For most of us our Thanksgiving menus are probably pretty standard. You know, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, lots of pie, and so on. This year will be my third time hosting Thanksgiving and I will be cooking a lot of the same things I did the last two years. The only difference is I make sure to check with new guests to make sure the one thing they love most will be on the table.

But I got to thinking about changing up Thanksgiving menus after listening to the podcast Gravy. This podcast is made by the Southern Foodways Alliance, which tells stories about the American South through food. In the episode called “Coming Out Meatless,” part of the episode was about a young man who became a vegetarian and when he went home for Thanksgiving there was only one dish he could eat. And it got me thinking, what would I cook if I were to make a vegetarian Thanksgiving? What I came up with was squash stuffed with lentils. 

Once while eating at Eataly in New York I had acorn squash stuffed with lentils and it was the best vegetarian meal I have ever had. I don’t remember all the details about this dish, but I still remember the happy satisfied feeling I felt after the meal. And I think that’s what you really want on Thanksgiving. You want everyone at your table to end the meal feeling happy, satisfied, and very full.

This recipe is great for that full feeling because anything stuffed gives a sense of abundance. It’s easy to pile the squash high with the lentil salad – and even better you can have it spilling out of the squash to make the meal look plentiful. I think it’s also a good vegetarian main dish because you have filling proteins from the lentils, a bit of healthy fats and a nice crunch from the pecans, and just a subtle sweetness from the squash and cranberries.

Thanksgiving isn’t just about eating a lot, it’s also about connecting to the people you love. Sure, you could order a cheese pizza for the vegetarian at your table and they’d be full, but I imagine that would make them feel left out. I think this recipe for squash stuffed with lentils is great because it uses some of the same seasonal ingredients (squash and cranberries) and herbs (thyme) that you’ll have elsewhere on the table. Food is a great way to bring people together and this recipe will fit in nicely with whatever else is on your Thanksgiving menu.

The squash I used for this recipe is called a harlequin squash. I think in the US it might be called a carnival squash. I did some research to try to confirm this but I was unable to find any sentence that explicitly said this. However, on US websites about squash the photos that looked like the one above were labeled carnival squash and I couldn’t find anything on a US website called harlequin squash. Is anyone out there a squash expert that could confirm this? If so, please write it in the comments.

Anyway you can also use an acorn squash for this recipe. In fact, use any squash you like but I think acorn or harlequin/carnival are the best because they look like personal sized portions when cut in half. Do what feels right to you and it’ll be delicious.

Anyway I think this recipe is so delicious that even the omnivores at the table will want some. What will be on your Thanksgiving table? Are you trying anything new this year?Write it in the comments. I’d love to know!

Adapted from Lentils.ca

Messy level: Not very messy at all. The biggest challenge is cutting the squash but that’s hardly messy. I think the only danger is spilling the lentils when pouring them into the squash. And that’s not worth worrying about.

Squash stuffed with Lentils

 

Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Serves: 6 squash halves

Ingredients

• 3 harlequin/carnival or acorn squashes
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup green lentils
• 3 cups vegetable stock (or water, but stock has more flavor)
• 2 garlic cloves
• ¾ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• leaves from 4-6 sprigs thyme
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Cut the top of the squashes off. Cut the squashes in half and scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds.
3. Cut off a bit of the back of the squash so that it will sit flat on a baking sheet.
4. Place the squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle the squash with olive oil, salt, pepper, and the garlic powder. (You can use more than ½ teaspoon garlic powder if you like!)
5. Roast squash in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until fork tender.
6. Meanwhile, start cooking the lentils. Wash the lentils and pick out any debris you might find.
7. Place the two garlic cloves on your cutting board. Take a chef's knife and put it flat (so the blade is parallel to the cutting board) on top of the garlic cloves. Use the heel of your hand to hit the knife and smash the garlic.
8. In a large sauce pan combine the stock, lentils and crushed garlic. Bring the stock to a boil then cover the pan and lower the heat so the liquid simmers. Cook until lentils are tender, this can take between 20-40 minutes. It's ok to lift the lid from time to time and test the lentils to see if they are soft and tender. Once cooked drain off any excess liquid and scoop out the crushed garlic.
9. In a large bowl mix the lentils, cranberries, pecans, and thyme. Stir in the butter too.
10. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
11. Once the squash is cooked, spoon the lentil salad into the squash. Fill until slightly overflowing.
12. Serve!

3.3.3077

The post Squash stuffed with Lentils appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

I’ve become obsessed with these apple and elderflower gummies from Candy Kittens that are shaped like cats (update as of March 2016 they don’t make this flavor anymore but everything else they make is amazing!). They are delicious and juicy, but slightly too expensive and the bag is slightly too big for me to be eating on my own. Regardless, they are delicious and I’ve been eating a ton. I’ve become so enamored with this flavor combination that I had to see what else was out there that I could make at home.

