Lentil and Rice Casserole

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp each cumin and coriander seeds
1 tsp peppercorns
2 garlic cloves, chopped
150g brown rice
150g green lentils
1/2 tsp salt
350g tomatoes, sliced
1 cinnamon stick, halved
850ml vegetable stock

Fry the onion and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes until lightly browned.

Crush the seeds and peppercorns with a pestle and mortar, add to the pan. Fry for 2 minutes, then stir in the lentils, rice and salt.

Take out half the mixture, and add a layer of tomatoes on top of the rest before putting the lentils back in. Then add the stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 35 minutes. You might need a bit more water.

Serves 4.

Spicy Lentil and Parsnip Pie

50g butter
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, diced
225g red lentils
2 tbsp medium curry paste
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
650g parsnips, sliced
1 leek, sliced
85g cheddar

Melt half the butter, add the onion and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the lentils, curry paste, tomatoes, tomato puree and 300ml water. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile boil the parsnips for 10 minutes, adding the leek for the final 2 minutes. Drain and mash with the remaining butter. Season.

Put the lentil mixture into a dish. Top with the mashed parsnips and cheese, grill until golden.

Serves 4

Pumpkin and Lentil Tagine

275g brown lentils
3 tomatoes, chopped
500 - 600g pumpkin/butternut squash, cubed
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
3 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp sugar

Cook the lentils in water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the onion in the oil until soft. Add the garlic for a few seconds, then the cumin, turmeric, pepper and paprika, cook for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and sugar. Stir.

Add the lentils and squash, together with a little water. Stir well, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve.

Serves 4.

It turned out less spicy than I was expecting, and maybe needs to be jazzed up a bit if I try it again.

Lemony Rice and Peas

A good standby, this one - I had everything in the cupboard except some spring onions which can easily be obtained on the way home from work. I didn't bother with the coriander because I didn't have any fresh, but it was still lovely. I also used small tins of lentils and chickpeas and made a half portion, as there blatantly aren't 10 of me!

Recipe link

Lentil and vegetable soup

2 onions, chopped
3 carrots, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 leek, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
500g red split lentils
250ml can sweetcorn
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice

Fry the onion, carrots, celery and leek in the oil in a covered pan for 10 minutes. When soft add the lentils and 2.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

Blend, keeping some aside for texture. Put everything back in the pan with the sweetcorn, soy sauce, lemon juice and seasoning. Serve

Serves about 8.

Lentil, Spinach and walnut salad

400g tin brown lentils
4 spring onions, finely chopped
125g cherry tomatoes, halved
60g walnut pieces
1/2 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
100g baby spinach

Heat the lentils in a little water, drain and mix with the spring onions, cherry tomatoes and walnuts.

Mix the dressing ingredients together, and mix into the lentil mixture.

Make a bed of spinach leaves and put the lentil mixture on top. Serve.

Serves 2

Cabbage and Kohlrabi Gratin

I didn't have enough cabbage to make this, so I decided to make up the veg by chucking some kohlrabi in, as I didn't have any other ideas of what to do with it anyway. It turned out pretty well, and that's another veg on the list of things I've tried.

(In a day for new things, I bought a whole pineapple for the first time ever. I've got myself eating it out of cans, and in pre-chopped packs, but it was the first time I've ever attempted to tackle one. Let's just say, I'll be buying another. Wow)

At the moment I'm experimenting with recipes for rhubarb compote. I remember eating rhubarb at my grandparents house, just dipped into sugar, and the first compote recipe I tried wasn't much more sophisticated than that. Lovely, but with far too much sugar for my liking. I've got another batch of rhubarb and a different recipe to try tomorrow though, so I'll report back.

Puy Lentil Casserole

Rose strikes again, with puy lentils, carrots, leeks, onions, tomatoes and herbs all cooked together into a lovely warming casserole.

I've made another batch of this with assorted lentils using up some packets, and it's just as good!

Curries

I have to plug this, because it looks fab.

Rose Elliot's Low-GI Vegetarian Cookbook (Amazon link).

Today I decided on a big curry cooking session. I ended up making spinach curry (p60), cabbage thoran (p61) and lentil dal (p109), having a bit of each and freezing the rest. That means nothing if you don't have the book, but as I do, this works as a reference to me without infringing too much copyright...

Spicy Potato and Cauliflour Stew

375g lentils
1.8 vegetable stock
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, cut into wedges
1kg potatoes, cut into chunks
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
3 - 4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 - 2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp warm water
125g coconut cream
1 tbsp chopped coriander

Soak the lentils for 15 minutes, then rinse, drain and cook with half the stock for 30 minutes until the water has been absorbed.

Meanwhile... fry the onion in the oil for about 8 minutes, add the potatoes, cauliflower and garlic and cook for a further minute. Stir in the turmeric, mustard seeds, fennel seeds and chillies.

Add the rest of the stock and the saffron and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes until the vegetables are almost cooked.

Coarsely mash the cooked lentils, stir in the coconut cream and coriander and mix well. Add to the vegetables and cook gently until the vegetables are tender and the flavours combined.

Serves 6

This was very nice, and quite filling. Not actually too spicy, and quite runny, but one to try again.

Curried Lentil Soup

2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, cubed
4 celery sticks, copped
2 tbsp curry paste
100g red lentils
400g can chopped tomatoes
1.2l vegetable stock

Heat the oil and cook the onion until soft. Add the garlic, potato, carrot, celery and curry paste and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the lentils, tomatoes and stock. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

Serves 4.

Pasta, Bean and Vegetable Soup

75g green/brown lentils
15g sundried tomatoes, chopped
15ml olive oil (I used spray)
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 onion or 3-4 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
parsley
dried crushed chillis
1.5l vegetable stock
1 small can red kidney beans
1 small can cannellini beans
1 small can chickpeas
115g wholemeal pasta

1. Cook the lentils in 475ml water. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, soak the sundried tomatoes in 175ml warm water.

2. Drain and rinse the lentils.

3. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, parsley and chillies. Cook over a low heat for 5 - 7 minutes and stir. Add the stock, the tomatoes and the water they were in.

4. Bring to the boil and add the drained beans, chickpeas and lentils. Season, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Add the pasta, bring back to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Makes 6.