Sprouts & Chocolate » delicate squash http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com Livin' the veg life, one meal at a time Thu, 01 Oct 2015 04:18:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.1 Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce {Vegan & Gluten-Free} http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/lentil-stuffed-roasted-delicata-squash-savoury-pear-onion-cranberry-sauce/ http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/lentil-stuffed-roasted-delicata-squash-savoury-pear-onion-cranberry-sauce/#comments Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:03:37 +0000 http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/?p=1532 With VeganMoFo being at a close, I decided to take a little break from my kitchen and computer to catch up on things I neglected over the month long cooking fest: the heaps of laundry, my kitchen in a constantly state of chaos just begging to be cleaned, caught up on snuggles with my overly...

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The post Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce {Vegan & Gluten-Free} appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

]]> With VeganMoFo being at a close, I decided to take a little break from my kitchen and computer to catch up on things I neglected over the month long cooking fest: the heaps of laundry, my kitchen in a constantly state of chaos just begging to be cleaned, caught up on snuggles with my overly affectionate cat who cried at my feet when I was cooking and I broke in a new book that wasn’t food related. However this break was very short lived since omg Thanksgiving is only 13 days away!! What??! Where did that come from? So my apologies for the break but I had some recipe testing to do!

Sprouts & Chocolate: Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce. A vegan and gluten-free Thanksgiving meal!

Until this year, I have worked every Thanksgiving at a barbecue restaurant and it always is a real life hell since the staff is reduced but it is still crazy busy. I am literally running for 6 hours until we close but there is a silver lining to working on this holiday: the annual staff potluck dinner after the shift. All the staff, including those who aren’t working but come in help close down the restaurant: putting up chairs, the endless sorting and rolling of cutlery, bussing tables and cleaning every surface in that place. We all work hard so all of us can sit down and enjoy a meal together. You would think working in a restaurant we would be having meals together all the time but this couldn’t be further from the truth, with the exception of sharing a plate of cold fries.

Sprouts & Chocolate: Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce. A vegan and gluten-free Thanksgiving meal!

The people I work with are not just coworkers, they are my friends: we help each other move, go on vacations together, drink (heavily) together and are always there for you when you need them to cover your section so you can shame eat a kid’s dessert in the bathroom before you have a mental breakdown. The last one happens a lot more than you would think.

Sprouts & Chocolate: Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce. A vegan and gluten-free Thanksgiving meal!

There are a lot of funny and painfully accurate articles on BuzzFeed on how it is to be a server but my coworkers make it worth it to crack a fake smile to a rude table and speak to them with a voice 10 octaves higher than your normal voice. These people help me in so many ways and I am thankful to them every single time I punch in to start my shift.

Sprouts & Chocolate: Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce. A vegan and gluten-free Thanksgiving meal!

When I said I wanted to create this site, not one of them questioned me or suggested that I may be in way over my head, even when I did. They were all supportive, offered their help when they could and have been my taste testers since I started. This post is dedicated to them, the people that make my job survivable, the people who I get silly drunk with, who make my birthday so special every year and the people who I look forward to seeing everyday, hands down my favourite part of my job. I am thankful to all of you.

Sprouts & Chocolate: Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce. A vegan and gluten-free Thanksgiving meal!

I hope you are spending your holiday with your loved ones, whether family you are born into or the one you made for yourself. Happy Thanksgiving from Sprouts and Chocolate!

Vegan Thanksgiving Roundup From Blogs I Love:

Fork and Beans: Thanksgiving-themed Foods

Oh She Glows: The Best Shredded Kale Salad

Vegetarian Snob: Comforting Coconut Butternut Squash Fall Soup (Don’t forget to download their 12 Fall Favourite: Vegan Warming Comforting Seasonal Recipes E-Book! I downloaded one and LOVE it!)

