Curried Lentils and Delicata Squash

I am willing it to be fall through my choice of weekly entrees. It’s a conscious effort to try and persuade myself it’s not really 90+ degrees as we close our October, but truly it’s a cooler climate we live in. A climate where the warm smells of chicken roasting in the oven, and the enveloping warmth of curry spices and coconut milk are needed to sustain through brisk temperatures.

Enter this dish below. Fragrant coconut milk rice. Creamy, delicata squash. Toothy french green lentils. Warm curry spices.

We definitely ate this the first day, because the smell in the house was irresistible. Even better: for lunch over the next few days. The flavors spend time deepening in complexity and melding together with the rices. Even good cold.

Warm Curried Lentils & Delicata Squash

1 small red onion, finely diced
2 small delicata squash, rinsed
1 bunch of lacinato kale
1 cup of French lentils
1/2 teaspoon salt, split
Freshly ground black pepper
1 – 2 teaspoons curry powder
1/8 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon fenugreek powder
1 or 2 shots of sherry vinegar
1 cup of brown rice
1 15 oz can of coconut milk
1 cup of water

In a medium saucepan, bring the can of coconut milk to a boil. Add the rice and lower the head to a simmer. Cover with a lid and simmer until the rice is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes. Check the rice at 20 minutes and add time in increments of five minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the red onion in a large sauté pan with olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt for about 20 minutes. Stir every so often to avoid burning the onions. The onions should start to take on a darker color, but will not be fully caramelized. Add in the spices, kale, and squash. Add more olive oil if needed and sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

Add the lentils and the cup of water. Place a lid on over the sauté pan and cook on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. The lentils should still be a bit chewy, but the kale and squash cooked.

Taste. Add the remaining salt, pepper, and the sherry vinegar for some acid.

Serve with the coconut rice.