Rosy Hunt in Norwich sent us her recipe for this lentil dish, which is packed with healthy vegetables and uses a little Marmite for added depth of flavour. Lentils are a really good source of protein, yet are cheap to buy and particularly easy to prepare if you opt for tinned.
Rosy told us: “This is a good budget recipe and is great with mashed potato. It can easily be made vegan without using dairy in the mash.” She also had this top tip for fussy palates: “Hide under a layer of mash if kids are wary of trying lentils.”
Ingredients
1 onion
1-2 sticks of celery
1 carrot
2 tbsps of cooking oil (olive if you like but vegetable or sunflower are fine too)
1 tin of cooked lentils
1 tsp vegetable stock
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Pack of mushrooms
1 tsp of Marmite
Salt and pepper to taste
Bag of potatoes for mash with a splash of milk and knob of butter (use vegan versions if you like).
COST The whole meal should cost about £6, more if you’re buying Marmite especially, but you can just leave it out.
1. Slice the onion thinly and fry with the celery and carrot for 10 mins on medium in a tablespoon of cooking oil.