Lentil Pie

Method

Simmer the lentils in about 1 pint of water until softened and the water absorbed.

Put the potatoes on to boil.

Meanwhile fry the onion in a little olive oil until transparent, add the garlic and the mushrooms and continue cooking on a gentle heat, until the mushrooms are cooked through. Add the tin of tomatoes and herbs and bring to a simmer again. If you are using fresh basil, add it at the last minute, so it doesn’t lose its flavour in the cooking.

Stir the cooked lentils into the onion, mushroom and tomato mix and put into the bottom of an oven dish.

Mash your potatoes as you usually do, with milk and butter if you wish (I think that sweet potatoes are fine mashed without anything else) and spread over the bottom layer. Top with some freshly ground black pepper, and a little grated cheese, if you wish, and bake at 180°C for 25/30 minutes, or simply brown the top of the pie under the grill and serve with some green vegetables.

You can vary the type of lentils you use for the pie, or you can use something other than mushrooms – chopped carrots and / or celery maybe.

There’s snow all around as I write, the lights are twinkling on the Christmas tree and carols are singing from the radio. By the time you open this issue of the Whistler dear Readers, you may well have begun breaking your New Year resolutions already! So much happens in the space of these two or three weeks, but in the kitchen more than anywhere. Mince pies, Christmas puddings and cakes regale the store cupboard shelves – it’s just now when I wish that a pantry were a prerequisite of current building regulations. The turkey, goose or whatever your Christmas fancy is ordered or in the freezer, the ingredients are poised for creating savoury stuffing mixes, then the ham for the sandwiches and the list goes on. It will all amazingly disappear and will have been delicious.

Come the New Year however, the Trewhitless household always feels the need for a break from the richness of so much meat and for a little early Lenten fasting. This is when those little red lentils come into their own as a rich source of protein and an easy-cook (no soaking required) substitute for meat. The Lentil Pie and Lentil Rissoles are two of my favourite ways of using them for winter, warming suppers

Mrs Trewhitless