Sunday Supper: Wine and Food Pairing of the Week

Warm Butternut Squash and Lentil Salad with Chardonnay

This week’s Sunday Supper takes up a few more pans than the one-pot wonders we’ve been whipping up as of late, but we promise the effort is still safely in the easy category. Looking for something healthy yet still substantial, and of course tasty, we remembered a warm salad we had a few years ago that was comprised mainly of lentils, butternut squash, arugula and goat cheese.

Well, both our pantries are usually well stocked with a rainbow of lentils (see our totally yummers lentil and potato salad recipe here), and butternut squash is always on hand during the cooler months; there wasn’t any arugula in the fridge – but there was baby kale. And goat cheese was also AWOL, so it was left out.

If anything this recipe tells you that flexibility counts in the kitchen, so using our memories and taste buds as a guide we came up with this yummy, healthy, vegan, Sunday Supper. We ate it as a meal, but you can easily turn it into a side and serve alongside roast chicken.

Warm Butternut Squash and Lentil Salad

Serves 4 as a main course, 6 or more as a side 

What You Need

• Half a medium butternut squash, sliced into spears (about the size of a french fry)
• Half a large red onion, chopped
• Handful fresh thyme, divided
• Handful fresh rosemary
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme
• 1 cup dried French Lentils
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
• 4 small shallots, sliced
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• Dijon mustard
• 3 cups baby kale

How You Do It

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Lay squash, onion and fresh herbs on a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, dried thyme and olive oil and mix to coat
3. Put in oven to bake for about 30 minutes, stirring half way through cooking time
4. Rinse lentils and place in pot with fresh thyme, bay leaves and garlic cloves, cover with an inch of water and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes or until cooked but still firm and holding their shape
5. Warm olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add shallots and fry until lightly crispy and golden brown.
6. Mix 2 Tbsp balsamic, 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tbsp Dijon and salt and pepper to taste in a jar
7. When lentils are done, drain, discard herbs and garlic, and put in large mixing bowl. Add in dressing and kale and stir to combine (kale will soften slightly). Set aside until squash is ready
8. Scoop lentil mixture onto a plate, topping with squash and onions. Sprinkle shallots over salad and serve.

The Wine Sisters’ Wine Pairing

Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay, VQA Niagara Peninsula, 2013
$22.95 Vintages 172338
Certified organic and suitable for vegans, grapes were sourced from five Niagara vineyards for the final blend. Aromas subtle aromas of sweet peach and honey, the palate is creamy, yet crisp with balanced acid and flavours of stone fruit, floral notes and ginger spice with a slightly bitter finish.

How Did the Pairing Work?

The salad offers lots of earthy notes with bright punches from the vinaigrette and hearty sweetness from the squash. Those components brought out the fruit in the wine, and while the wine didn’t necessarily highlight any elements of the dish, it didn’t take anything away and supported the salad well.