There is soo much loveless in Autumn and squash such as butternut and pumpkin are everywhere and in everything. We waited all year for them to grown, finally here they are! My recipe today can be an easy weekday dinner as well as a lovely Sunday lunch. It is seasonal, full of flavour, local and easy to make.
I used a lot of ground ginger in this recipe for some heat and flavour in the lentils. This balances well the earthy flavours of the lentils and the sweetness of the baked butternut. The fresh thyme brings freshness, the feta a little zinginess.
I added a calendula flower petals as they were still growing in my garden, I just love edible flowers.
The walnuts give it that autumn crunch. I love them fresh, cracked out of their shell and thrown on to my food.
Stuffed butternut with autumn spice lentils and feta
Yield 2 persons
Ingredients
- 1 butternut, halved and seeds removed
- 150 gr orange lentils
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 80 gr feta cheese
- 2 tablespoon ground dried ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground dried curcuma
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- handful walnuts
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Lay the 2 butternut halves on baking tray and splash some olive oil over them, season with salt and pepper and bake in a pre heated oven at 180C for about an hour till they are nice and soft.
- Cook the lentils as per packet instructions in the vegetable stock and drain. Add the ginger and curcuma, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove butternut from oven and place on a plate, spoon on the lentils, add the walnuts and crumble over the feta, sprinkle over the thyme leaves and serve.
Notes
on www.leeksandhighheels.com by Sandra Slawinski
Written and photographed by Sandra Slawinski without commercial deals.
