Lovely Lentils

My mother used to make us eat lentils and it was so uncool. Nobody I knew ate them and I was always so worried Mum would make them when someone came over and I would just die of embarrassment. I always swore that when I was old enough to feed myself I would never, ever, ever eat lentils. And I didn’t for the longest time. Then I ‘accidentally’ ate a soup of lentils with tomato and vegetables and knew I had to re-create it. Mine has bacon (bacon makes everything better) and is more like a stew but just as yummy I think.

This dish will even tempt those who say they don’t like lentils and will definitely please confirmed lentil eaters. It requires very little prep but takes a while to cook so is the perfect thing to make on a Sunday afternoon for dinner through the week.

This recipe makes enought to serve 4 for lunch with a bit left over.

olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
3 rashers bacon, roughly chopped
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tin tomatoes
2 cups green lentils
3-4 cups water or stock (use low or unsalted as the bacon is salty)
1 medium zucchini, diced
8 medium button mushrooms, diced
chopped parsley
pepper

Fry the onion in oil until soft. Add bacon and fry a minute or two. Stir in garlic and lentils and stir until lentils are covered in oil. Add tomatoes and about a cup of the water or stock. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer, stirring occasionally. Add more water as the lentils cook as they absorb a lot. After an hour of simmering, add zucchini and mushrooms and return to simmer. You’ll need to taste the lentils to make sure they are soft, but after about 1 ½ hours, they should be done. Test for seasoning – you’ll want to add pepper and stir through chopped parsley.
As a variation, you could add some cumin or other spice and substitute the parsley with coriander.