Spanish Butternut Squash Stew

Heat a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Once hot, add ½ tbsp of olive oil together with your chorizo to the pan and fry until slightly browned off. Then remove the chorizo from the pan and keep to the side on some kitchen paper. Tip: Leave as much of the oozed out oil as possible in the pan; this will give your stew the flavour it needs!

Meanwhile, peel and chop your onion and garlic. Remove the core from the pepper and slice it into ½cm strips.

Keep your (now empty) saucepan on medium heat and add some oil if needed. Fry your onions and garlic for 3-5 mins, then add your smoked paprika, tomato purée, butternut squash and a few good grinds of pepper. Fry for another 3 mins.

Add your chopped tomatoes, stock pot and 300ml of water. Tip: If you have some leftover white wine, add ½ glass to the stew at this stage. Once everything has come to the boil, change the heat to medium-low and place a lid on the pan. Let everything bubble away for about 15-20 mins or until your squash is cooked. Tip: The squash is cooked when you can easily slip a knife through it. Stir the pan occasionally so the stew doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Tip:If the stew becomes too dry, add another splash of water.

After about 10 mins, add your pepper and chorizo. In the meantime, roughly chop your flat leaf parsley.

Drain the lentils and add them together with half the parsley for the last 3 mins of your cooking time. Tip: The lentils only need to warm through as they’re already cooked.