Cheddar, Lentil & Bean Bake Recipe

Ingredients

2 onions
2 carrots
400g chestnut mushrooms
400g tin of red kidney beans
400g tin of cannellini beans
1 tbsp Italian herb blend
150g dried red lentils
690g passata
200g mature cheddar cheese
25g mixed seeds

Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 25 mins

Buy the ingredients to start making your own

Add Ingredients To Basket

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Peel and finely chop the onions. Trim and roughly chop the carrots (no need to peel unless you prefer to). Rinse the mushrooms and tear them into small pieces.

2. Put a large pan or shallow casserole dish on a medium heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Add the onions, carrots and mushrooms and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pop a lid on the pan. Fry, stirring often, for 10 mins till the veg are tender and slightly browned. If they start to colour too quickly, turn the heat down and add a splash of water.

3. While the veg fry, drain the red kidney and cannellini beans. Rinse under cold water.

4. Stir the Italian herb blend into the veg. Tip in the red kidney beans, cannellini beans and the red lentils. Pour in the passata and stir to mix. Add around 150ml cold water to the passata bottle, pop the lid back on and give it a good shake, then pour this water into the pan. Stir again.

5. Pop a lid on the pan, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down a little. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Stir every few minutes to stop the sauce sticking. It should thicken, and the beans and lentils will become tender.

6. While the beans and lentils simmer, coarsely grate the cheddar cheese.

7. When the beans and lentils are tender, taste the sauce and add a pinch of salt and pepper or sugar, if needed. If you’ve cooked the beans in an ovenproof casserole dish, you can sprinkle over the mixed seeds and cheddar. Otherwise, ladle the bean and lentil sauce into a medium-sized, ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the seeds and cheddar. Slide the dish into the oven and bake for 15-20 mins till golden and bubbling.

8. When the bake is ready, scoop it into warm bowls and serve straight away.

9. Get Ahead
You can assemble this bake the night before you want to cook it. Make the bake, topping it with the cheddar and mixed seeds, then store in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready to cook, take the dish out of the fridge and loosely cover the top with foil. The bake will take around 40 mins to bake from the fridge, so covering the top stops it burning. Remove the foil for the final 15 mins cooking.

10. Love Your Leftovers
The cooked lentil and bean bake will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Divide it into individual tubs, cool then seal and chill or freeze. Defrost completely before reheating in the microwave, or warm in the oven in a dish loosely covered with foil till piping hot all the way through.