Vegetarian Lentil Mince

VEGETARIAN MINCE WITH LENTILS AND MUSHROOMS

4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 150g (¾ cup) brown or beluga lentils 
• 3 medium courgettes
• 1 large onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 250g mushrooms
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• ¼ cup white wine (optional – could be 2 tbsp vino cotto or balsamic vinegar instead)
• 1 tin (400g) chopped or pureed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
• 1 teaspoon oreganum
• 1 tsp sugar (optional – could be excluded if you use a sweeter vinegar instead of wine, or try an alternative sweetener like xylitol)
• ½ tsp salt, then to taste

Method:

1. Boil the lentils in plenty of water until they are tender (approximately 20min), drain and set aside.
2. Chop the courgettes and mushrooms into tiny pieces, as for duxelles. The fine, rough hand chopping creates a nice texture and works in a kitchen without a lot of appliances, but you can use a food processor for this, or just a grater if you need a simple short cut. 
3. Chop the onion and fry with the oil and the mushroom mince in a hot pan until lightly browned and any fluid has evaporated. Then add the courgette and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the clove of garlic and the white wine, stir and cook for 1 minute. 
5. Add the tomatoes and cooked lentils, as well as the herbs, salt and sugar and cook for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly. Add more water during this time if the pan gets dry.

For moussaka, add 1 heaped tsp. ground cumin to this recipe. Then roast or grill slices of aubergine, and potato or sweet potato brushed with olive oil and layer them between this lentil mixture in a baking dish. Top with olive oil béchamel and grated cheese and bake until golden. 

*includes oil for cooking, but not serving suggestions.