Smoky Lentil Chili with Squash

Ingredients

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• 1 tbls vegetable broth 🛒
• 1 Onion
• 1 chopped Leek
• 3 clove Garlic
• 4 tsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Coriander
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Cocoa
• ½ tsp Dried Oregano
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes
• 3 cup Water
• 3 chopped Carrots
• 1½ cup Brown Lentils
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Small Squash
• 1 cup Cashews
• 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Method

1. Begin by roasting the squash.
2. Slice it into thin crescents and drizzle with a little vegetable broth and sprinkle with sea salt.
3. I added a fresh little sage I had in the fridge, but it’s unnecessary.
4. Roast the squash a 400°F (400 F) for 20-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until soft and golden. (WFPB: roast on parchment without oil; mist with broth if sticking)
5. Let cool and chop into cubes.
6. Meanwhile, rinse the lentils and cover them with water.
7. Bring them to the boil then turn down to a simmer and let cook (uncovered) for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.
8. While the lentils are cooking heat the 1 Tbsp. of vegetable broth on low in a medium pot.
9. Add the onions and leeks and sauté for 5 or so minutes, or until they begin to soften.
10. Add the garlic next along with the cumin and coriander, cooking for a few more minutes.
11. Add the remaining spices – paprika, cinnamon, chilli, cocoa, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and oregano.
12. Next add the can of tomatoes, the water or stock, and carrots.
13. Let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the veg is tender and the mixture has thickened up.
14. You’ll need to check on the pot periodically for a stir and a top of of liquid if needed.
15. Add the lentils and chopped roasted squash.
16. Let cook for 10 more minutes to heat through.
17. Serve with sliced jalapeno, lime wedges, cilantro, green onions, and cashew sour cream. SIMPLE CASHEW SOUR CREAM
18. Cup Raw Unsalted Cashews Pinch Sea Salt
19. tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar Water Bring some water to the boil, and use it to soak the cashews for at least four hours.
20. Alternatively, you can use cold water and let the cashews soak overnight, but I’m forgetful/lazy, so often use the boil method which is much faster.
21. After the cashews have soaked, drain them and add to a high speed blender.
22. Begin to puree, slowly adding about 1/2 cup fresh water, until a creamy consistency is reached.
23. You may need to add less or more water to reach the desired consistency.
24. Add a pinch of sea salt and vinegar (or lemon juice).

About the ingredients

vegetable broth

A salt-free, all-purpose vegetable broth. Onion, carrots, celery, garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, kombu, parsley.

Onion Allium cepa

Bulb vegetable, eaten raw or cooked. Whole minimally-processed plant food; 'organic' refers to cultivation only. WFPB-canonical.

Leek Allium ampeloprasum

Plant part is a bundle of tightly rolled leaf sheaths (pseudostem); tagged stem as closest enum value.

Garlic Allium sativum

Garlic itself is canonical, but extract denotes a concentrated/isolated derivative outside the whole-food canon. Marketed as natural/healthy supplement, hence mistaken-as-WFPB flag.

Cumin Cuminum cyminum

Dried seeds of Cuminum cyminum, an apiaceous herb. Whole spice, mechanically harvested and dried; matrix intact whether whole or ground. Canonical whole-plant seed spice.

Coriander Coriandrum sativum

Botanically a schizocarp (split fruit), culinarily called seed — hence botanical/culinary mismatch true.

Smoked Paprika Capsicum annuum

Ground dried sweet red peppers smoked over oak. Whole-fruit spice (fruit/pericarp), only smoked, dried, milled. Rich in vitamin A, carotenoids, vitamin E. Smoking and grinding are traditional methods; no additions. Canonical WFPB spice.

Cinnamon Cinnamomum cassia

High coumarin (hepatotoxic at chronic high dose) distinguishes cassia from Ceylon; relevant for dose, not WFPB status.

Chili Powder Capsicum annuum

Chili powder: in US usage, a ground blend of dried chili peppers (Capsicum annuum) with cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and often salt; elsewhere it means pure ground dried chili. New World crop, central to post-Columbian global cuisine. Sun-dried and milled whole pods. Canonical WFPB (blends may add salt).

Cocoa Theobroma cacao

Ground roasted, defatted seeds of the cacao tree (cocoa powder). Minimally processed plant food retaining fiber and flavanols, rich in magnesium and iron. Canonical WFPB when unsweetened; sugar/alkalization are separate additions. Deforestation/labor concerns noted.

Dried Oregano Origanum vulgare

Mediterranean oregano = Origanum vulgare; Mexican oregano = Lippia graveolens (Verbenaceae). Name covers multiple species but all are whole-leaf herbs, so verdict unaffected.

Diced Tomatoes Solanum lycopersicum

Tomatoes mechanically cut into cubes, typically canned in tomato juice. A whole-food fruit product with minimal processing; matrix largely intact. Canonical to WFPB when packed without added oil/sugar.

Water

Plain potable water (H2O). Universal solvent and culinary base, no calories or nutrients beyond trace minerals. Not derived from any organism; an unprocessed essential. WFPB canonical.

Carrots Daucus carota

Whole taproot, eaten raw or cooked. Orange domesticated form is the familiar one; heirloom landraces range purple to white.

Brown Lentils Lens culinaris

Common whole brown lentils — small dried legume seeds that cook quickly without soaking, holding shape for stews and dals. High in protein, fiber, folate, and iron. Whole legume — WFPB canonical.

Sea Salt NaCl

Crystalline sodium chloride, harvested by evaporating seawater or mining rock-salt deposits. Used as seasoning and preservative since antiquity—central to trade and food economies for millennia. A mineral, not a plant food, and a sodium isolate; noncanonical to WFPB.

Squash Cucurbita

Squash, the edible fruit of Cucurbita species (e.g., C. pepo, C. moschata, C. maxima). Includes summer and winter types eaten whole, cooked or raw. Low-to-medium calorie, rich in vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamin C, potassium, fiber intact. A whole plant food: canonical.

Cashews Anacardium occidentale

Cashew is botanically a drupe seed (accessory fruit pseudocarp), commonly called nut. Roasting is required to destroy urushiol in shell — no edible raw cashew tradition. Name-literal: no additives.

Apple Cider Vinegar Malus domestica

Vinegar from apple juice double-fermented: sugars to alcohol, then alcohol to acetic acid by Acetobacter. Raw/unfiltered versions retain the 'mother.' A whole-fruit-derived acid used for brightness; no added oil/sugar. Canonical traditional ferment.