recipe #1 of 3 for January [cookbook_challenge]

[tielan]

And to start off my cookbook_challenge

Pumpkin & Lentil Salad from Marie Claire: Comfort (p125)



I felt like something to eat and had the necessary ingredients, so...BINGO.

Pumpkin is a Buttercup pumpkin, grown in the backyard. Just the right size for a single meal! Parsley and rocket came from the garden. Onion could have but I was using up leftover onion.



I scaled it down for one person from four. Substitutions included a regular white onion instead of a red onion, and possibly green lentils instead of green-blue ones. But the results are pretty good and the mustard-balsalmic-olive oil combo is delicious. The goat's cheese provides a nice tang (and uses up the cheese I bought just before Christmas) which also counteracts the bite of the rocket (picked from the garden).

recipe: Pumpkin & Lentil salad
1 kg Kent pumpkin
1 large red onion
2 tbsp olive oil
120g lentils
1/2 tsp seas salt
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp balsalmic vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 handful flat-leaf parsley
50g wild rocket leaves
100g goat's cheese

Preheat oven to 180C. Peel pumpkin and remove seeds. Cut pumpkin flesh into bite-sized chunks and put on baking tray with chunky-chopped onion, lightly toss in oilve oil, sea salt, and ground pepper. Bake for ~25 minutes or until pumpkin is cooked through.

Meanwhile, boil lentils with salt and water, bring to boil then simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain lentils, add mustard, vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and chopped parsley.

Arrange rocket leaves on plate, top with pumpkin and onion, spoon over lentils. Crumble goat's cheese over top and serve.

--

Yes, it was tasty.

Maybe a bit more effort than I anticipated - mostly because the pumpkin (I believe it's a 'buttercup' pumpkin - small size, one serving) needed dicing, not just cutting in half.

Yes, I'd make it again. Probably pre-bake the pumpkin and onion and refrigerate, then pick the rocket and make the lentils as required.

One down for January, two to go!

Comments

[senmut]

I have learned a thing! (Had not run into 'rocket leaves' and have now parsed to arugula)

[rose_griffes]

Ahah, that was useful! I was wondering.

[tielan]

First time I ran into 'arugula' (in Stargate SG1 of all places), I didn't know what it was, needed to google it, too. :)

[colls]

Yum!

Your food is also very photogenic. ;)

[tielan]

It has all the colours and contrasts, doesn't it?

[antisoppist]

That looks good. I get a veg bag from a local farmer every week which often includes half of some kind of squash-like thing at the moment. I usually chop it into cubes and roast it with some onion, add feta cheese and eat it with pitta bread but this would be a good option. Must grow some rocket this year too.

[tielan]

Squash/marrow/pumpkin things are so versatile! Just a bit of a pain to prepare, I find, with the scraping out of seeds and then cooking/peeling. But tasty and filling...

[novel_machinist]

That looks AMAZING!!