Preparation Time: 10 minutes       Servings:  2
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

This lentil base sauce is ridiculously easy, packed with protein and can be used to create an array of delicious, filling dishes from Shepherd’s Pie to Lasagne!

Ingredients

1 cup dried whole lentils
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup water or vegetable stock

Salt & pepper to taste
Method

• Lightly fry the onions in a small pan over a medium heat with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons of sugar until they have started to become caramelized.
• Add the carrot and garlic and fry until fragrant.
• Add the tomatoes and the lentils, stir well and fry for a couple of minutes.
• Add the water or stock, turn the heat up and allow the mixture to boil.
• Once the mixture is boiling, cover and turn the heat down.
• Allow to simmer for 30 – 40 minutes until the lentils are soft, add more water as necessary.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

We served this with pasta topped with garlic breadcrumbs and we enjoyed the leftovers on toast the following morning. Great as a taco filling, nacho topping or as a pasta bake. We used the whole lentils as oppose to split lentils as they are packed with 25.8g of protein per 100g!