lentil one-pot

Okay so I was going to call this “the Nina Special” but that was uninformative. I also have no idea what to call this. I came up with it because I was looking for something super nutritious to make in bulk as meal prep. So basically I’ve taken all the really good healthy beans and pulses and created a delicious one pot amalgamation which can be easily modified for your own specific tastes. I served mine with quinoa but it goes just as well with rice or bulgur wheat.

This recipe can easily be doubled if you want to go full into meal prep, then portion and freeze it for later use. The one I’ve written hear made 8 portions for me. It should last a week or two once frozen, don’t refreeze once defrosted.

I know this looks like a lot of ingredients but it’s worth it I promise.

What you’ll need:

2 TBS                     olive oil

1                             large onion, chopped

2                              cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cm                      length of ginger, peeled and grated

1 tsp                      ground cumin

1 tsp                      cinnamon

1 tsp                      garlic powder

1 tsp                      cayenne

1 tsp                      chili flakes

1 stick                   celery, chopped

2 cups                   vegetable stock

1 ½ cups               brown/red lentils (I used IMBO)

1 tin                       kidney/white beans

1 tin                       sweet corn

1 cup                     button mushrooms, halved

1 cup                     sweet potato/pumpkin diced and steamed

1 tin                       coconut milk

3 cups                   cooked quinoa/rice

¾ cup                    blanched almonds

How to do it:

1. In a medium/large pot or saucepan, heat up the olive oil and fry the onions, garlic and ginger for 3 minutes.
2. Add the celery and all the spices, stir to coat and fry for another 3 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable stock and lentils. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add the tin of beans (including the brine), the coconut milk, the mushrooms and the drained sweetcorn to the pot and simmer for about 15 -20 minutes until thickened and slightly reduced.
5. Stir through your steamed pumpkin or sweet potato.
6. Portion into Tupperware’s with a portion of quinoa or rice. Top with some blanched almonds. Once completely cool, freeze for further use.
7. When reheating, take the meal out and defrost at room temperature. Then heat in a pot on the stove until warmed through.

If you’re looking for more savoury recipes why not try my:

• Mexican Rice Bake
• Chickpea chili
• Mushroom and chickpea pasta

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. And as always, if you give it a try drop me a message and let me know how it turned out and what improvements you made. Also tag me in your creations on instagram @ninarlasvegas.

Happy cooking!

xx

N