As someone on a plant-based diet, I’m always looking for ways to get more protein in. One thing I eat every single day is a mid-day snack of crackers with some type of spread on top, so I figured this would be a great time of day to add a bit of protein-rich deliciousness. My absolute favourite food ever is the humble old lentil. To me the taste is amazing, and lentils make a fantastic source of protein as well: 100 grams of cooked lentils contains 9 grams of protein. Given that it’s October and we’ve fully doven into pumpkin season, I’ve decided to pair the two and create a lovely flavourful red lentil pumpkin spread. You can eat it with crackers, on toast or a sandwich, in a wrap, as part of a buddha bowl, use it as a dip with veggies or crisps… It’s unbelievably easy to make with only a few simple ingredients, it’s delicious, versatile and healthy. I had to stop myself from eating all of it with a spoon before I even got to take the pictures, haha!
Ingredients
1/2 cup uncooked dry red lentils
1 1/2 cup diced pumpkin
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Boil the dry red lentils and cubes of your favourite kind of pumpkin (I used hokaido) for 15 minutes, until they’re soft. If you’re using split lentils, start by cooking only the pumpkin and add the lentils in the last 5 minutes.
Drain the lentils and pumpkin, and either transfer them to a food processor or use a handheld blender. Blend until smooth. Add the curry powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt, and mix everything together.
This really is too easy to throw together. If you use frozen pumpkin cubes and split lentils, it should only take you about 10 minutes from start to finish to make an amazing spicy red lentil pumpkin spread. It keeps in the fridge for about four/five days in an airtight container, if you can stretch it that far :) Enjoy!
About how much pumpkin puree should I use if a whole pumpkin is rare to come across out of season where I’m from?