Tinned Cheesy Lentil Bake

• servings: Feeds 4-6
• total time: 58 minutes

Ingredients

This is the first recipe in my new mini series - 3 Ways with Lentils! These are all super simple, crowd-pleasing dinners that even the lentil sceptics are going to love!

I don't know if any of you remember the Cheesy Red Lentil Bake I posted a few months ago? Well this is the tinned green lentil version!

There's no cooking the lentils with this one - it's just a really delicious, throw together kind of bake that you can eat hot or cold, so it's perfect for make ahead dinners and next day lunches!

If you want to prep this in advance, just make it in the morning, pop it in a baking dish and cover it in the fridge before cooking it later....and if you have any leftovers, this freezes like a dream!

I have written up the recipe for this below - let me know if this one's going on the list! A x

1 red onion finely sliced

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2 x 400g tins of green or brown lentils, drained

2 tbsp dried mixed herbs

1 medium grated carrot

120g of fresh white breadcrumbs

200ml -220ml Vegetable stock

100g of grated cheddar cheese (plus extra to sprinkle over the top)

Directions

Heat a drizzle of oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onion and fry for 5 minutes on a medium heat until soft.

Stir in the chopped garlic for the final minute.

Heat the oven to 190C fan

Tip the onion and garlic into a mixing bowl with the drained lentils, mixed herbs, grated carrot, breadcrumbs, (200ml) stock and cheese. Season generously with salt and pepper. Work the breadcrumbs and stock into the other ingredients with a wooden spoon. Spend a minute or two on this until all the ingredients have combined and you have a dry sticky consistency.

Tip the mixture into a lined baking dish (23cm across)

Press the filling down firmly with the back of a spoon, ensure it's packed down, level and pushed into all the edges. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the cheese has turned golden brown and starting to crisp.

Leave the bake to cool and firm up for around 15 minutes. Lift it out by the edges of the baking paper and cutting it into slices.