SERVES

2, generously

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil, for cooking

2 bay leaves

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 sticks celery, diced

1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

200g cherry tomatoes, quartered

250g puy lentils

A few sprigs fresh thyme

4 large flat mushrooms, thickly sliced

250g chestnut mushrooms, halved

200g spinach

4 tsp Dijon mustard or tahini

4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

METHOD

Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a large pan and add the bay leaves, two of the crushed garlic cloves, the carrots and celery, with some salt and pepper. Gently heat them for five to 10 minutes, so that the vegetables soften. Add the apple cider vinegar and tomatoes and stir until they’re soft.

Stir in the puy lentils until they’re coated in the oil and lovely sweet vegetable juices. Next add 750ml water and let everything cook for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are softened. Keep an eye on them and top up with water if necessary.

Meanwhile, heat a little oil in another large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the other clove of garlic and some salt. Stir very quickly for a few seconds, then throw in the thyme sprigs and all your mushrooms. Keep stirring the mushrooms until they release their juices, then let the pan simmer on a low heat until most of the juice has evaporated. At that point remove them from the heat and grind over a good amount of black pepper.

Once the lentils have cooked through, take them off the heat, stir through the spinach so it wilts, then divide the mixture into bowls and add the mushrooms on top with a dollop of Dijon mustard or tahini. You can mix this through the lentils or keep it separate for a lovely zing every now and again.

Finally, sprinkle each bowl with a tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley and serve immediately.