The choices seemed to be either drinks or desserts. I’ve been making a lot o beverages recently and I have a crazy sweet tooth so I chose dessert. I decide to throw in strawberries too after Tesco made a substitution in my grocery delivery and gave me a large container of strawberries than I had order. It was perfection, and the apples, strawberry and elderflower cobbler was born. It might not be beautiful to look at, but it’s so darn good. 

I wasn’t familiar with elderflower before I moved here, but it’s a flavor I see on drink menus at restaurants and in the juice or tea aisles of the super market. Specifically, what’s being used is elderflower cordial, which is made from the elderberry. This plant is native to Europe and parts of northwest Africa and southwest Asia. So, since it’s not from the Americas it might be why I’m not familiar with it. Anyway, the cordial is made from the flowers of the elderberry, water, sugar, and a bit of lemon. It’s sweet and just a bit tart and floral. All in all, it’s very nice.

Something else I wasn’t so familiar with before I moved here is cordial. Also called squash. Basically it’s concentrated syrup – usually fruit juice though sometimes herbal or floral. It’s everywhere here and you buy squash/cordial and then dilute it with water. I like it because then I feel like I’m getting more beverage for my money because one bottle of squash is about the size of one bottle of juice. The closest thing I ever had to it in the U.S., was when I was a kid we sometimes had frozen juice concentrate and I always liked to make pink lemonade. But I digress.

The cordial is lovely and as it simmers together with the apples and strawberries it is delightfully sweet and bright. Apple pie is my absolute favorite food, but this version is like summer time apple pie. I like the addition of strawberries because it makes everything a gorgeous blush pink. The strawberries then lose their color a bit, but it’s ok because it makes the juice have a jammy flavor. I was worried that this is a little too liquidy and juicy – and maybe it is as I haven’t made cobbler before – but I like it because it helps moisten the biscuit on top. Everything becomes appropriately soft and chewy.

The vanilla cream on top is also really gorgeous. I was tempted to forgo making it, but it’s worth it. I’ve never used a vanilla pod before and the flavor the comes through is the most luscious vanilla I’ve ever tasted. It’s better than store bought, better than extract. It was so good, I’m tempted to try and make my own extract. Finally one of the ingredients is for a cheese! I thought it would be so weird but the flavor is mild and once it cooks it’s just creamy. Don’t ever let cheese throw you off because it only makes things better.

Adapted from BBC Food Recipes

Messy level: I am sure a person can do this and not make a gigantic mess, but that person isn’t me. Basically you’re making three small recipes for this one whole recipe – which means lots of dishes and lots of spills and mess.

Apple, Strawberry and Elderflower Cobbler

 

Print

Ingredients

Filling

• 5 medium Pink Lady apples, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 cups quartered strawberries
• 1 cup elderflower cordial
• ¾ cup granulated sugar

Topping

• 1 cup flour
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons demerara sugar
• 100g/3½oz/7 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• less than ½ cup crumbled wensleydale cheese

Cream

• 1¼ cup milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out
• 4 free-range egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup double cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
2. In a large sauce pan, mix together the apples, cordial and sugar. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer cook for 4 minutes. Then add the strawberries and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the apples and strawberries are just beginning to soften, but are still holding their shape.
3. Pour the apple-strawberry mixture into an oven proof dish. I used one that is 10x10".
4. Now start on the topping. Place the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and butter into a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
5. Add the buttermilk to the food processor. Pulse the mixture, until it comes together as a thick batter/dough.
6. Spoon the batter over the apple-strawberry mixture. I used my fingers to spread it evenly, but you can leave gaps if you'd like the fruit to bubble through.
7. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the dough.
8. Transfer to the oven to bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is a bit puffed and golden.
9. While the cobbler is baking, start on the custard. In a medium saucepan, place the milk, vanilla pod, and seeds. Heat to scalding point (when it's starting to show steam and is just about to boil). Remove from the heat and set aside for two minutes. This is to infuse the vanilla flavor.
10. Place the eggs and sugar into a clean bowl and whisk together to make a thick paste.
11. Gradually pour the vanilla milk onto the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
12. Once it's all mixed return the custard to the saucepan. Place the pan over a low heat. Simmer and stir until the custard thickens.
13. Once it's thick stir in the cream.
14. Spoon cobbler into bowls and then pour cream over the top.

3.2.2925

The post Apple, Strawberry and Elderflower Cobbler appeared first on Cooking is Messy.