Lentil, Butternut Squash and Chard Sauce

I haven't cooked with lentils for a while which is a big shame as they are a) delicious and b) very healthy and full of protein. So I decided to have a rummage through my old recipe books, and adapted this from a random vegetarian recipe book from the mid 1980s which I got second hand from a charity shop ages ago (yeh, I have a bit of an addiction to buying vegetarian recipe books in charity shops). The recipe originally called for carrots but I felt like butternut squash so I used that instead, so you could use carrots in you can't be fussed with the hassle of peeling/cooking squash. Also, if you're wondering where to get chard from, I just used a bag of bistro salad from the supermarket, which contained chard (and beetroot, yum!) but you could use spinach instead. In case you haven't realised, my approach to cooking is basically find a recipe and then modify the hell out of it depending on what ingredients I have at my disposal, haha. I had this with pasta, but I'm having the leftovers with cous cous tonight, as I'm confident that'll work too. You could also tart it up a bit by whacking some goats cheese into it too. Yumm.

Serves 4 (ish, I'm terrible with my serving sizes)

450g butternut squash
175g dried black lentils (or you can use 1 or 2 tins ready cooked lentils, to save time/effort)
3 cloves garlic
3 leeks
1 bay leaf
stock
120 g chard / spinach (basically one bag)
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
3 tsp stock powder

1. If using dried lentils, put the lentils in a bowl with a dash of olive oil, three teaspoons of stock, and a bay leaf. Add hot water until covering the lentils by around an inch, bring to the boil, and boil for 15 - 20 minutes until they start to soften.

2. While the lentils are cooking, peel and chop the butternut squash into one centimeter squares, and add to the lentils after the 15 - 20 minutes cooking time. Cook for a further 15 minutes or so with the lid on, until both the squash and lentils are almost cooked. This can be hard to get right, but it doesn't matter if you over cook one or the other. (Note: if you are using tinned lentils, cook the butternut squash first, and add the lentils in step 3).

3. Meanwhile, chop the garlic and leeks and fry in olive oil with some salt and pepper until softened.

4. Once the lentils and butternut squash are nearly done, check to see how much excess water there is. If there is a lot of water, drain it, and make sure to save some of the liquid. Add the lentils and butternut squash to the leek and garlic, with a little of the cooking water. Remove the bay leaf. Add the chard, and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

5. Add to cooked pasta of your choice, and serve, with cheese if desired.