I used delicata squash since I had it on hand. I've been seeing them at all of the farmer's markets lately, and City Seeds has particularly good ones. The biggest plus for the delicata squash is that it doesn't require peeling, which can save you a good amount of time and frustration. The taste is a bit more delicate (which my autocorrect keeps trying to sub in for "delicata," so I'm going to run with it) than a butternut squash, so I didn't want to overwhelm it with a ton of brown sugar.
Another note: This didn't stand up to reheating all that well, so I would say that it serves 4 as a side without leftovers.
1. Preheat your oven to 350.1 delicata squash, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out and cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices
1 apple, cored and sliced into ¼-inch lengthwise slices
1 cup cooked lentils (I used some precooked beluga lentils that I'd scored at Trader Joe's a while back)
Juice from half a lemon
1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt (course sea salt was a plus, but isn't a must)
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp curry powder
2. Toss the squash with the olive oil and thyme in a bowl. Toss the lentils with the salt and garlic in another bowl. Toss the apples with the lemon juice, then brown sugar and curry powder.
3. In an 8 x 8 casserole dish, layer half of the squash, then all of the apples, followed by all of the lentils. Top with the other half of the squash.
4. Bake, covered, for about 35 minutes. The squash should be easily pierced with a fork.
Alissa Nelson is a graduate student and compulsive buyer of cookbooks. She enjoys scouring seed catalogs and thrift stores alike. Every Wednesday she seeks the bounty of local farmers' markets for Gut Check -- and then cooks it.
