Lentil, aubergine and mozarella bake
I was recently asked to share a recipe, as part of a chain recipe sharing email. It had to be a simple recipe that was easy to remember and a favourite ‘go to’ recipe. The recipe I shared is this one for a lentil and aubergine bake. Back in the late 80’s I ‘became’ a vegetarian and followed this way of eating for around 10 years. It was very difficult in those days to find recipes and ingredients for vegetarians and was certainly not mainstream, and even more difficult if you were eating out. This is one recipe that I have always loved, it has the same comfort of a lasagne (without the pasta and meat). Around 15 years or so again I also ‘became’ gluten an dairy free due to the health effects both of these had on me and studying nutritional therapy found this therapeutic to my health. Over the years I have ‘become’, or followed a raw food diet, vegan diet, paleo diet, pescatarian diet and enjoyed and embraced the way of cooking for all of these different food challenges. This is the foodie in me, that loves to create with food and also to see the effect that this has on my body. Today I have not ‘become’ anything and no longer label myself in this way, I am very Buddhist in my approach to food, if I am visiting or travelling I will eat what I am offered or can get (within reason). At home I have found that, as I have a yoga practice, a high plant based diet mainly following the principles of Ayurveda suits me well. It is simple easy fare that my body digests well. Whilst this recipe does not necessarily follow the Ayurvedic principles it works well with my body, is cheap and easy to make and most things you can store in your cupboard for a rainy day. I am going to give some adaptations for the recipe, as I like to encourage you to experiment a little more, adjust recipes to suit your taste and what you have available to you. Please let me know how you get on and share some pics.
1-2 aubergines (can use 50/50 with courgettes) sliced
small onion or shallot sliced
1-2 cloves garlic
tub/bottle of passata (can use tinned tomatoes and may need to top up with a little of this if passata is not enough)
1 tin green or brown lentils (or pre cook some dried ones, you can do this ahead and keep in fridge for a few days)
1-2 balls of mozzarella (can used diced feta or grated cheese)
mixed herbs (I like basil, oregano and thyme in the Mediterranean theme)
Optional
1 teaspoon miso (red or brown)
1 cup mixture of ground seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame 50/50 with ground almonds). I like to use this to get healthy seeds into my diet and really good for hormone balance.
Put a large glug of olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the aubergines on both sides until nice and browned, add more oil as it soaks in.
Meanwhile gently sauté the onions and garlic for 10 minutes then add in the passata lentils and herbs(also miso if using), cook down a little whilst the aubergines are browning. I haven’t mentioned seasoning, but salt and pepper should be added at this stage, to taste. If you feel the mixture needs more tomatoes add some from a tin.
In a lasagne shaped dish layer the aubergines, the lentil mixture and repeat ending with the lentil mix (sprinkle over the cup of ground seeds/almonds).
Add the sliced mozzarella to the top with another sprinkling of herbs on the top.
Cook around 160-180 for 20-30 minutes until golden and bubbling.
This amount makes enough for 2-3 so adjust for how many you want, but you really can’t go wrong with this and each time you make it you will learn how you like it. You can also use peppers if you like or other veg - main thing enjoy yourself.