The pared down Curried Butternut Squash Soup cook-off meant I had an abundance of butternuts laying around the kitchen. I thought it might be fun to try the squash several different ways.

I found the following recipe on Smitten Kitchen, a great food blog from Deb Perelman. Before I stumbled upon the blog, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook had already become one of my favorite cookbooks. This woman’s book covers just a fraction of the recipes on her website. Whew, it’s encyclopedic. Lucky for me there is a pretty robust Thanksgiving category and it’s in there that I came across the recipe for Spicy Squash with Lentils and Goat Cheese that Deb had adapted from Bon Appetite.

The side tastes really as you might imagine it would. Smoky and spicy squash is balanced with earthy lentils and mild goat cheese. A hearty meal on its own, but one that would also be great with just about any meat, but perhaps lamb especially. I do recommend using the spices as a guide more than anything else. The first time I made this I used just the cumin and smoked paprika and the squash didn’t turn out spicy at all. On this occasion, I used the cumin and half the paprika, substituting cayenne pepper for the other 1/2 teaspoon and that sure gave it some kick. I think you can really use spices pretty interchangeably here to suit your tastes.

Spicy Squash with Lentils and Goat Cheese
Serves 6 as an appetizer, 3 as a main

3/4 cup black or green lentils
6 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash or sweet pumpkin (from about a 2-pound squash)
3 tablespoons oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 cups baby arugula
1 cup soft crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, plus additional to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss squash or pumpkin cubes with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika and salt. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet and roast 20 minutes. Flip pieces and roast for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until tender. Cool.

2. Meanwhile, soak lentils for 10 minutes in a small bowl, then drain. Cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and cool.

3. Combine lentils, squash or pumpkin, any oil you can scrape from the baking sheet with arugula, if using, half of goat cheese, mint, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper and extra vinegar, if desired. Divide among plates and pass with remaining goat cheese to sprinkle.