Lentil and mushroom ragu with root veg mash

This is going to be my last recipe of 2024, so I'm ending with what is fast becoming one of my favourite winter Sunday dinners. With two more Sundays left in the year, there is plenty of time to give it a whirl before we ring in the new year. But if you don't get to it, it's a great one to earmark for January—whether you're doing a full-blown veganuary or just aiming to eat more veggies in 2025.

Inspired by an Ottolenghi recipe that my mum makes, but with significantly fewer ingredients! Much as I love Ottolenghi,and love to read his books like novels, his recipes with 30 ingredients just aren’t going to work midweek. So this is a rework to make it work for any chilly Wednesday when you need a delicious but nutritious warming plate of stew and mash.

In my humble opinion, tinned lentils are such an underused kitchen staple. In clinic recently, a mother was shocked when I suggested tinned lentils – she never used them because she thought they were processed and ‘bad’. She was so excited when I told her they are just as good as dried lentils, precooked pouches ( which are fantastic for easy lunches!) or jarred lentils. You can drain them and add them to stews, soups, bolognese, salads, or traybakes. They can be added to meat dishes to bulk them out, or at the start of the show as they are here.

The cumin in the root veg mash might seem rouge, but go with it, it's banging.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Rapeseed/olive oil

2 400g packets of mushrooms (it will look like a lot!)

200ml red wine

3 bay leaves (fresh or dried)

2 teaspoons dried herbs – any herb mix or oregano or thyme

2 tins of brown lentils

500ml veg stock (or chicken)

Mash

500g sweet potato (skin on weight)

500g parsnip (skin on weight )

1 knob of butter

1 tsp cumin seeds/ground cumin Salt and pepper

Method

1. Prepare all your vegetables – slice the mushrooms, chop the sweet potato and parsnips into 1-inch cubes. I leave the skin on but feel free to peel if you like, you will get less mash so maybe add an extra sweet potato.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large deep dish on medium heat that has a lid. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 12 minutes. Once the mushrooms have shrunk down and looks cooked, add the wine, bay leaves and herbs and mix well. Increase the heat slightly and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the tinned lentils and 350ml of the stock.

3. Cook on a low heat for approx. 35-40 minutes with the lid on. Every 10 minutes give it a mix and add more of the stock if it's starting to dry out. I usually use the full 500ml by the end of the 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, go easy on the salt as the stock is likely salty.

4. While that’s cooking, pop the sweet potato and parsnips into a deep saucepan with a lid. Half-fill the pan with boiling water and simmer with the lid on for approx. 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain, toss back in the pan and add the knob of bitter and cumin. Roughly mix/smash everything together in the pan. This is very much a rough mash, not a fine puree!
5. Serve with the lentils and mushroom ragu on a bed or mash, grated parmesan is optional but I wouldn’t say no!

Bone apple teeth!