Red lentil dal with butternut squash

Red lentils with butternut squash and burnt lemon

Serves 4

Prep 10 min

Cook 30 min

Lentils improve with time, absorbing spices and developing deeper, more complex flavours as they sit. Here, they are topped with a caramelised butternut squash topping, with sharp bursts of burnt lemon. It’s a dish that’s both comforting and vibrant—perfect to make ahead, easy to double, and just as good reheated on a busy night.

Ingredients

6 tbsp	olive oil, plus extra to serve
1	onion, finely chopped
1	star anise
1	cinnamon stick
¼ tsp	ground turmeric
250g	red split lentils
250g	cavolo nero, pulled off stems, stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped into 5cm pieces
½	medium butternut or golden squash, peeled and cut into 3cm pieces (500g)
1	lemon; ½ thinly sliced then roughly chopped (rind and all), ½ squeezed for 1 tbsp
1 tsp	mustard seeds
10g	ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
	salt and black pepper

Method

Add 2 tablespoon oil, the onions, star anise, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good crack of black pepper to a medium saucepan and cook for 15 minutes, over a medium heat, until the onions have softened. Add the turmeric and cook for 10 seconds, then add 1.2 litres of water and the lentils. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the top, then cook for 15-18 minutes, until a loose dal consistency. Stir through half the cavolo nero and cook for 2 minutes more, then remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, fry the squash with 4 tablespoons of oil and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large frying pan over a high heat for around 10 minutes, stirring often, until well caramelised. Add the remaining cavolo nero, the chopped lemon and ginger and fry for 4 minutes, until the lemon and ginger have caramelised, then push everything to one side of the pan and add the mustard seeds to the oil. Cook for 1 minute, just until the mustard seeds start to pop in the oil, then mix them into the squash and remove from the heat.
To serve, spoon the dal into separate bowls, then top with the butternut squash mixture, and top with a drizzle of the lemon juice and extra oil.