What to do with leftover Squash from Thanksgiving?
As the weather turns cooler and wetter here in Ottawa on Tundra my thoughts turn towards my crockpot gathering dust under the counter.
Soup Time!
Here is a simple Curried Squash and Lentil Soup that is easy to make, very hearty and best of all, something you can toss in the crockpot and ignore for the rest of the day.
Ingredients:
- 4 x Cups peeled and diced Squash
- 1 x 12 oz. can of Lentils (drained and washed)
- 1 x Medium Onion (diced)
- 2 x Medium Tomatoes (rough chopped)
- 2 x Stalks Celery (chopped to favourite size)
- 1 x Tbsp. Minced Garlic or 3 Crushed Garlic Cloves
- 1 x Litre Mushroom Stock
- 1 x Lb. Hamburger or diced Chicken Breast or Cubed Tofu (if Vegan) or leftover Turkey from Thanksgiving.
- 1/2 x Cup Coconut Milk (optional)
- Curry Spices (to taste – I use Curry Powder, Chili Powder, Paprika and a pinch of Cinnamon to take the bite out of the Tomatoes)
- 1 x Shluck of Soya Sauce
Directions:
- Into your pre-heated crock pot toss the Squash, Tomatoes and Celery.
- Drain, rinse and add the Lentils to the crockpot
- Fire up a larger saucepan to medium-high.
- Pour in a goodly Shluck of Olive Oil (or your favourite oil).
- Season the oil with a teaspoon of your Spices.
- Fry and crumble your Hamburger until nearly browned all over
- Add in the Onions and fry until translucent and Hamburger has browned.
- At the last minute add in the Garlic and fry until you can smell the Garlic aroma lifting
- Add the Hamburger, Onion and Garlic to the crock pot (be sure to scrape the yummy spices off the pan into the crockpot!)
- Pour the Mushroom Stock over the top of the mixture in the crockpot.
- Add the shluck of Soya Sauce
- Cover and heat on High for 1 – 2 hours then reduce to Low for 3 – 4 hours.
- Add the Coconut Milk about 1 hour before serving if desired.
Notes:
- I used Hamburger above but simply replace with Chicken, Cubed Tofu etc., even Oysters or Clams if you prefer.
- I rarely cook with salt, instead preferring the caramelly taste from the Soya Sauce. You could use salt instead if you prefer.
- Served with fresh Naan Bread or Chapati this should make for a full meal with the meat and Lentils.
- Celery is not mandatory, I just found some in the Crisper and decided to use it. How I like to cook!
- Yield is enough for two x 4 servings and freezes well if you want to savour later.
- What the heck is a Shluck you ask? My wife is German and a Shluck is a goodly amount, somewhere between a tablespoon and a gallon depending on your taste.
Alles Schmecks Gut eh?
Mark
(This article was created in PyWrite and yes I need to clean the outside of my crockpot…)