I love the gourd family. There’s something about all the great shape, size, and color varieties that I find so fascinating. I also love foods that are delectable both savory and sweet, and in this case, can serve as an edible serving dish. We’ve all seen bread bowls for soup, but squash bowls are far more nutritious and provide a colorful backdrop to your soup or salad! Follow my instructions here for roasting your squash – put the squash in the oven when you start to cook the soup and you should have the timing perfect. The squash should finish before the soup, giving it time to cool a bit.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 4-5 carrots, diced small
- 1 medium red onion, diced small
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 lb. button mushrooms, trimmed and coarsely chopped (4 cups)
- S/P
- 9 sprigs thyme, chopped and thick stems removed
- 2.5 cups brown lentils
- Greek yogurt or sour cream to top, optional
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or heavy pot, heat a few tbsp. of olive oil over medium. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add mushrooms and season with S/P. Cook until mushrooms are softened and golden brown at edges, about 8 minutes.
- Add thyme, lentils, and 8 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Season with S/P. Spoon soup into roasted butternut squash and top with yogurt or sour cream if you like.
Serves: 4
Recipe source: Adapted from a Food Everyday recipe
Time: ~1 hour
creative plating, love it!