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On Friday I discovered a new Asian supermarket in Durham. They had a good range of items including big bags of rice, dried beans, date syrup, coconut jam (I will be trying this!) etc. However, as I’m on a budget I restricted myself to getting just one item. I decided to buy a big bag of green lentils for £1:

I adore lentils they are cheap, delicious, a great source of protein and are much easier and quicker to cook than dried beans. I was instantly reminded of a very tasty combo I’d seen over on Emilia’s blog and as I’m almost knee deep in squash I thought I’d give it a try!

Lentil, apple and sage stuffed squash (vegan, serves 2)

• 1 small – medium sized squash – I used a harlequin squash
• 1/2 cup of green lentils
• 1 onion
• 1 apple – I used a cox apple
• 1 tsp of dried sage

Pre heat the oven to 200c. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Place on a tray and bake in the oven until the squash flesh is nice and tender (for my squash this took 45 minutes). Mean while cook the lentils in 1 cup of salted water. Finely chop the onions and fry in a little oil over a medium heat (I used coconut oil). When the lentils are tender (about 25 minutes) drain and add them to the onions. Chop the apple into pieces and add to the lentils and onions. When the squash is ready, scoop out some of the flesh, making sure you leave about 1/2 and inch of flesh in the skin so it keeps it shape. Add the squash flesh to the lentil and apple mixture and mash together in the pan. Add the sage and mix well. Fill the squash shells with the lentil and apple mixture and return to the oven for a further 5 – 10 minutes to crisp up slightly. Serve!

I served mine with some steamed broccoli and spring greens. To be honest this is so simple its barely a recipe – however it tastes so good you could easily serve this to others and have them thinking you’d been slaving in the kitchen for ages! You could also use any type of squash with this recipe, butternut would be wonderful of course. I’m sure that the addition of some vegan cheese on top would push this over the edge of deliciousness too!

I have to thank blogging for introducing me to the delights of squash, I absolutely love it in almost anything – curries, Buddha bowls, as a pasta sauce, in smoothies…I could go on! What’s your favourite way to enjoy squash?

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