THE MONTHLY RECIPE - (January 2012)

Spicy Root Casserole

A warming winter casserole which makes use of any leftover root vegetables, why not double the quantity and freeze half for a later date. Serves two.
 
Ingredients
1 dessertspoon of vegetable oil
1 onion – chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon of dried cumin seeds
1 large potato or sweet potato – peeled and cut into chunks
2 carrots – sliced thickly
1 parsnip – peeled and thickly sliced
½ small Swede - peeled and cut into chunks
1 dessertspoon of curry paste or powder
500ml of vegetable stock
50g of dried red lentils
Ground black pepper to season
Fresh coriander to serve – optional
 
Method
 
Heat the oil in a large pan and lightly fry the onion and garlic until soft, add the cumin seeds and fry for 2 minutes
 
Add the chosen root vegetables and cook for 5 minutes, stir in the curry paste and coat all the vegetables, continue cooking for a further 5 minutes
 
Stir in the stock, bring to the boil and add the lentils, reduce the heat and continue to cook for approximately 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the vegetables are soft, taste for seasoning and make sure the lentils are soft
 
Add ground black pepper to taste and sprinkle in the chopped coriander
 
Serve the casserole with crusty bread
 
Other root vegetables such as celeriac , butternut squash or turnips may be used