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

Orecchiette Zambian Style

It's funny the things you find in supermarkets here. You cannot imagine how excited I was to find orecchiette. For those of you unfamiliar, this is a type of pasta native to the Puglia region of southern Italy and means 'little ears'. It's quite a dense and creamy pasta when cooked and is traditionally served with broccoli sprouts or 'cime di rapa'.

Cime di rapa isn't available here, but another, similar green vegetable 'rape' is. As you can see, it's a lot like spring greens or kale. It has an irony, mustardy taste and is a common dish here. You can use in salads as well, though I doubt many Zambians ever eat it raw.

For this quick pasta dish, simply cook the orecchiette in lots of well-salted water while you fry a little garlic in oil (preferably olive). Add to this a finely sliced tomato (I use a cheese grater) which you fry until it starts to soften, then add a good handful of slice rape – it shrinks like spinach so add quite a bit, season with salt. Wilt in the pan, conserve some of the water from the pasta to add when draining and add to the rape, you can spritz with some lemon juice for a bit of a kick, but it isn't essential. Return the pasta to the pan and add the vegetables, add pecorino or parmesan if you have it, but it's good without too. Enjoy!

Aubergines

Vegetables are plentiful and cheap here and I am happy to finally buy aubergines again. I didn't in the UK very often because they were expensive. Aubergines are so versatile and because of the porous flesh, are great to marinate. I marinated these slices in a store bought marinade, which was really a waste of time and should have kept to my own concoctions.

Try:

White miso paste, dashi, rice vinegar and spring onions.

Ketchup, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, honey , sesame oil and five spice powder.

Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and parsley.

I haven't given measurements as I usually just keep adding until I get the taste I want. You can slice the aubergines lengthways and marinate them in larger slices, or cut them small like I did here. Then, either grill, roast or fry.

Vegetarian Food and Art at The Warehouse Cafe, Birmingham

Selfridges in Birmingham dominates the skyline in the north with its UFO/aquatic/futuristic - like design. But if you venture to the area of Digbeth below, you will find an interesting modern art scene, quietly growing. (More at Scrapbook )

Walking away from Selfridges towards the top of Digbeth, you will soon come across a little sign for The Warehouse Cafe. Situated on Allison street, it is a vegetarian restaurant, network centre for Friends of the Earth, and shop. It has won awards, been reviewed, but is it that great?

I went there for lunch and had refried bean tacos with potato wedges and piquant green salad
dotted with green pickled chilli slices. The tacos were crisp with a gooey mixture of well-seasoned beans and cheese, made even nicer by adding the yoghurt and coriander side sauce to it and some of the salad. The potato wedges were tasty, crispy on the outside and beautifully soft in the middle. It was a perfect light lunch and only £6.

My only criticism was that I was expecting a kind of semi-gallery feel with lots of art, but instead there were some very small examples kind of dotted around. The restaurant itself had that typical veggie character with unfussy pine and formic tables, I didn't find the atmosphere that inducive to hanging out. However I did notice they have plans for refurbishment this month. And anyway, the food was really worth it!

The Warehouse Cafe

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