Tangy Lentil Bake served with Red Cabbage Apple sauce, and Roasted Pumpkin with (unknown leaves) Salad

A student came back from a holiday break in Chiang Mai. Today was her first day back to the studio and she was eager to introduce me to her daughter and friend. She thought finally they get to meet the teacher she has been raving about *blush*. I said to her, with an apologetic smile, "I'm not teaching this week". And her daughter and friend will only be in Bangkok this week. Oops....

I have a good reason for that though: our favorite Queen of Back Bends - Paddy McGrath - is leading a series of morning practice based on her YogaPad series at Yoga Elements this entire week. I had, due to some reasons, been missing Paddy for the last couple of times she was in Bangkok. I missed her "stickman" and "chicken arms".

For some weird reason, the image of a red cabbage came into my vision as I was watching Paddy in her Downward Facing Dog rugby-hooligan style. Could be the purple she was wearing? By the way, why is red cabbage red cabbage when it actually is purple? Anyway that gave me idea for dinner - Lentil Bake served with Red Cabbage and Apple sauce.

As I ran my mind tasting and matching the few salad recipes that I could remember with the Lentil Bake, roasted pumpking sprung to the tip of my tongue. I love how they have different variety of pumpkins: Japanese, golden, Thai...etc. Although most of the time I let my wallet decides instead of the flavor. This time, I was attracted to the vibrant orange of Golden Pumpkin.

Don't you just hate it when they don't sell the thing that you want on the day you need it? That's how I felt when I couldn't get arugula. I distinctly remember they had it just two days ago (although they were labeled as rocket). And how convenient that they should have fresh rosemary and marjoram when I'm not needing them!! Anyway I bought a box of mixed greens that kind of resemble arugula/ rocket. Someone should talk to somebody about the importance of labeling in English for the sake of the under-educated self-proclaimed cook. Oh! and proper shelfing too.

Enough of my whining.

For Lentil Bake
I chose red lentil but green would work just fine. I also added some chopped parsley and oregano that still linger in the refrigerator after one week. The last time I made this dish, I also added sauteed mushroom to the bottom of baking dish before pouring the lentil mixture over. If you don't fancy spices, you can omit the coriander/ cumin/ paprika. This dish is good on itself but I really like the hint of sweet cinnamon that the Red Cabbage and Apple sauce impart onto the tanginess of lentil bake. Adrian and I like it sour. Feel free to reduce the amount of lemon juice/ zest called for.

Ingredients:

(serves 2)
1Cup lentils, rinsed
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 glove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon each of ground coriander, cumin, paprika (or 1 teaspoon of any one of these)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
500mL Water (divided)
1/2 Tablespoon fresh herbs (eg. parsely/ oregano/ thyme leaves/ marjoram)
vegetable stock (I used 1/2 Tablespoon miso paste)
50g grated cheddar cheese
Handful of white sesame seeds (pine nuts are good, too)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Saute onions with a pinch of salt. Add in garlic when onions turn translucent. Saute until fragrant. (If using: add coriander, cumin and paprika. Fry for another minute)
   
3. Stir in rinsed lentil and fry for 2 minutes. Whisk in 1/4 C of water and stir. Pour in lemon juice and zest. Add another 1/4 Cup of water and let it simmer.
   
4. Mix in vegetable stock/ miso paste. Continue to add water 1/4 Cup at a time until the lentils are cooked, about 20 - 30 minutes. It took me about 1 cup of water.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and melt in 2/3 of cheddar. If you are using herbs, add them in now.
6. Pour over baking dish. Top with the remaing cheddar cheese and sprinkle with white sesame seeds. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes.

Red Cabbage and Apple Sauce
Below is from the original recipe I found in VegBox. I added nutmeg and replaced brown sugar with a handful of raisins. You want to make sure there's enough raisin for every bite of the sauce or it can be very bland.
Ingredients:
1/4 medium size red cabbage, slice thinly
1/2 large apple, grated
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup water

1. Saute red cabbage with a little bit of oil and stir for 5 minutes (add raisin if you are using).
   
2. Add cinnamon, sugar (omit it if using raisin), apple and water. Keep stirring for another 5 minutes or until most water evaporated.

Roasted Pumpkin with Arugula Salad

So I made a few changes to the original recipe: I replaced arugula with some greens that Adrian said were rhubarb but were not because apparently rhubarb leaves are inedible. I also used shaved Romano cheese in place of Parmesan. The sharp cheese more than made up for the lack of unique peppery arugula. By the way, the pumpkin skin is also edible and rather sweet.




Ingredients:
(serve 2)
1/4 medium pumpkin, cut into wedges.
1/2 medium shallot, sliced thinly
2 Tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 Tablespoon brown sugar
Salt, cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 teaspoon honey
2 Tablespoon Extravirgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bunch aurgula, washed and trimmed
Handful of pine nuts
1 ounce Parmesan, shaved

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar,sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. Toss in pumpkin wedges and shallots.
3. Wrap with aluminium foil and bake covered for 20 minutes.
   
4. Unwrap the foil and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes.
5. Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
   
6. Toss arugula with 1/3 of the honey vinaigrette.
7. Spread arugula on a plate. Arrange pumpkin wedges and shallots on top. Sprinkle with pine nuts and top with shaved parmesan. Drizzle the remaining honey vinaigrette over the plate.