Lentils with roasted butternut squash curry, chorizo, minty yoghurt and crunchy chickpeas

This dish sounds like a drama to prepare and make but honestly it is very straightforward. Alison loved it, so much so that i ended up plonking my bowl of heartiness onto her high chair table top and the two of us fought plastic fork against fork till the very last morsel. There are lots of different layers and textures which i think young toddlers appreciate and makes it a nice exciting satisfying meal.

Prepare the butternut squash and aubergine and put into the oven to roast first before you start on any of the other elements to save time.

For the lentils

Simply cover 100g of lentils (i used yellow split pea ones) with either water or a salt free stock and gently bring to the boil, simmer for approximately 20-30 mins until they are super soft. You can add more liquid if you like but keep the mixture quite thick.
Why not make a double batch and freeze half in portions, cutting this recipe time in half for the future.

For the curry

1/2 butternut
1/2 aubergine
1 small onion diced
1/2 red pepper diced
1/2 yellow pepper diced
1/2 yellow courgette diced
1/2 green courgette diced
1 stick celery diced
1 clove garlic
1 tsp of grated chilli from the freezer or as much of a fresh one as you desire
1/2 coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp curry powder
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tin chopped tomato
2 handfuls washed spinach
Chopped coriander (as much or as little as you like)

Chop the butternut squash into half and then into quarters. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in a hot oven until nice and soft. About half way through just place your halved aubergine skin and all in with the squash. When this is cooked you can scoop the soft flesh out and it will add a nice thickness and softness to the curry. Chop the roasted butternut squash into as small or big chunks as you like.

Then simply in a large pot/saucepan fry off the peppers, courgettes, celery, onion until soft. Add the garlic and chilli towards the end and keep stirring until cooked. Next tip in the spices and the tomato paste and cook out for about 2 minutes stirring all the time so the mixture does not burn. Pour in the tin of chopped tomatoes and about 1/2 of the can of water and gently simmer for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavours to develop. Add in the roasted squash and aubergine and stir into all the loveliness.

Fry some chorizo in a dry hot frying pan and set aside in the same frying pan tip in a drained and rinsed small can of chickpeas and allow to fry until crispy and "popped" (you will hear the skins pop). Every so often stir or toss them so they brown evenly.

Right before assembly throw in the spinach and allow to wilt in any residual heat from the curry.

To assemble - lentils, then curry, then some yoghurt mixed with a some mint jelly, the chorizo, chickpeas and sprinkles of coriander...... simples!

Elderflower cordial

Due to our amazing recent weather the elderflower bushes are just laden down with full, bright boughs of elderflower. 

Grab a basket, scissors and go get them. Try to stay away from busy roads and pick the blooms that are newly opened and pure creamy white. 

If your not completely sure bring a pic of elder flowers with you but once you smell them you'll know, they smell slightly of muscat. Then cook up within the day so you get them at their freshness. 

It is gorgeous with sparkling water, crushed ice slushies and for the grown ups glugged over vodka and ice.

25-30 heads of elderflower

1.5kg granulated sugar

3 large lemons I use 2 lemons and 1 pink grapefruit

75g citric acid (you'll get this in chemists)

Put the sugar and 1.5 litres into a large saucepan and very gently bring to the boil stirring gently to help dissolve the sugar.

With a vegetable peeler take strips off the citrus fruit and remove some of the white pith from the fruit. Slice into 1/2 cm slices and put into a large bowl with the elderflower heads.

When the sugar syrup has come to the boil pour over the elderflower and citrus and stir in the citric acid.

Cover with a clean cloth and leave in a cool place for 3-4 days, give it a stir once a day.

Strain the cordial through a muslin lined sieve and pour into sterilised bottles and seal.

This can be frozen but it will last in the fridge for 5 weeks. 

Enjoy

Waste not.. Chillies

If like me you buy chillies in small packs of 3-4 and never use them all before they turn bad. You can freeze them. 

