Creamy Butternut Squash Poblanos
Creamy butternut squash pureed with soft red lentils and caramelized onions fills spicy poblano peppers. A crispy rice crumb topping, cool cucmber-cilantro sauce and fried sage leaves finish this decadent dish.
Slice up some cucumber and avocado and sprinkle with lemon juice, sea salt and smoked paprika for an easy side salad.
The additional 40 minutes of time are for cooking the lentils and roasting the peppers, squash and cauliflower, steps you can do in advance if you like.
I'm all about saving prep time in the kitchen by consolidating. If you would like, you can double the amount of butternut squash, lentils, onions and garlic and use the extra in other dishes, such as my Hearty Lentil Stew with Kale and my Smoky Butternut Squash with Black Beans..
Ingredients
- 4 large poblano peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded (see notes)
- 1/2 cup cooked red lentils (see notes)
- 1/2 butternut squash, roasted (see notes)
- 1 cup cauliflower florets
- 1 cup yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 Tablespoon vegan butter or olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon dried, rubbed sage
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/3 cup rice crumbs (or breadcrumbs) + 4 Tablespoons for topping
- 1 Tablespoon vegan mayonnaise
- 1 bunch fresh sage
Cucumber-Cilantro Sauce
- 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons vegan yogurt
- 1 cup roasted cauliflower florets (see notes)
- 1 cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Toss the cauliflower florets in a bit of olive oil and spread them on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and roast until tender and browned, about 15-20 minutes. (These can be roasted in advance alongside the butternut squash, if you like - see notes).
- Melt butter or olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add onions, season to taste with sea salt and cook, stirring frequently, until they have softened and are just beginning to turn golden brown.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly for another minute or so. You want the garlic to become fragrant but not turn brown.
- (If you have doubled the recipe as mentioned above, remove half of the mixture from the skillet at this point and reserve for another recipe)
- Add 1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage and 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Transfer mixture to blender.
- Wipe out the skillet, add 1 Tablespoon vegan butter or olive oil, and heat over medium-high until shimmering. Remove the fresh sage leaves from their stems and drop the leaves in the hot oil. Fry for about 3 minutes until crispy and just turning slightly brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper-towel lined plate.
- Scoop the soft flesh from the roasted butternut squash into the blender with the onion mixture. Add 1/8 teaspoon sea salt and 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar. Puree until smooth.
- In a large bowl, mix the cooked, drained lentils, squash puree and 1/3 cup rice crumbs or bread crumbs until combined.
- Carefully fill each pepper with 1/4 of the filling mixture. Place the filled peppers, seam side down, on the lined baking sheet.
- Spread 1/4 Tablespoon vegan mayonnaise over the top of each pepper and press 1 Tablespoon rice crumbs or bread crumbs into the mayonnaise on each pepper.
- Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. If you want your crumb topping to get more brown, run it under the broiler for a few minutes at the end.
- While the peppers are baking, make the sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in blender and puree until smooth.
- Serve by placing a large spoonful of sauce on a plate, setting a baked pepper in the spoonful of sauce, drizzling more sauce over the top of the pepper and then sprinkling fried sage leaves over it all.
Notes
To roast the peppers:
- Heat your oven’s broiler.
- Wash the peppers and pat them dry. Place them directly on the oven rack, about 5 inches from the heat source.
- Broil until the side next to the heat source is dark green/black and blistered all over, then turn to expose the next side to the heat source. Continue until the peppers are dark and blistered on all sides. This usually takes 10-15 minutes total. You can also do this one pepper at a time over a gas flame on the stove top. Hold the pepper with tongs, turning to expose each side to the flame until blistered.
- Remove the peppers from the oven and place in a heat proof bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
- Now it’s time to peel those roasted peppers. (I use gloves, because they are very spicy and I have sensitive skin. Once I did not use gloves and my fingers felt hot for the rest of the day.) Gently peel the blistered, darkened skin off of each pepper. You may not be able to easily remove every last bit, but that’s okay.
- Lay a peeled pepper on your cutting board. Gently pinch the skin in and up in the middle of the pepper, then, using a sharp knife, cut a small slit down the length of the pepper in the pinched part. Carefully open the pepper at the slit and remove the seeds. I keep a paper towel handy to wipe my fingers on as I go, as the seeds are a bit slimy and sticky. Repeat with each pepper.
To roast the butternut squash (and cauliflower, if you like):
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the squash in half longways, slicing through the stem at the top and down to the bottom. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.
- Rub each half with a bit of olive oil and place, cut side down on the prepared baking sheet. (If roasting the cauliflower florets at the same time, toss them in a bit of olive oil, spread them on the sheet next to the squash and sprinkle with sea salt.)
- Bake for 20-40 minutes, until the squash are tender when pierced with a small, sharp knife and the cauliflower florets are tender and beginning to brown. The time this takes will depend on the size of the squash and the florets. You may need to remove the florets before the squash are finished.
To cook the lentils:
Combine 1/2 cup dried lentils with 1 cup vegetable stock in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. There may be some stock left that hasn't boiled off and that's fine, just drain the lentils before using them in the pepper filling.
If you are doubling the lentils for consolidation/time-saving purposes, combine 1 cup dried lentils with 2 cups vegetable stock in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. There may be some stock left that hasn't boiled off and that's fine, just scoop out the 1 cup needed for the pepper filling with a slotted spoon and reserve the remaining lentils and stock for another recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 servings Serving Size: 1 pepperAmount Per Serving: Calories: 202Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 481mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 7gSugar: 8gProtein: 6g
Nutrition information is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed.
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