Pumpkin Lentil Stew

Tomorrow I will publish one of our very favorite Caribbean recipes, for Geera Pork, which I will be making for dinner tonight.  Along side it, we will have the last of the frozen Pumpkin Lentil Stew that I made a few weeks ago, and white rice.  West Indian pumpkin does not look much like the Halloween pumpkin of North America - I found this photo, and hope I'm not sued for using it instead of one of my own - and it is nearly always available in the fresh markets on all of our favorite islands.  I also make a mean Pumpkin Ginger Curry soup; that one has also made it to the repertoire, so I'll get around to posting it eventually.  This stew makes a really great vegetarian main course, too - filling and delicious.  It comes from the English cook and writer Nigel Slater - you can find more of his stuff here - and he thinks of it as a fall/winter dish, but we found it just right in the Tropics, too.

Recipe: Pumpkin Lentil Stew
First prepared: aboard Raconteur in early 2012

1 medium onion, halved from the root and thickly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil, or butter, or a combination
1 large carrot, scrubbed and diced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
a bushy sprig of rosemary, leaves roughly chopped
250 grams (on the high side of 1 cup) small green lentils (like Le Puy)
1.25 litres (5.25 cups) vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1.5 kilograms (2.8 pounds, before peeling) pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
a handful of roughly chopped parsley
6 tablespoons crème fraîche
~1 additional tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Warm the oil or butter in a large casserole and add the onion; cook over low to moderate heat until soft and pale gold, about 15 minutes or so. Stir in the diced carrot; after about 5 minutes, add garlic and rosemary.  When all is soft, sweet and lightly colored, add the lentils and 1 litre (4+ cups) of the stock, reserving ~1 cup of stock.  Add the bay leaves, and bring the mixture to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer the lentils for about 45 minutes.


Add the pumpkin chunks to the lentils and leave to simmer until the squash is thoroughly tender - about 15 minutes.  Add salt, pepper and the red wine vinegar, and stir in the parsley.  


Remove two large ladles of the stew; add the remaining 250ml (1 cup) of stock and purée in a blender, food processor or (my new best friend) immersion blender.  Return the puréed mixture to the pan and stir gently.

To serve, pile into wide bowls or deep plates.  Drop a heaped tablespoon of  crème fraîche onto each portion, and drizzle with a little EVOO.  

Serves 4-6, and keeps a couple of days in the fridge or weeks in the freezer and reheats beautifully.