Thursday, April 15, 2010

Variation on a Theme: Lentil and Potato Bake



Anyone who follows my recipes will know I am a bit of a bake fanatic. So comforting and yummy and I usually incorporate my favourite béchamel sauce in it somewhere. This recipe got more elaborate the more I got involved, it's sort of a bastardised shepherd's pie. I didn't have any mince so went for brown lentils instead and dreaded the idea of mashing potatoes with a fork so decided on potato slices instead, then I decided to make it moussaka-like with my béchamel.


Like my other bakes I made more than enough for two otherwise it is a bit of hassle for less reward. Freeze the rest.



  • 250 grams of dry lentils – brown or green

  • 3 – 4 large potatoes

  • 2 carrots

  • 1 medium sized onion sliced

  • 2 large tomatoes finely chopped

  • 1 garlic clove

  • 1 glasss of dry white wine

  • Dried oregano

  • Worcestershire sauce

  • Salt and pepper

  • Bechamel sauce

Cook you lentils until soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour


Parboil large potatoes halved, for about 10-15 minutes and then drain and leave to cool.


Fry the onion and carrots then add garlic and the tomatoes


Add your cooked lentils and a glass of dry white wine, reduce the wine


Add a tablespoon of tomato puree and half a mug of vegetable stock


Add some dried oregano and salt and pepper and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, simmer until thick


Make your béchamel, go here for the recipe.


Spread the lentils onto a baking tin, add half the béchamel then the potato slices. Add the rest of the béchamel, some sprigs of time and some salt and pepper


Cover and bake at 200°c for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender all the way through, then remove the foil and crisp up under a hot grill


Serve with a green salad


*If you don't want to bother with béchamel you could use cream instead


* If you pan is wide and shallow there will be one layer each of lentils and potato, but if you have a deeper tin you might need a more lasagna-like layered effect. If this is the case you might need to bake it a bit longer

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