Acorn Squash Stuffed with Curried Lentils

I bought acorn squash at the farmers' market a couple of weeks ago (one of the perks of squash is that they last!).  Their round, pleated shape is just adorable and their presence at the market screams, "autumn is here!"  I think they are tasty as a side dish with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper, but when we served them to the children that way recently, they were not convinced. 

So, naturally, curry came to mind. 

Our kids love curry, a fact that was recently brought home when Rosalyn invited us over for a Trinidadian feast.  Rosalyn was our children's babysitter for many years, and we are still close.  One of her many fine qualities is that she is a fabulous cook.  She introduced our children to curry at a young age, which I think is incredible.  I didn't know what curry was when I was a child, and I certainly wouldn't have known what roti was.  What a different world they live in.

At Rosalyn's house, we stuffed ourselves with long beans, pumpkin, dumplings, spinach fritters, fried eggplant and, of course, roti.  But our children's favorite is still her chickpea and potato curry.  This recipe is no match for Rosalyn's cooking, but it made a tasty autumn treat.  And at Olivia's request, we had our first turn-out-all-the-lights-in-the-house-and-eat-by-candlelight dinner.  Delicious.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Curried Lentils

Serves 6 as a main course
25 minutes preparation time
45 minutes cooking time

3 acorn squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons curry
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
3 carrots, scrubbed and sliced
1 red pepper, cored and diced
1 teaspoon salt
a few fresh grinds of pepper
1 1/2 cups small French lentils

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the squash in half from top to bottom (through the stem) and remove the seeds.  Lay the squash face down on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Put them in the oven and pour a bit of water onto the baking sheet.  The water should just coat most of the sheet.  Depending on the size of the baking sheet, this could be from 1 to 2 cups of water.  Bake the squash until they are tender but still hold their shape, about 20 minutes.  Remove them from the oven and let them cool a bit.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. 

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saute pan.  Add the shallots and garlic and cook until they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.  Mix curry with 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the pan.  Add the thyme and stir.  Add the carrots and red pepper and stir until they are coated with the curry.  Add the salt and pepper, the lentils and about 3 cups of water and stir.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on the lentils as they simmer and, if needed, add a bit more water to make sure there is enough to maintain the simmer.

When the squash have cooled enough to handle, scoop the flesh out of the shells, leaving just enough to allow the shells to hold their shape.  Coarsley chop the flesh and stir it in with the lentils.  Fill the squash shells with the lentil mixture.  Depending on the size of your squash, there may be more filling than you need (save it for quesadillas or to eat with rice).  Return the stuffed squash to the oven and heat until they are warmed through.  If the lentils are fairly hot when you stuff the shells this will only take about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

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Comments

[laura]

lovely candlelight photo. we've been doing candlelight baths, but maybe we need to do it for dinner too.

[Nancye]

I have to say this was a little more work than I expected (all the chopping- and I did make a double recipe, for a friend having surgery)- but it was also a whole lot yummier than I expected. I will definitely make this one again. Maybe pull out the cuisinart next time. :-)