Serves 4

Chestnut Cream

Cut chestnuts in half and boil for 10 minutes, then remove the meat from the shells. Place chestnuts and sunflower seeds in a blender, cover with water and blend. Add enough water to create a vortex and blend everything until smooth and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Butternut Squash “Lardon” and Spinach “Noodles”

Peel butternut squash and cut into ½-inch-thick slices. Cut slices into ½-inch strips, and cut the strips into 2-inch pieces. Transfer to a bowl and cover with sunflower oil, soy sauce, maple syrup and liquid smoke. Marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 365°. Remove the butternut squash from the marinade and lay out the pieces in a 9- by 9-inch square pan. Drizzle about half of the marinade over the squash, so that the liquid comes up halfway.

Lightly coat with black pepper and nutritional yeast. Drizzle some of the remaining marinade on top to moisten the nutritional yeast (but do not completely cover with marinade). Bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Set aside.

Wash and de-stem kale or spinach. Lay the leaves on top of each other, with the largest on the bottom. Roll up the greens and slice into ¼-inch “noodles.” If you are working with kale, use a rolling pin to tenderize the noodles. (This is not necessary if you are using winter spinach.)

Place a serving of kale on a plate. Dress with warmed chestnut cream and garnish with butternut lardons and sweet pea shoots. Serve.