A cupboard staple that’s easy to cook with, full of protein, and adds tons of goodness to your plate – the humble lentils are amazing in whatever colour you choose.
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This plant based ragu is delicious, nutritious and has a gorgeous texture. The earthy sweet beetroots, wholesome lentils and crunchy, nutty walnuts all mingle perfectly to make a really delicious, vibrant pasta sauce. It is wonderful in layers in a lasagne too. If you are not a fan of beetroot, simply swap it for mushrooms and carrots. We do have a lot of brilliant beetroots coming out of our own fields now though, so this recipe is a great way to enjoy this locally grown, seasonal vegetable. Beetroots are brimming with goodness – iron, potassium, antioxidants and more!
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 6)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
3 sticks of celery, finely diced
250g beetroot, finely diced
150g raw green/brown lentils, rinsed (or use two tins of cooked lentils)
100g walnuts, crushed/crumbled into lentil sized pieces
2 bay leaves
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tbsp capers, finely chopped
1 glass of red wine
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste
500ml vegetable stock
Method
In a wide, heavy bottomed pan, on a medium heat, cook the onion, celery and beetroot with the olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir often and after around 8 minutes, the vegetables should be softened.
Then add the lentils, walnuts and flavourings (the garlic, capers, fennel seeds, bay leaves, oregano, chilli and thyme). Stir and cook for a couple of minutes to wake up the flavours in the seasoning. Then add the glass of wine and let it bubble until it is nearly evaporated.
Pour in the tin of tomatoes, the tomato puree and the vegetable stock and pop the lid on the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft and the sauce is rich. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and keep an eye on the liquid levels, you may need to add a splash of water if it starts to look dry.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt or pepper and serve over freshly cooked pasta. Enjoy!
The ultimate comfort food on repeat in our house all through the winter. Filling, warm, nourishing and oh so delicious on a cold night. We use meaty mushrooms and red wine for deep, dark flavours. Instead of plain potato mash, we mix it with swede (with loads of butter and black pepper) and drizzle with rapeseed oil before it goes in the oven for a gorgeous golden, crispy mash topping. Give it a try and see why it’s a firm, family favourite.
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 4 or 6 with sides)
2 white onions, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
3 sticks of celery, trimmed and diced
5 carrots, trimmed and diced
250g chestnut mushrooms, roughly diced
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1 vegetable stock cube (or a tbsp of bouillion)
2 tins of cooked green lentils, drained
1 small glass of red wine
Cornstarch slurry (1 heaped tbsp cornstarch stirred into 1 glass of cold water)
1/2 a swede & around 600g of potatoes, peeled, chopped and boiled in salted water until very soft
50g of vegan butter (or more to taste) with more salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper for the mash
a drizzle of cold pressed rapeseed oil
Method
Pre-heat your oven to 200C and get your potatoes and swede on to boil in salted water.
Meanwhile, in a wide, oven and hob safe pan, sauté the chopped onion, garlic, carrot, celery and mushrooms with a tbsp of rapeseed oil, salt pepper and the dried thyme.
Once the vegetables have softened, add the bay leaves, red wine, drained lentils and crumble in the stock cube. Stir and cook out the alcohol for a couple of minutes. Then add the cornstarch slurry and stir over a medium heat until thickened.
Taste the lentil base and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt or pepper. Drain and mash the potatoes and swede with butter, salt and plenty of pepper. Then top the lentil base with the mash, rough it up with a fork and drizzle over some oil.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling hot and golden and crispy on top. Enjoy with some steamed greens or a lovely crisp kale and apple salad.
It’s definitely soup weather now isn’t it? A few humble ingredients come together to make this stunning soup. If you are turning on your oven, it’s not a bad idea to chop up and roast as many of your vegetables as you can in different trays to use in dishes throughout the week and save on your energy bill. Pre-roasted veg can be blended into soups like this one, simmered into stews or packed into wraps or salads for lunch.
One of our favourite budget ingredients are lentils. They are always affordable and bring so many nutrients to your meals. Red lentils are especially useful for adding great texture to soups, if you’ve not tried this handy store-cupboard ingredient yet, we sell it in compostable bags. We always have a few tins of creamy coconut milk in the press too, these are so useful for soups and curries. Get your organic tinned essentials delivered to your door along with your seasonal vegetables from us. We deliver nationwide for just €4.50!
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 6-8)
1/2 a large, kuri squash pumpkin (cubed and roasted until soft with a little olive oil and salt)
250g split red lentils, rinsed well
500ml vegetable stock
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 whole red chillies (or to taste)
1 heaped tsp of turmeric
1 heaped tsp of ginger
1 tin of coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
a small bunch of fresh coriander
Method
Over a medium-low heat, simmer the lentils, garlic, chilli, turmeric and ginger with the vegetable stock and some black pepper for 10-15 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Keep an eye on it giving the pot the occasional stir and adding more water if needed.
Then turn the heat up and add the tin of coconut milk and the roasted pumpkin. Heat through then blend with the fresh coriander.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed and thin out to your desired texture with a splash of water or more vegetable stock. Enjoy!
A warm salad for those chilly last summer days. Any leftovers can be packed up for lunch the next day too. We love adding beans or lentils to as many meals as we can. Pulses are affordable, nutrient-rich powerhouses and the crops are very planet friendly too. A win, win, win! Do you include lots of pulses in your diet?
Get a rainbow of vegetables delivered plastic free to your door here!
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 2 as a big lunch or 4 as sides)
For the roasted roots:
3 beetroot, scrubbed & chopped into bites
2 carrots, scrubbed and chopped into bites
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fennel seeds (or use caraway, cumin or any herb/spice you prefer)
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey/maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste
For the sautéd chard:
7 or 8 large rainbow chard leaves
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
1 tin green lentils, warmed and drained
1 heaped tbsp wholegrain mustard
Method
Turn your oven on to 200C and find a deep baking dish.
