for a few minutes. It should start to get foamy on top. 

In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the flour and salt together. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix well to form a soft dough.

Using the dough hook on the stand mixer, or kneading by hand against the counter, knead the dough until it forms a smooth, slightly tacky ball that springs back when you poke it, 5 to 8 minutes. If the dough sticks to the bowl or your hands, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it’s easier to work with.

Avoid adding too much flour if possible. I didn’t add any this time whereas the last time, I added two tablespoons. This is the sort of thing that can change with your flour and the humidity in the air. 

If you're planning to make the calzones today, then give the dough a rise. Clean out the mixing bowl, coat it with a little oil, and transfer the dough back inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Alternatively, you can store the dough in the fridge and make the calzones the next day. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

Either way, make the filling which can also be stored in the refrigerator overnight or cooled and used the same day. 

Put the cooked, rinsed lentils in a mixing bowl that is large enough to hold all of the filling ingredients, with room to stir. 

Clean and chop the mushrooms and mince the garlic. 

Drizzle a little oil into a big the pot and add the garlic. 

Cook it briefly, making sure it doesn’t burn, then add the mushrooms. 

Cook them until golden. Add them to the lentil bowl. 

Add the tomato and jalapeño, if using, to the now empty pot along with another drizzle of oil. 

Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the tomato and jalapeño are well cooked and slump into a paste. Add the paste to the lentil/mushroom bowl and stir well. Leave to cool. 

Once the rest of the filling is cool, crumble the feta and gently fold it in. 

Take the dough out of the refrigerator about half an hour before you are ready to bake. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Divide the dough into four balls.

Roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle about 7 in or 17.75cm across. 

Put about 1/4 of the cooled filling (about 5 1/3 oz or 150g) on one side of the circle.

Gently lift the other side up and over, pressing the air out as you stick the edges of the two halves together.

Starting on one side of the semi circle, crimp the edges to seal the calzones. (See note above the ingredient list for a link to an instructional video.) Repeat until all of the calzones have been filled and formed.

Transfer the calzones to your baking tray, leaving enough room between them so that they can rise while baking. Brush the tops lightly with olive oil.

Bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed.

These can be eaten hot or at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and since it’s National Picnic Month, we are going on a picnic! Hope the weather is fine where you live. Check out all the great recipe links below. Many thanks to our host, Camilla at Culinary Cam!

• A Crostini Array by Culinary Cam
• Bacon & Chive Deviled Eggs with Hot Honey by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Chocolate Truffle Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Eggless Brookies - Brownie Cookies by Sneha's Recipe
• Grill Cake (and Vanilla Cake Recipe) by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Lentil Mushroom Feta Calzones by Food Lust People Love
• Lobster Roll Pasta Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mayo-less Tuna Salad by Our Good Life

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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