This Rawsome Vegan Life: PUMPKIN CASHEW CREAM CAKE with CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Post Punk Kitchen: Stuffed Thanksgiving Burger 

Lunchbox Bunch: Ginger-Maple Fall Spiced Tofu Cubes 

Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash
Serves 4
This Thanksgiving Sprouts and Chocolate has gone gluten-free! This meal won't take you all day to make and it is made with whole ingredients to have you feeling great after your big meal, instead of wanting to take a nap. Delicata squash is amazing and will have you reconsidering how easy this fall ingredient is to make: easy to cut (no cleaver needed), doesn't require an hour in the oven and doesn't need to be peeled! Hooray! This recipe makes enough to serve 4-half squashes stuffed with herb and Dijon dressed lentils.
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Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
For the Vinaigrette
  1. 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar is a good choice too)
  2. 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  3. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  4. ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  5. ½ teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
For the lentils
  1. 1 ½ cups du Puy lentils, picked through to remove any pebbles and rinsed over a fine mesh strainer (if you can’t find these pebbly French lentils, green lentils are a good substitute)
  2. 3 springs of thyme
  3. 4 garlic cloves, smashed and papery skin removed
  4. 3-4 cups vegetable stock
For the Delicata Squash
  1. 2 delicata squashes
  2. 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  3. Pinch of fine grain sea salt and cracked black pepper
For the stuffing
  1. 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  2. 1 cup finely diced onion, about ½ of a medium sized onion
  3. 1 cup finely diced celery, about 2 trimmed celery stalks
  4. ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  5. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  6. 6 green kale leaves, de-stemmed and cut into fine pieces
  7. ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped + more for garnish
  8. 6 sage leaves, chopped fine
  9. Pinch of cracked black pepper
For the Vinaigrette
  1. Whisk all the ingredients together and set aside until the lentils are cooked and ready to be dressed.
For the lentils
  1. Put the lentils in a 3- quart pot and top with the thyme and garlic (these will be picked out later). Add the stock to cover the lentils by about 2-inches and bring to boil over medium-high heat.
  2. Immediately lower to a gentle simmer, cook uncovered until the lentils are tender (try a few lentils since they can cook unevenly depending on size), about 30-40 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, prep the squash for roasting and the ingredients for the stuffing. When the lentils are fully cooked, remove the garlic and the thyme and dress them with the vinaigrette while they are still hot.
For the stuffing
  1. In a large pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions, celery and salt and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 7-8 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic and sautee until fragrant.
  3. Add the kale, herbs and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until kale is softened and bright green. Add the dressed lentils and mix until lentils are fully incorporated. Keep warm until squash is ready to be stuffed.
For the Delicata Squash
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or tinfoil. Wash, dry the squash, cut lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
  2. Set squash on the lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes, turning the squash with a spatula (not tongs! The skin is delicate and will tear with metal tongs) halfway through cooking time until the flesh is soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.
  3. Transfer roasted squash to a serving platter and stuff with lentil-stuffing, garnishing with more parsley. Serve with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce (recipe card below).
Game Plan
  1. 1) Prep all the vegetables needed for the lentils and the stuffing
  2. 2) Get the lentils going and pre-heat the oven
  3. 3) While the lentils are cooking and cook the vegetables for the stuffing (minus the kale and herbs) 4) Roast the squash and while it is cooking finish off the stuffing
  4. 5) Clean as you go!
  5. 6) Stuff the squash and garnish with extra parsley
  6. 7) Serve with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce
Sprouts & Chocolate http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/
Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce
Since squash is already fairly sweet, I decided to do a savoury cranberry sauce to balance the dish out. Serve with Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash. This recipe makes about 4 cups and can be made the day ahead. Bring up to room temperature or warm up in a saucepan to serve.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
50 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
50 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  2. 1 tablespoon Earth Balance traditional spread (or vegan butter of your choice)
  3. 1 large yellow onion, peeled, cut in half and chopped about1/4 inch thick
  4. ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  5. 2 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled and large diced
  6. ¾ cup dry red wine
  7. 1 cup water
  8. ¼-1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  9. 12 ounce bag of cranberries, picked over and rinsed
  10. Pinch of cinnamon
  11. 2 springs of thyme
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan over medium high, add the oil and vegan butter until shimmering. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Turn down heat to medium-low, adding 1 tablespoon of water to the onions. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown. If your onions are browning too quickly turn down heat.
  2. When the onions are golden brown, add the wine; scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook wine until it is a thicker consistency (like a glaze), about 3 minutes. Add the pears and stir to coat with the oil/butter and wine mixture, cook for 3 minutes.
  3. Add the water, turn up the heat to medium-high heat and bring to boil. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil. Turn down heat to medium and allow to simmer for 6-7 minutes until most of the cranberries have burst. Remove the thyme before serving.
  4. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Serve warm or at room temperature with Lentil-Stuffed Delicata Squash.
Adapted from Cinnamon and Pear Cranberry Sauce
Adapted from Cinnamon and Pear Cranberry Sauce
Sprouts & Chocolate http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/

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