Creamy mustardy lentils with bacon and squash

This is another repeat favourite, based on a Waitrose recipe, Rosemary-roasted squash with ham hock and lentils. Aussies are more into cow than pig products, so it’s not so easy to get decent ham/bacon etc. However, this recipe does just fine with some fried bacon chunks rather than the (cooked) ham hock in the original. The original also used frozen squash.

You can pre-roast the squash for this recipe.

Ingredients

• ~1kg Butternut Squash
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
• 250g puy Lentils
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 100ml Single Cream
• 180g pulled ham hock or cubed bacon
• 25g sunflower seeds
• 20g pack flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 100g frozen peas

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6. Cut the butternut squash into large chunks (e.g. quarters) and spread in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle with the chopped rosemary. Bake for around 45 minutes until tender and lightly browned, tossing in the oil about halfway through. Cut into something resembling even cubes. Bitesize chunks, if you will. (Don't obsess too much - there's a chance the squash will, well, squash to mush anyway.)

2. Cook the lentils in a pan of boiling water for 15–18 minutes until tender. Drain.

3. If using bacon, fry the bacon cubes in a bit of oil until cooked.

4. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook for 5–10 minutes until good and soft.

5. Stir in the mustard, cream and some seasoning and bring to simmering point.

6. Stir the cubed squash, drained lentils, bacon/ham hock, sunflower seeds, parsley and peas into into the cream sauce.

7. Heat through gently until everything is hot.

8. Check seasoning and serve.

Tastier than it looks (with my food photography skills, at least) and makes good leftovers too.