Give them a quick rinse under water, pay dry with kitchen paper and pop into a freezer bag. Hey presto whenever you need some just grate into the pot straight from the freezer.

Smoked mackerel pate

This is so so quick to make and makes a perfect on hot toast as a quick snack. The cream cheese in this recipe makes it nice and palatable for the little ones, and as we all know mackerel is an oily fish packed full of good Omegas super brain foods.

It's yummy on hot toast or crackers with gherkins.

200g full fat cream cheese

200g smoked mackerel fillets

1 tsp horseradish sauce

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Small handfull parsley

Crack black pepper

Basically just whizz all the ingredients together in a blender and hey presto job done.

An super alternative to cows yoghurt for lactose intolerant little ones (and big uns).

I can actually personally vouch for this yoghurt, about 8 years ago i had to go on a serious detox (no sugar, no wheat, no dairy) for 9 months and this yoghurt became a staple of mine. It is really thick and creamy and does not have that wolly taste i always get from goats products.
The naturally homogensied smaller fat globules in sheep and goats milk make them more easily digestible than cows milk.
Its also higher in calcium than cows milk yoghurt.

One base, one pot, two meals.

With only a spare hour while Alison napped this morning i managed to create two vegetarian meals from the one veggie base. A minestrone soup and a vegetarian lasagna using grilled aubergine layers instead of pasta sheets but obviously these can be replaced for the pasta sheets.

The veggie base
Makes soup and lasagna for 4 people (or stock the freezer)

2 red pepper diced
2 yellow or orange pepper diced
2 courgette diced
2 large white onion finely diced
4 large cloves garlic smashed
4 sticks celery finely sliced
2 leeks finely sliced
1/4-1/2 mild chilli chopped finely
2 tins chopped tomatoes
Fresh herbs such as basil, flat leaf parsley and oregano (or dried)
1 bay leaf

Minestrone
250ml passata
1 litre stock of your choice
3-4 handfuls of Orzo pasta (rice shaped pasta made from Durum wheat)

Lasagna
1 aubergine sliced finely length ways about 1/2 cm
80g grated parmesan

For the cheese sauce
25g butter
25g plain flour
600ml milk
80g grated cheese (i like mature cheddar and Gouda) just not plastic cheese
1/4 tsp wholegrain mustard

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Sweat the vegetables slowly with a good twist of cracked black pepper in a heavy based saucepan stirring regularly until soft and smelling delicious. Next add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, the bay leaf and allow to simmer very gently, this will "cook out" the tomatoes releasing their sweetness. When your happy the veg is soft throw in the chopped herbs.

Next prepare the aubergine by laying the slices out on a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle with salt to remove the moisture. Allow to stand while you make the cheese sauce.

In a medium sized saucepan with a whisk melt the butter slowly when completely melted tip in the flour and whisk for a minute or two to cook out the flour, next turn the heat down and slowly and gradually add the milk making sure to keep whisking in between to prevent any lumps forming. Allow to simmer gently for about 5 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and mustard and a pinch of black or white pepper. This sauce cannot be reheated as it will become stringy.

If you have a griddle pan use this to fry the aubergine slices on for a nice char-grilled taste but if not a frying pan is perfect. They don't need to be completely cooked as they will finish off in the oven.

Layer the lasagna using the veggie and tomato mix, the aubergine and the white sauce. Finish with a layer of white sauce and grated Parmesan. I always keep a block of Parmesan in the freezer and just grate it directly onto anything and everything pretty much.

This lasagna will just take 15 minutes to cook at 170 degrees Celsius.

With the remainder of the base mix add the pasta, passata and half of the stock allow to simmer gently until the pasta is cooked through. You can add more stock towards the end if you prefer and thinner consistency Minestrone. I also add a splash of  Worcestershire sauce for some meatiness. This soup would also be yummy with some fried chorizo or cooked chicken added in at the last minute.