I was just sitting in bed minding my own beeswax (not strictly true, I was minding other people's, nose deep in blogland), when the man of the house delivered breakfast in bed.
Nice start to a Sunday. Got me thinking about food. We are going to have a roast today, so I thought I would share my recipe for an easy, tasty lentil loaf.
You will need:
Bouillon or a vegetable stock cube
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
red split lentils
1 onion
1 clove garlic
mushrooms (optional)
courgette (optional)
red, orange or yellow pepper (optional) (I just use whatever we have in the fridge)
Sunflower oil
mature cheddar cheese
1 egg
1 Dissolve a teaspoon of bouillon or a vegetable stock cube in some boiling water. Add to a pan and pour in some red lentils. You decide on the quantity of lentils you want depending on how big you want your loaf to be. Put on to boil for about 15 minutes until they are soft. Throw in a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs for even more flavour.
2 Dice your onion and chop all the other vegetables into a small cubes. Fry in a pan until soft, probably about 10 minutes. I tend to put the garlic in for the last couple of minutes as I don't want it to burn.
3 Drain any water that remains from the lentils using a sieve. They don't have to be dry as a bone. It should end up as a moist mushy mass when you put it back in the pan.
4 Add the fried vegetables to the lentils. Stir in some grated cheese. I put a small handful in, the stronger the cheese the less you need, that's why mature is good.
5 Take the mixture off the heat and add the egg (it needs to cool a bit or you will get scrambled egg). Mix in thoroughly and then pour the mixture into a sponge tin. I use one of those ones with the separate sides and bottom so you can remove the loaf from the tray easily. A pyrex would cook it equally as well or a loaf tin, but it makes it more difficult to serve. I don't grease the sides.
6 Cook in an oven at 200F (fan or electric) or Gas mark 5 for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
It is nice when first cooked, but it really improves with age as the flavours come out. Eat with salad the next day or use it like pate on sandwiches or toast.
Bon appetit!
p.s. I got distracted by real life and didn't publish, so we've had it. I'm now sporting a right good belly.