Tumble your chopped carrots and beetroot into the baking dish. Add the olive oil, vinegar, fennel seeds, honey, salt and pepper and mix well. Place the dish in the oven to roast for 20 minutes or so until just tender.
While the roots are roasting, prepare the chard. Use a knife to separate the stalks from the greens. Cut the colourful stalks into bite sized pieces and place in a frying pan with the chopped garlic, oil, slat and pepper. Sauté for a few minutes until tender. The roughly chop the greens and add to the pan with a small splash of water. Stir for a few minutes to steam-fry and wilt the greens.
When the roasted roots are cooked to your liking, remove the dish from the oven and stir in the mustard, lentils and chard. Serve warm or cold.
Lentil Bolognese is a store-cupboard staple. Lentils are full of nutrients, most notably fibre, protein, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc and potassium. These humble and inexpensive seeds are well worth including in your diet regularly, and they make a great mince meat substitute.
Liz x
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 white onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, diced
2 bay leaves
3 carrots, diced
1 tbsp chopped dried mushrooms
200g dried lentils (a mix of green/red/brown is nice for different textures)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 glass red wine
700ml+ water
salt and black pepper to taste
pasta and nutritional yeast to serve
Method
Sauté the onion, garlic and bay in the olive oil over a medium high heat until it’s soft and golden.
Add the carrots, mushrooms, lentils, vinegar and tomatoes. Stir then cover with the water and season well.
Simmer until the sauce is rich and thick and the lentils are cooked through. Test them after 15 minutes and add more water if necessary.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper as you like. Then serve.
Stir some of the sauce through the drained spaghetti and loosen it with a little reserved pasta water. Then serve in bowls with extra sauce on top. Finish with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast flakes for a salty, cheesy topping.
Sometimes in November a bowl of sunshine is just what is needed! Put our stunning root veg to use with this simple soup (or use up your Halloween pumpkins instead). We stock organic red lentils (in a compostable bag🙌) which gives this soup the most beautiful texture and provides protein, iron, potassium, folate, vitamin B1 and prebiotic fibre. Turmeric and black pepper are a delicious anti-inflammatory addition, and we have tins of organic coconut milk for a rich, creamy finish to the soup.
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 6)
2 tbsp oil
1 diced onion
4 chopped garlic cloves
750g diced veg (I used carrot and swede this time but any root veg or pumpkins work well here)
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
300g rinsed red lentils
1500ml water (approx)
1 tin coconut milk
Method
In a large pot, sauté the onion with the oil until it softens and starts to turn golden brown.
Add the garlic and diced vegetables, season well with salt, pepper and turmeric.
Tip in the rinsed red lentils and cover generously with water. Stir then put the lid on the pot. Bring to a boil then immediately turn the heat down and simmer until the lentils and vegetables are soft (around 15-20 minutes). You should take the lid off and stir every 5 minutes to ensure there is no sticking or burning on the bottom of the pot. You may wish to add more water if the soup is looking a bit thick.
Scrape in the coconut milk then blend until smooth with a hand held stick blender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Then enjoy!
Ragu is a rich, slow cooked pasta sauce, traditionally made with meat and served with a wide pasta like pappadelle or tagliatelle. Of course you can also eat it however you like – with polenta or in layers in a lasagne with a béchamel? I love it with rigatoni, those large, ridged tubes of pasta pick up the sauce beautifully. My version uses earthy beetroots, satisfying green lentils and crumbled, rich, fatty walnuts. Delicious! Did you know we sell organic lentils and walnuts in our grocery section? If you have a slow cooker, this is a good one to get going in the morning and enjoy for supper. Simply boil some pasta and you’ve got a hearty, healthy meal ready to go. The ragu also freezes well so I always make a big batch and freeze some for a rainy day. And we are not short of those right now are we?
If you make this recipe please share it with us on our friendly facebook group, and please feel free to share this blog post with your friends and family of course! The illustration above is from my 2021 recipe calendar. While stocks last I’m including a free one with every book order this month. You can add my cookbook to your shopping here. Thank you.
I usually start a ragu with a soffritto. Soffritto is the word for gently cooking diced vegetables (usually onion, celery and carrot) in a little oil until soft to provide a base flavour to build a sauce, soup or stew from. In this case start with 1 diced onion, 1 large diced beetroot (or 2 small – just give it a scrub and don’t bother peeling, also finely chop & add the purple stalks from any leaves should you be lucky enough to have some – save the green leaves to wilt as a side), 3 diced cloves of garlic and a generous handful or two of crumbled walnuts. If you have celery to hand then definitely add a few diced stalks for extra depth of flavour!
Sauté the diced vegetables and nuts in the tbsp of olive oil in a large pot until soft. Then add a mug of green lentils, 2 bay leaves, 3 sprigs of thyme, a glass of red wine & a tin of chopped tomatoes. If you prefer more Italian herbs with this sauce then sub the thyme with some fennel seeds and a pinch of dried oregano. Add a tin of water or veg stock to swirl out the last of the tomatoey juices from the tin. Season with salt and black pepper.
Simmer until the lentils are cooked through then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. This will take a minimum of 30-40 minutes, but if you have time to simmer for longer, the flavours will be richer. This is one of those sauces that is even better the next day. Keep an eye on the liquid levels as the lentils will absorb a lot. Add more water/stock as needed and give the pot a stir every now and then to prevent sticking.
Serve tossed through pasta or in a warm bowl with soft polenta and wilted greens.
Get hold of some of our beautiful, organic beetroots when they are in season, sign up for a veg box subscription!
