Lentil, Kale, Bean & Squash Stew

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Jasmine

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I couldn’t resist sharing one last unplanned stew / soup recipe for this season! And it’s a recipe that really helped me when I was feeling under-the-weather. It’s full of aromatic spices and plenty of fibre. It’s also very quick and easy, so we’re ticking a lot of boxes here… let’s dive in!

INGREDIENTS

Aromatics and flavour:

Ginger

Garlic

Celery

Shallot

Oregano

Turmeric

Aleppo pepper (or half the amount of standard chilli flakes)

Rose harissa paste (or regular harissa paste, or another type of spiced chilli paste if you’re in a pinch)

Vegetable stock cube

Vegetables:

Butternut squash (or another type of pumpkin or squash)

Cavolo Nero (or another kind of kale, Swiss Chard or spinach also work)

Baby plum tomatoes (cherry also work)

Legumes:

Red lentils

Butter beans (any other white bean or chickpeas also work – pre-cooked: canned / jarred etc.)

Toppings:

Tahini

Dill

Yoghurt of your choice (I used Greek, but natural or any unsweetened plant-based yoghurt will also work)

Lemon or lime juice (even a squeeze of blood orange would work nicely)

TIPS & NOTES

I love how simple this dish is. I boil the butternut squash for this dish because it’s it’s just a bit quicker and easier and there are a lot of other flavours going on here, so I don’t find it makes much of a difference. Though you’re welcome to roast it up in the oven with some salt, pepper and olive oil, if you prefer (you could do this while the lentils soak).

Speaking of which, that’s the one ‘extra step’ I personally don’t recommend skipping! Technically, red split lentils are a quick-cooking variety so you do not have to soak them for culinary reasons. However, I have gut issues and so do a lot of people (especially if they’re not used to high-fibre foods), so certain steps really help reduce my symptoms and washing these dried lentils well and soaking them for at least an hour before use reduces some of those potentially-problematic compounds and makes them easier to digest. I also recommend this because we’re cooking the lentils directly in the soup water – these anti-nutrients (not a huge issue but it’s beneficial to reduce them where possible) and gas-causing compounds leach out into the water so you can significantly reduce them by rinsing, soaking and rinsing again before use.

Finally, for this recipe, I personally like to blend around about 1/5 of the stew before I add the kale. This helps make things nice and creamy, but honestly; there are recipes that don’t really work without a blender, and this isn’t one of them. You may want to add extra tahini into the main soup if you want a creamier texture but don’t own a blender. I served this with some sourdough but it also works alone.

Lentil, Kale, Bean & Squash Stew

  • Servings: 3
  • Difficulty: Easy
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A hearty soup with plenty of flabour, texture ans fibre

Blender recommended, pre-soaking lentils for 1-8 hours recommended (see Tips & Notes)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 of an average butternut squash (c. 250g) (peeled and cut into small-ish bite sized chunks)
  • 65g of cavolo nero (roughly chopped, optional: larger pieces of stem picked off)
  • 125g of dried red split lentils (rinsed, soaked for 1 hour minimum and rinse again)
  • 1 400g can of butter beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 130g of cherry tomatoes
  • 1 stick of celery (diced)
  • 2 cloves of garlic (grated, pressed or finely chopped)
  • 1 shallot (diced)
  • c.10-15cm piece of ginger (bark scraped off, finely diced or grated)
  • 20g of rose harissa paste
  • 1 tsp of oregano
  • 1 tsp of aleppo pepper
  • 1 tsp of ground turmeric
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 40g of tahini
  • 150g of yoghurt
  • A small handful of fresh dill (large stems removed, roughly chopped)
  • Olive oil for cooking (optional: a further few drizzles of extra-virgin as garnish)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a large lidded pot over a medium heat, add a little olive oil then sauté the garlic, ginger, celery and shallot for a couple of mins until fragrant, season with salt and pepper and then add the oregano, turmeric and aleppo pepper
  2. Add the squash and harissa paste, stir to coat everything evenly and sauté for a further few mins
  3. Boil the kettle
  4. Add the lentils to the pot and stir through, add the tomatoes
  5. Prepare the vegetable stock cube by dissolving in 700ml of boiling water
  6. Add the vegetable stock, cover, bring the water to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for c. 15-20 mins until the butternut squash can be easily pierced with a fork
  7. Add the butter beans and (optional) blend 1/5 of the soup
  8. Add the kale, cover and cook for a few more mins until wilted
  9. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 spoonful (c. 1/4) of the tahini and the lemon juice
  10. Serve topped with an extra drizzle of tahini, a spoonful of yoghurt, the dill and the optional extra olive oil (if using)

Let me know if you try this soup!

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