The Cascade Kitchen: butternut squash and lentil tacos

The Cascade Kitchen is a student-run food column that brings you budget-friendly recipes and cooking tips. Check back weekly for something new to try in the kitchen, or if you want to see your own recipe featured next, get started by reaching out to culture@ufvcascade.ca.

I present to you: the perfect fall taco. Everything you could want from spooky season, all on a taco. It’s vegan, easy to make, is a perfect packed lunch, and best of all, it’s delicious. I used red lentils with this recipe, but you can use brown or black instead if you like your lentils a little more firm.

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, weighing approximately 454 g (1 lb)
• A drizzle of olive oil
• 1 lime
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) cashew milk
• 200 g (1 cup) dry lentils
• 2.5 g (1 tsp) cumin
• Salt and pepper
• Small, soft-shell tacos
• 30 g (1/4 cup) pumpkin seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Peel squash with a potato peeler, and cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds and all that weird stringy stuff that the seeds are attached to. Dice the squash into cubes and place on a baking tray. Coat the cubes in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and pop the tray in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the squash is tender.
3. While the squash is cooking, combine the lentils and 500 ml (2 cups) of water in a small pot. When the water starts to boil, add a little over 2.5 g (a heaping tsp) of cumin, and a generous pinch of both salt and pepper. Cover the pot and boil until the lentils have absorbed all the water and become soft.
4. In a food processor, blend squash, cashew milk, and the juice of one lime until the mixture becomes creamy.
5. Now you’re ready to put together your taco. Grab your soft-shell taco, add a scoop of lentils, a scoop of squash, and finish with a handful of pumpkin seeds. 

Image: Andrea Sadowski/The Cascade 

Andrea Sadowski

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Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.

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