I’m on a bit of a roll lately with my British stews and casseroles.  The weather here has taken such an autumnal turn (it was a measly 24 degrees today) that I’ve even got a cold and worn a cardigan, so I need my hearty vegetables and lentils to keep me going.  I like to make big batches and freeze the individual portions, so I’ve always got a good stock of food in in case of laziness or indeed typhoons.  This one is a slightly adapted Simon Rimmer recipe which has a lot of good flavours in it from the sage and mustard, and plenty of nutritional value from the lentils and veg.

Cauliflower, Potato & Lentil Stew (by Simon Rimmer)

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

25g plain flour

1 tsp turmeric

200g red lentils

200ml red wine

600ml vegetable stock

500g potatoes, peeled and cubed

250g cauliflower florets

1 tbsp chopped sage

1.5 tbsp wholegrain mustard

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Method:

1.  Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft.  Stir in the flour and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes.

2.  Add the lentils and cook for another 2 minutes.  Pour in the wine and enough stock to cover the vegetables (you can add more later if you need it), and bring to the boil for 5 minutes.

3.  Tip in the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, then add the cauliflower and cook for 10 more minutes (it might take longer than this, depending on the size of your veg).  Add more stock as needed – it depends on how big you chop the vegetables, but as I keep mine quite chunky, I need all the stock to get the vegetables to cook through.

4.  Once the vegetables and lentils are tender, stir in the lemon juice, sage, mustard and seasoning.  Serve at once.