Red Lentil and Cheese Loaf

Never been able to find a recipe that I really liked, so came up with this one myself. Hope you enjoy it. As long as you keep the basic lentil base it is easy to adapt to your own taste (I've tried one with a tsp of harissa and a little finely chopped chilli which was good, and also with chopped black kalamata olives).


Lentil and Cheese Loaf


Ingredients

• 200 grams red lentils (washed and drained)
  
  
• 400 ml water
  
  
• 1 knorr vegetable stockpot (or stock cube)
  
  
• 110 grams cheese (grated - something with a kick to it such as mature cheddar)
  
  
• 3 spring onions (sliced thinly)
  
  
• 1 small onion (finely diced)
  
  
• 1 red pepper (finely diced)
  
  
• 1 clove of garlic (finely diced)
  
  
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
  
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190/gas mark 5
   
   
2. Simmer the lentils and stock cube in the water for 15 minutes, lid on, until you have a thick paste (check after 10 minutes as it may stick, stir well and add a little more water if too dry)
   
   
3. Saute onion, spring onions, red pepper and garlic in some olive oil until soft.
   
   
4. Add vegetable mixture to lentils and mix well.
   
   
5. Stir in grated cheese and mix well
   
   
6. Stir in beaten egg and blend mixture and season to taste
   
   
7. Put this mixture in an oiled and greaseproof paper lined loaf pan and press down very gently
   
   
8. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45-50 minutes until golden on top.
   
   
9. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan before slicing.

Economical and versatile and very tasty (well, i think so)

GG

 

What an excellent recipe! I'm not a veggie and I always look for ways o making meat go further, this recipe looked ideal for that. I used half the lentils / water and added some minced beef to make it up. A sprinkling of hot paprika and some herbs were also added. I only had an orange pepper so used that instead of the red one. Supremely delicious and even better when served cold for a lunch time snack. I was so pleased with it that I took a pic when I had it for lunch!

 

This looks like an excellent recipe, I am certainly going to have to give this a shot sometime this week. I am certainly not someone who cannot eat meat, but I would certainly welcome any opportunity that I can take to ensure that I eat a bit less – small steps forward and all that.