Blonde Lentils, Pumpkin & Sage

📝 Ingredients

• 225 g dried blonde lentils
• 500 g pumpkin, peeled and deseeded (about 700 g untrimmed)
• 1 brown onion (about 120 g)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 12 fresh sage leaves (6 shredded, 6 fried)
• 1 vegetable stock cube + 800 ml hot water
• 1 bay leaf
• 45 g grated Parmesan
• 3 tbsp olive oil (2 for cooking, 1 for frying the sage)
• 3 slices wholemeal bread (about 50 g each)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large pot with lid
• Small frying pan
• Colander
• Vegetable peeler
• Chef's knife and chopping board
• Wooden spoon

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the lentils in a sieve. Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and fibres, then cut the flesh into 2 cm cubes. Slice the onion and chop the garlic. Shred 6 sage leaves and keep the other 6 whole.
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in the pot over a medium heat. Fry the onion for 5 min until translucent, then add the garlic and shredded sage for 1 min, stirring, without letting the garlic colour.
3. Add the lentils and stir for 1 min to coat them. Pour in the hot water, crumble in the stock cube and add the bay leaf. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low heat and simmer, covered, for 10 min.
4. Add the pumpkin cubes and cook, covered, for another 15 to 18 min, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender and the pumpkin is melting. Add a little water if it starts to catch on the bottom: the texture should be that of a stew, not a soup.
5. Meanwhile, heat the last spoonful of oil in the small frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the 6 whole sage leaves for 15 to 20 s per side, until crisp but not browned, then drain on kitchen paper. Keep the flavoured oil.
6. Remove the bay leaf. Crush a few pumpkin cubes against the side of the pot with the spoon to thicken the stew. Off the heat, stir in half the Parmesan, taste, then season with salt and pepper: the stock is already salty.
7. Toast the slices of wholemeal bread. Serve the stew in shallow bowls, drizzle with the sage oil, and scatter over the rest of the Parmesan and the fried leaves, with the toast on the side.