My Lentil and Mushroom Bowl with Star Potatoes makes a great festive recipe!
This recipe is made in collaboration with the Vegetarian Society.
Get this guys, not only am I making a meat-free Christmas recipe – this one is vegan too!
I think this might be the first vegan recipe I’ve made for the blog, and I’m so happy with how it turned out!
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As you may know, we’re trying to incorporate at least one meat-free day a week into our diet, but generally the meat option is replaced with eggs, cheese or a creamy sauce. This time (inspired by a day spent at the vegetarian society a couple of months ago) we went with a completely vegan main meal.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not keen on vegetarian/vegan alternatives that are trying to taste like meat. I might feel differently if I were to go completely vegetarian and I had no other way to get a particular taste, but as someone who does eat meat, I’d rather use the cooking and eating opportunity to experiment with fruits, vegetables, lentils, spices etc. that I might not try otherwise.
When the vegetarian society asked me to come up with a couple of Vegetarian Christmas ideas (check out these parsnip and carrot rostis – filled with mushrooms in a creamy Wensleydale sauce), I decided to experiment with green lentils. They’re not something I cook very often, but wow – they tasted delicious!
Unfortunately green lentils aren’t the most photogenic of ingredients, so I thought some star-shaped crispy potatoes would be the perfect finishing touch. Festive, filling and tasty.
I’ve also included a recipe for some vegan red onion and balsamic gravy. If this meal was something you wanted to serve up on Christmas day (or as a dish to go with lots of other side dishes) then you’ve gotta have the gravy!!
Do you cook with green lentils? What do you make?
Are you trying to cut down on meat or become vegetarian or vegan? I’d love to hear more from you!
Check out more Christmas recipe ideas from the Vegetarian Society here.
Also, my friend Camilla from Fab Food 4 All has recreated the Vegetarian Society’s nut roast (packed with sun dried tomatoes and apricots!). Take a look here.
The Festive Lentil Mushroom Bowl With Star Potatoes Recipe:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Pinch of white pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 200 g green lentils
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 600 ml vegan stock
- 1 tbsp vegan balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp soya double cream
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 100 g baby spinach leaves
- 2 large floury potatoes
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp vegan margarine
- 2 red onions peeled and finely sliced
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 300 ml vegan stock
- 1 tsp vegan balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley and rosemary
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Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
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Start with the potato stars. Cut the regular and sweet potatoes into thick (1cm) slices. Use a small and a medium metal star cutter (approx.3cm and 5cm across) to cut small stars from the slices. Place the sliced stars onto a baking tray. Drizzle on the oil, then sprinkle on the paprika, salt and pepper. Toss together, so the potatoes are evenly covered. Place in the oven to cook for 20-25 minutes, turning once, until the potatoes are golden.
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Whilst the stars are cooking, make the lentil and mushroom bowl. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onions. Cook on a medium heat, stirring regularly until the onions start to soften (about 5 minutes). Add in the garlic, salt, black pepper, white pepper and cumin, stir together and heat for 1 minute.
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Add in the lentils and mushrooms. Stir again, then pour in the stock, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and tomato puree. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes, stir through the cream. If you’d like the sauce to be thicker, mix the cornflour with 3 tbsp cold water, and stir through the mixture. Stir in the spinach, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach wilts.
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Meanwhile, make the red onion gravy. Heat the olive oil and margarine until the margarine melts. Add the red onions and brown sugar. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, until the onions soften and start to caramelise. Add the salt, pepper and garlic. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then stir through the flour using a whisk.
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With the heat on medium-high, slowly pour in the stock, a splash at a time. Stir with the whisk each time to remove any lumps. Continue until all the stock is used and the gravy has thickened. Add half the balsamic vinegar. Taste, season with more salt and pepper and the remaining balsamic vinegar if needed. Keep warm until ready to serve.
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Once the lentils and mushrooms are ready, spoon into four bowls. Top with the potato stars and a sprinkling of fresh herbs. Serve with the onion gravy.
Recipe Video
Nutritional Information is per serving.
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Stewart says
I’ve been looking for a wow vegetarian dish to cook for some friends at the weekend and this looks perfect.
Kimberly Baxter says
Sounds fabulous! My queue of recipes to make keeps getting longer.
Maeve says
Wow! These look amazing! I’ll definitely be trying this out in my Buddha bowl with the sweet potatoes I have in my pantry???? thanks for the recipe!