International Lifestyle Magazine Issue 50 | Page 117

You can make a large version or smaller versions, as I have shown here, the point is, make then to the size you need, no need to freeze for a family of four if there are only two of you! You will need:(remember to double or treble up to, this is a term from school days, batch bake!) 200g jar of ready cooked lentils, or prepare your own in advance. 200g jar of good quality sieved tomatoes. 1 large onion. 3 Carrots, finely sliced. 2 Sticks celery, finely chopped. 2 Leeks, finely chopped. 1 Courgette, sliced (if you have children that pull a face at this, then finely chop!) 1 Clove garlic, crushed. 1 Teaspoon of paprika 1 Desert Spoon of Dried Oregano 1 Tablespoon of organic peanut butter. Freshly milled black pepper and salt. A few good slugs of olive oil. To Make This is so easy, once you have prepared all the vegetables you simply heat a large pan with your oil and then add all your chopped vegetables along with the salt and pepper and cook slowly until soft. Now add your lentils, tomato sauce, oregano, paprika, now add water using the jar, or tin, from the tomato sauce and add this to the mixture also. Cook slowly for around 15 to 20 minutes, with the lid off, now add the peanut butter which will help to thicken it. Check for seasoning and adjust as needed and put to one side. Now if you have made more you can wait until it cools and divide it up, but we are making a cottage pie here, so onto part two. To make the potato topping (under no circumstances use ready made mash!) Take four large potatoes and peel and cut into quarters, I work on the principle of one large potato per person or two smaller ones. Boil the potatoes with salt until soft but not falling apart, how long depends on the size of your potatoes but do not cut them too small to save time, the results will not be the same. Drain and mash with butter, or olive oil, add a few rubs of fresh nutmeg, makes all the difference. Now, heat your oven to 200 degrees, add your cottage pie mix to a suitable dish, add the potato on top by using a spoon and places blogs across it, do not tip it in the middle in one lump, I do not even want to explain the results of this action. Once you are happy, pop it into the oven for around 30 minutes until bubbling and golden! Now, this is a perfect example of something you can make and then put into the freezer, when you leave in the morning, take it out of the freeze, when you return, pop it into the oven for 30 minutes while you kick back and unwind and you have a very yummy, healthy meal ready for you which, I am sure you will agree, has to be worth a couple of hours of prep once a week? You can buy all your ingredients from www.steenbergs.co.uk for Worldwide Delivery.

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