A hearty meat-free dish, this is just right for feeding a gang of hungry people. It’s served in one dish and can be prepared ahead, ready to pop in the oven when it’s nearly time to eat – so it’s great for a hosting a special occasion dinner. We promise you it’s so full of flavour the carnivores won’t miss their meat, and it packs in over half your daily fibre requirement. Cold weather comfort food at its finest.
Typical nutritional content (per portion)
For the filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
175g dried Puy lentils
150ml white wine
1½ tbsp sun-dried tomato paste (regular tomato paste is fine if sun-dried tomato paste is not available)
600ml low-salt vegetable stock
8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
500g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
For the topping:
350g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 2cm (½in) cubes
350g baby potatoes, washed, skins on, diced into 2cm (½in) cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp snipped chives
50g reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, grated
For the sides:
1 head of pointed green cabbage, washed and roughly sliced
200g tender-stem broccoli, washed
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Heat a teaspoon of oil in the frying pan, add the onions and fry for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for about 10 seconds. Add the lentils, white wine, tomato paste and stock, stir and bring to the boil. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and season with pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and transfer to the oven for about 50–60 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and the liquid is absorbed. If you don’t have a lid, simply cover with tin foil. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce.
Meanwhile, heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan, add the mushrooms and fry over a high heat for a minute. Cover with a lid and cook for few minutes more over a gentle heat. Remove the lid and increase the heat to evaporate the liquid. Season with pepper. Add to the lentil mixture, stir and spoon into an ovenproof dish.
Increase the oven temperature to 200°C fan.
For the topping, cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 5–8 minutes until just soft, then drain well. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the empty pan, tip the potatoes back in and add the garlic and chives. Season with pepper and carefully mix to coat the potatoes in the herbs and garlic.
Spoon the potatoes on top of the lentil mixture and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes until crispy brown and bubbling around the edges.
Boil the tender-stem broccoli in a pan of hot water for 6 minutes until cooked but al dente – add in the cabbage for the last 3-4 minutes.
Serve the mushroom and lentil bake piping hot with sides of tender-stem broccoli and cabbage.
