Spicy Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese and Lentil Salad
Hubby and I have been on a big lentil kick. They’re so easy to make, great for you, and delicious. I saw this salad recently on Smitten Kitchen and knew I needed to make it this week. I used the lentils I had on hand, so I didn’t get the pretty black and orange salad that Deb got, but that’s ok, it’s still pretty freaking awesome.
Hubby and I really enjoyed this salad. It’s very hearty and filling. We ate it for a midafternoon snack and almost didn’t need dinner that night. I’ve written the recipe as I made it below, be sure to click through to Smitten Kitchen to get the original recipe.
This is unfortunately one of those dishes that is difficult to get a great photo of… But it’s really good so I had to post about it. Don’t hate on lentils just because they’re not pretty!
One Year Ago: Apple Cranberry Cake Pie
Two Years Ago: Pie Crust
Spicy Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, and Lentil Salad
Yield: 3-6
Ingredients:
3/4 cup black or green lentils
6 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash or sugar pumpkin (1-inch cubes)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup soft crumbled goat cheese
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, plus additional to taste
~1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss squash 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.
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.
Combine lentils, squash, half of goat cheese, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper and extra vinegar, if desired. Serve with remaining goat cheese to sprinkle.
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen, originally from Bon Appetit
Boston area readers, don’t forget that I’m selling pies for Pie In the Sky. The cost of your pie will feed someone in need for an entire week! Please consider buying a pie for a good cause.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
ooh, i am drooling thinking about this over melty brie!! fabulous 🙂
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:08 pm
It’s definitely as good as it sounds.
what a lovely jam! there are still some peaches at the market and i need to make this asap.
Sounds wonderful! When do you add the liquid pectin and how long do you let it boil after you add it?
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:14 pm
Sorry about the mistake in the recipe, I have updated the recipe to reflect when to add the pectin.
That sounds delicious, but when do we add the pectin, and can we use powdered pectin instead of the liquid one? Thank you so much…
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:15 pm
Sorry about the mistake in the recipe, I have updated the recipe to reflect when to add the pectin.
I’m still new to canning, but I read in the Ball book that you can’t swap different kinds of pectin and should only use what the recipe calls for…
when do you add the pectin ??????
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:15 pm
Sorry about the mistake in the recipe, I have updated the recipe to reflect when to add the pectin.
How long does this keep?
beantownbaker — September 28th, 2013 @ 8:36 pm
If you process the jars in a water bath, they will be fine on a shelf for up to a year. Once opened, you want to refrigerate it and it will keep for about a month in the fridge.
The number of cups of chopped peaches would be very helpful. Also, are the pectin pouches 3 or 6 oz?
The flavor was outstanding! However, it never fully set-up into a jelly. It was more of a jam/thick sauce – even after re-processing with a 2nd pack of pectin (I gave in and used the powder) On my other batches, I used 2 dry packs – and I’m not sure if those will even set correctly. 🙁
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:22 pm
Sorry to hear this didn’t set up for you…
With sealed jars what is the shelf life of something like this?
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:22 pm
In general, I would try to open them within 6 months. I have kept jars of jam for up to a year without any problems.
This is my second year making this and i just wanted to tell you that it is outstanding. i’m sure others are wondering about yield — I got 9 half-pints from one batch. How long do you process this? I did 15 mins to err on the side of caution. Thanks!!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:26 pm
I always process for 10 minutes.
Does this make the five half-pint jars shown or does it make more? Since everything sort of comes together at the end in canning (hot jam, sterilized jars, etc., and boiling water) I like to know ahead of time how many jars to prepare. Thanks.
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:28 pm
It made 6 jars for me. It will depend how big your peaches are too.
With my jams, I usually use real lemon juice, but not in such large quantity,Did you use fresh or “jarred” lemon juice?
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:29 pm
Yes, I use jarred lemon juice here.
According to “foodinjars.com” you can substitute 2 TBSP powdered pectin for 1 pouch of liquid pectin. 🙂 just thought I’d share that little tidbit! This recipe is FANTASTIC! Thanks Jen!
http://foodinjars.com/2013/07/canning-101-how-to-substitute-pectin/
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:30 pm
Thanks for sharing this!
I am looking forward to making this jam this evening!! I was seaching for a recipe for peach and jalapeno jam and this one caught my eye! Because you posted it my the day I was married, then reading your story and that you live in Cincy! I was born and raised north of that area!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:31 pm
Small world! I hope you enjoyed this jam.
This recipe should come with a warning label. I feel like I just made crack. I changed it up a bit and used cherries instead of peaches. I was having a hard time finding a cherry pepper recipe and had cherries in my freezer needing evicted and this one looked so good I used it as my baseline. THANK YOU for sharing it! If you are interested, it was a mix of sweet and tart cherries, and I added an extra jalapeno to a double batch. I just got done putting up nearly 11 pints of the stuff and am sitting here like a child licking the residue off my ladle it is that freaking good. Definitely recommend you try it with cherries some day if you like them. I am picking peaches this weekend and will definitely be making this as posted because I am sure it is divine. Ive been making jams and jellies since i was a child and this is the best one yet. Thank you again, can’t wait to try it properly with peaches!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:32 pm
Cherries! What a great change. I’m goign to have to try that out.
It would have been nice to know how many jars I would need to make this recipe!!!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:33 pm
I got 6 jars. I’ll update the recipe to reflect the yield.
Oooooh. I am making this this weekend – thanks for a fantastic-looking recipe!
First time jam maker. Went to the farmer’s market this weekend and bought peaches and jalapenos (along with a bunch of other stuff). Thought I’d try my hand at making a jam/jelly because we love it on pork chops. This recipe was perfect. Thanks for sharing… and thank you to Google for popping it towards the top of the search list. Thank you Beantown Baker!
How long do you need to water bath can it??
Made this today – delicious but decidedly soupy. I thought maybe once it cooled it would set up more, but no.