I’m always surprised by how good this lentil dish tastes as the preconception is that lentils are going to be awful and tasteless. Even the kiddies ate this with little complaint… Which I prefer to interpret as them getting used to eating what they’re given rather than the fact snacking between meals has declined during rationing.

There was a fair ol bit left so this will be portioned into tuppers and frozen for pies (plus added bacon ration YUM), lunches and so on……. our idea of convenience ‘from the freezer’ food!

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 celery sticks sliced
• 2 carrots sliced
• 2 handfuls cauliflowers
• 2 handfuls mushrooms sliced
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 75g dried red lentils
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 450ml  vegetable or chicken stock (we used mrCs home made chicken stock that was previously frozen in little convenient tuppers)
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• We used ready made garlic bread for speed today – naughty but it was going cheaper at Asda than we could produce it. #CHEAT!SORTOF!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas mark 4.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the garlic and onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the celery, carrots and cauliflower and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes more.
3. Remove from the heat and add the mushrooms, tomatoes and lentils.
4. Mix the flour with 3-4 tbsp of water and add to the saucepan with the vegetable stock .
5. Return to the heat and bring to the boil to thicken the mixture.
6. Season withpepper, transfer to a casserole dish, then cover and bake for 20 minutes.
7. After 20 minutes uncover and and arrange garlic bread on top
8. Increase oven temp to Gas Mark 5 and return to oven
9. Bake until garlic bread is crisp on top