red lentils

Some great lentil ideas here! I'm a big lentil fan - they're so versatile and tasty, as well as healthy, filling and cheap! I have a very simple recipe to suggest - a tomato, red lentil and rosemary dish you can use in several different ways.

First finely chop an onion. Heat a little olive oil or butter in a medium saucepan, then add the onion and fry until it turns a golden colour. You can add some crushed garlic at this point if you like. Then add a tin of tomatoes, with their juice, a couple of handfuls of red lentils and a sprig of fresh rosemary (or half a teaspoon of dried). Bring to the boil and simmer until the lentils are soft but not completely mushy (about 15 mins). Keep checking to make sure they aren't sticking to the pan - you may need to add a little water or stock. At this point, remove the rosemary sprig, if used.

The tomato and lentil mixture reduces down to a lovely thick consistency, which makes a great filling for baked potatoes, or works well as a pasta sauce. I don't add any salt to the dish, but sometimes a splash or two of soy sauce for extra savoury flavour. Sprinkle some nice grated cheddar over the top.

The lentil mixture can form the basis of a lentil "shepherd's pie" - just spoon it into an ovenproof dish and top with some mashed potato (and grated cheese if you like it... sorry I'm a bit of a cheese-a-holic!). Before adding the topping, I like to stir through fry a few sliced mushrooms, fried in a little olive oil or butter - but you could add any veggies you have lying around. A storecupboard alternative is to mix in a handful of salted peanuts - I usually rinse off the salt first.

My all time favourite and incredibly easy recipe for lentils...

Lemon dhal
4 oz masoor dhal (red lentils)
1tsp fresh ginger
1 tsp fresh garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric
3/4 pint water
3 Tbl lemon juice
chilli powder and salt to taste

Very basically throw all the ingredients except the lemon juice in a pot, boil until lentils are soft, add lemon juice and serve. More like a soup than thick dhal. Can also add chopped fresh green chillis and coriander if you like. Perfect for dark rainy days, or when you feel fluey!

Pease pudding.

Yes, just like the nursery rhyme. You can still buy it easily in the North East of England, but I've never seen it anywhere else. It's basically just lentils boiled to a pulp, seasoned, and allowed to go cold. You serve it with cooked ham.

A ham and pease pudding sandwich is delicious. Don't knock it till you've tried it...

I live in the North East of England, and pease pudding is made with yellow split peas, not lentils