Sharing the recipe in her book Mary Berry’s Absolute Favourites, the British cooking icon said: “This colourful dish is lovely to be served warm with chops or fish or on its own with bread. It can also be eaten cold as a salad.”
This stew must be cooked using a combination of the stove and the oven. To ensure the oven is hot enough for perfect results, preheat it to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7.
Take a deep frying pan and heat two tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, leek, garlic and red pepper and fry over medium-high heat until they soften.
Mary recommended leaving the lentils unseasoned before cooking them to avoid toughening the outer skins. Add the lentils plain and raw to the pan, then pour in the white wine and stock and bring to a boil.
Keep stirring the mixture as it boils, then cover the pan with a lid, lower the heat and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
If there is still a lot of liquid, remove the lid for the last five to ten minutes. Meanwhile, pour the remaining oil into a large roasting tin. Add the chopped squash, tossing to coat it in the oil, and season it with plenty of salt and pepper.
Roast the colourful squash in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and tender. Once cooked, add the roasted squash to the lentils and season with salt and pepper.
Finally, stir in the mustard and parsley and serve hot. This recipe should provide six portions of stew.
Mary says this recipe is ideal for making up to one day ahead. She suggests cooking it as stated and leaving the stew to cool completely before transferring it to a covered container.
Keep the stew in the fridge and reheat in portions as and when you want to eat it.
