Lentil Pasta Bake

Hands down, one of the best dinners I’ve had in a while. Hearty and filling, yet doesn’t leave you feeling ‘heavy’. Packed full of packed protein, fibre, iron, zinc, calcium and so much more goodness, and even more packed full of flavour. And that creamy bechamel sauce on top is something else!

Don’t let the longer ingredients list scare you off, most of those are just different herbs and spices, and it’s such a simple and easy recipe.

A great dish for the whole family to enjoy, or perfect for meal prep for the week too. Simply reheat and serve with a side salad. Can’t beat that!

This recipe makes 4 serves.

Ingredients:

• 1 brown onion, diced

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

• 1 large stalk of celery, diced

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 400g tomato passata

• Splash of balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 can lentils, drained and rinsed

• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

• 200g dry penne of choice, I used Pulse Penne

• 400ml unsweetened plant milk, I used oat

• 1/4 cup (40g) brown rice flour

• 1/4 cup (40g) nutritional yeast

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

• 2-3 tbsp cashew Parmesan

• Black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Sauté onion, garlic, carrot and celery in a pan for 2 minutes. Add thyme, oregano, cinnamon and salt and sauté for another minute to release the flavours.

2. Add your balsamic vinegar, give the mix a good stir and then add the tomato passata, lentils, smoked paprika and 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and cook, with the lid ajar, for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cook your pasta so it’s just al dente. Drain and set aside.

4. Preheat your oven to 200°C. To make the bechamel, bring the milk, brown rice flour, nutritional yeast, salt and nutmeg to a simmer in a pot. Whisk constantly until the sauce thickens into a thick custard consistency.

5. Add your lemon juice and black pepper to the lentil mix, then stir in the pasta.

6. Spoon the pasta mix into an oven proof dish, then top with bechamel and cashew Parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes until nice and golden on top. Serve!

Notes:

• Feel free to bulk up the dish with extra veg if you like, such as diced mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, kale, spinach etc! Simply add at step 1 or 2 (or mix in at step 5 if you’re adding greens).