Roasted Vegetables with Lentils

This recipe was inspired by a recent cover of Whole Living magazine. Have I mentioned how much I love this magazine? The recipes are healthy and mouth-watering – and they always work! Anyway, I began with their idea and changed it according to what I had in my refrigerator (really only one ingredient in their original recipe). I served this with the gingered carrot sweet potato soup. For the kids and my husband, I also added a bit of cheese ravioli predicting accurately that they’d turn up their noses at a plate full of veggies and lentils for dinner. If you’d like to add pasta, too, just use it as a base and either toss it with the lentils, veggies and dressing, or make a bed of pasta and top it with the good stuff you see here.

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium acorn squash, halved, seeded and cut into 1-inch slices
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 fennel bulb, cored, fronds removed, and cut into 1-inch slices
1/2 cup green lentils, rinsed
1 shallot, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 small bunch kale, tough stems removed and leaves roughly torn

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a small bowl, whisk together cider vinegar and mustard. Slowly drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the mixture while whisking continuously. Taste the dressing and add a touch of salt and pepper if necessary. Set aside.
Spread the squash, yellow onion and fennel in one layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Use a spatula to toss the vegetables, making sure they are evenly coated with the oil. Roast for 20 minutes, turning once.
Meanwhile, place the lentils and shallot in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water by at least a couple inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain, remove and discard the shallot, then taste the lentils for seasoning. Add 1 tablespoon of the dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Toss and set aside.
Remove the vegetables from the oven. Add the kale to the baking sheet and toss to combine, coating the kale with the oil from the pan. Roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the kale are crispy and browned.
Serve lentils alongside roasted vegetables, drizzling the remaining dressing over everything.
Quick Tips
1. It’s important to cut the vegetables to roughly the same size so they roast evenly. Use other hearty winter vegetables here, if you’d like – carrots, parsnips, brussels sprouts and cabbage would all work nicely.
2. I was at first annoyed that the squash wasn’t peeled, but if it’s roasted properly it will be soft enough to be easily removed from the skin.
3. The squash becomes caramelized and very sweet when roasted – a flavor the kids really seem to enjoy. I had to help them cut the flesh from the skin, but once that task was done they both ate the squash happily.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 35 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

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