This dish was entirely inspired by a recent visit to the Asheville restaurant Curaté by James Beard award winning chef Katie Button. I think I did a pretty good imitation, if I do say so myself, though as you can see, the ingredients are fairly simple and easy to obtain (for us, that is). We followed Serious Eats exacting (but simple) tried and true delicata squash roasting method, I cooked the lentils in homemade chicken stock (use vegetable stock for a vegetarian dish) and followed José Andrés' recipe for Romesco sauce (absolutely delish).
These amounts feed two with leftovers.
Romesco Sauce
This is the most time consuming component of this dish. In hindsight I would recommend making a double batch and freezing the leftovers in a ziploc bag or two!
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper
6 fresh plum tomatoes or canned
1 head garlic, halved, paper outer skin removed
1 onion, of your choice
3 dried sweet chili peppers Guajillo or Cascabel
1/4 cup blanched almonds (I used raw almonds with skin on)
1oz white bread, crust removed or panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon sherry or wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
1/2 tablespoon salt
Heat the oven to 350°F. Toss the pepper, tomatoes (omit if using canned), garlic and onion in olive oil. Place in a roasting pan, and roast until all the vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting, place the dried chilies in a bowl of hot water and soak for 15 minutes. Strain, and remove the seeds.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small sauté pan over low heat. Add the almonds and sauté to brown them a little, about 1 minute. Remove the almonds and set them aside.
Raise the pan heat to medium and add the bread, or bread crumbs, to the pan and sauté until golden brown. Remove bread from pan and set aside.
When the roasted vegetables are cool enough to handle, peel and seed the fresh tomatoes (if using) and bell pepper, and cut off their tops. Place the roasted vegetables in a blender or food processor and add the canned tomatoes, if using, almonds, toasted bread/bread crumbs, rehydrated chilies, vinegar, paprika and 7 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend until it forms a thick sauce, and add salt to taste.
For One Delicata Squash
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds.
Cut the squash in 1" thick slices (yes this is the perfect thickness as they do shrink)
Toss in 1 Tbsp melted butter, salt and pepper
Roast at 425°F for 12 minutes on one side, then flip and roast for another 10 minutes
For the Black Lentils
Bring 3 cups of chicken stock to a boil.
Cook lentils for about 30 minutes (or whatever your package recommends)
Drain and toss in a knob of butter, season to taste with salt and pepper