RECIPE: Puy lentil hotpot for 'Veganuary' - Marshford Organic Foods

Veganuary is here again and is a timely reminder that nutritious and tasty food can be made without meat, eggs, dairy or spending a fortune.

Processed plant-based foods are all the rage in the  supermarkets right now but there is no substitute for homemade!

I do have a variety of flavourings and sauces in my cupboards and in this case, I have used tamari amongst others. Tamari is a naturally fermented soy sauce that does not contain wheat unlike its cousin shoyu. As ever, if you do not have this, use what you do have – soy sauce, Worcester sauce (vegan) or even yeast extract can be used.

I also like to have a variety of veg in the fridge and whilst I find carrots and celery indispensable, I also like to have some handy bits of squash and sweet potato ready. Again if you don’t have these, just sub with what you do have to add flavour and texture – try peppers, courgette, tomato or chard stalks.

Unusually, the quantities I have put on this occasion of the potatoes, onion and ‘orange veg’ are the prepared weights ie after peeling. I like to use smallish potatoes in this dish as it makes the layering easier and there are more outside edges to crisp up.

Just a note about ‘Puy’ lentils – the name is protected to denote a French product but grown outside the region they are known as dark speckled lentils!

Puy Lentil Hotpot

Ingredients:

100g dried puy lentils soaked for one hour and drained

One bayleaf

One teaspoon dried oregano or marjoram

A few glugs of  olive oil

125g onion

120g diced orange veg (see above)

50g celery

Two cloves of garlic, diced

100g chestnut mushrooms

One Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

One Tablespoon tamari

One Tablespoons tomato puree

350ml vegetable stock

Two level teaspoons cornflour

Salt and black pepper to taste

Potatoes

One Tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

Finely slice the onion and place on a low heat with a glug of olive oil. Fry gently and when translucent add the garlic. Whilst they are cooking, cut the celery and the orange veg into thin slices and then crosswise to form small dice. Add to the pan with the drained lentils, bay leaf and dried herbs. Add 200ml vegetable stock, cover and cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile chop the mushrooms and fry in another pan with a glug of olive oil. Add to the lentil mixture with the vinegar, tamari and tomato puree. Mix the cornflour with a little of the vegetable stock (about two tablespoons) and stir it into the lentil mixture as well. Season with salt and pepper. This can all be done the day before if you wish and left in the fridge overnight.

Set the oven to a medium heat about 175°C.

Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can.

Grease an oven proof casserole and place about one quarter of the potatoes on the bottom. Spread half the lentil mixture over it and cover with a layer of potatoes, using just slightly more than the bottom layer, then spread the remaining lentil mixture over them. Top with the remaining potatoes.

Pour the rest of the stock over it and give it another few glugs of olive oil. Cover with a lid and place in the oven for about one hour until the potatoes are soft. Turn the oven up, remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes to brown the top.

Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with a green veg.

Note: This can be cooked in a slow cooker if you have one, just make the lentil mix and layer it up in the pot. It will probably take at least six to eight hours – it’s difficult to be exact as they all vary depending on model, make and age of the appliance.