This is based on a very old Cranks recipe, turned into more of a pastry less quiche than a lentil bake. It can be eaten warm or cold.

INGREDIENTS (Serves: 12)

• 175 grams red lentils (washed and drained)
• 350 millilitres water, add more as required
• 225 grams cheese (grated – something with a kick to it such as mature cheddar or Gouda)
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 eggs beaten
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

METHOD

Heat the oven to 190C 

Boil the lentils in the water with the lid on until the lentils are soft  (around 15 minutes) adding more water if the pan runs dry. Meanwhile fry the onions until soft.

Take the pan of the heat and stir the onion into the lentils. Add the cheese and mix well. Allow to cool slightly and add the eggs

Put the mixture in a rectangular cake/bread mould or a springmould. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Variations:

• Add vegetable stock cube OR 1 tsp marmite OR 1 tbsp white miso to the water and lentils
• Add asparagus, tomatoes etc to the basic mixture

Or if you want something significantly different, fry chilli and garlic with the onions before adding to the lentils. Leave out the cheese altogether. Press onion rings into the top of the lentil mix in the tin and bake. Serve this with a curry in place of a dhal side dish.

And then there is an alternative lentil dish that sounded wonderful:

MISIR WOT (LENTIL STEW)

Looking for a recipe for a red lentil bake, something from my very first days as a vegetarian and came across a Moroccan version with spiced butter.

• NITER KIBBEH (SPICED BUTTER)
• 250g of unsalted butter
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 knob of ginger, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 black cardamom pods, crushed
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• MISSIR WOT
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tbsp of tomato purée
• 5 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp of berbere
• 250g of red lentils
• 500ml of vegetable stock

Method

1Begin by making the niter kibbeh. Place the butter in a saucepan along with the rest of the ingredients and simmer over a very low heat for about 20 minutes. The butter solids should be starting to caramelise into a beurre noisette but be careful not to cook too long, or it will burn

2 Line a sieve with a piece of muslin or coffee filter and strain the butter into a bowl

3 To make the stew, add 4 tbsp of the niter kibbeh to a medium pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook over a medium-low heat until softened

4 Add the berbere and tomato purée and cook out for a further minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook down for 8 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down a little. Keep stirring to avoid them sticking to the bottom of the pan

5 Rinse the lentils, then add them to the stew along with 500ml stock. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally

6 Serve the misir wot with extra niter kibbeh drizzled over the top