Casserole with lentils & potatoes for lazybones

It has to be honestly admitted that we are all lazy sometimes. Then there comes that point when we are hungry, but we neither know what we would like to eat nor have the energy to prepare anything – or even start thinking about the washing-up. After all, we have to eat every day… and more than once, but I guess we do not always have to feel motivated to think about meals and prepare them. That is why today I present my suggestion for one of such days.

The laziness of this dish means that here nothing gets fried or boiled, and there is little washing-up afterwards. Sounds good, right? Just put this cleverly prepared casserole into the oven and forget about it for almost an hour to enjoy a delicious dinner and, with a bit of luck, also the lunch next day.

Casserole with lentils & potatoes for lazybones

• about 800g of potatoes
• 3/4 cup of raw red lentils
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

Tomato sauce:

• 400ml tomato passata (or one blended can of chopped tomatoes 400g)
• 200ml of water
• 5 tbsp of olive oil
• 4 large cloves of garlic
• salt to taste (I use 1 tsp of salt)
• 1 full tsp of ground cumin
• 2 full tsp of herbs (rosemary, thyme, or Herbes de Provence)
• a lot of pepper – at least 1/2 teaspoon
• optional: a large pinch of chilli, 1 tsp of smoked paprika

Béchamel layer:

• 1 cup of plant-based milk
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• pinch of salt
• a good pinch of nutmeg
• one flat tbsp of flour (wheat or rice flour)

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Before it gets hot, you will prepare the casserole.

2. Wash the potatoes and cut them into about 0.5 cm thin slices. Grease the bottom of the casserole dish with olive oil, then arrange the first layer of potato slices and cover them with dry red lentils.

3. My suggestion for the whole casserole is: a layer of potatoes, then half of red lentils, another layer of potatoes, the remaining half a cup of lentils, and the last layer of potato slices.

4. Combine all the ingredients for the tomato sauce in a large bowl. Press or grate the garlic.

5. Slowly pour the tomato sauce into the casserole dish, spreading it evenly over the surface. Important: the potatoes and lentil should be under the sauce surface! (if you are using too big dish, casserole might need more sauce).

6. In the bowl where you prepared the tomato sauce, mix the ingredients of the béchamel layer. Pour this mix gently on top of the raw casserole. The whole thing will combine partially, but it will taste good.

7. Bake the casserole for 45 minutes. It is best immediately after baking, but it is also worth waiting for it to cool down a little so that it becomes slightly thicker.

Tips:

• only red lentils will work in this recipe: they cook really fast and will get done as the casserole is baking

• I mentioned it already, but it is … good to remind it once again. The result may be different depending on the size of your casserole dish. It is very important to cover all the lentils and potatoes in the sauce before putting it to the oven. Only then the casserole will be good & nicely moist!

• between the potato layers you can also add handful of fresh spinach, sliced ​​mushrooms, celery, onion or leek. It also tastes great when baked with a few slices of vegan cheese