Such an easy dish to make but hugely flavourful. Lentils are a brilliant staple but there are so many types and they can add a variety of textures. My kids dislike the red lentils which they say taste like eating a carpet so in this recipe I used 1/3 red lentils to 2/3 green lentils.

Lentils come loaded with nutritional benefits like being high in vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre theyre also almost fat free. A single cup contains around 200 to 250 calories so its a weight friendly meal and the protein helps you stay fuller for longer. It also contains 18 grams of protein (which makes this a great breakfast dish if you can face it!)

I sauted onion and garlic in vegetable oil then added chopped carrot, red pepper, fresh thyme, caraway seeds and some chilli. As these sauted I added the paprika so the frying process helped release the flavours.

While these sauted I cooked the two types of lentils in separate pots with a little more liquid than usually recommended to use for stock. I also chopped the potatoes into rough dices and cooked those in lightly salted water being careful not to overcook.

Once the lentils and potatoes were cooked I poured them, cooking water and all into the sauted vegetable mix and simmered gently for a brief moment then let them sit for a couple of hours to give the flavours a chance to blend.

Served with fresh chopped parsley.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)
1 cup cooked red lentils
3 cups cooked green lentils
2 large onions finely diced
3 large carrots
2 medium potatoes
1 large red pepper
2 tsp paprika (mild)
Sprig of fresh thyme
2ml caraway seeds

Several sprigs of fresh parsley roughly chopped for garnish