Herby Tomato & Lentils with Crispy Courgette

Here’s a great dish that's forgiving and you can throw it together really fast!

It contains softly cooked tomatoes, onions & garlic with lentils & fresh basil stirred through, then piled on top of crispy fried courgettes (or marrow or zucchini or whole grain pasta).

It’s full of natural fibre to help you feel fuller longer & it feeds your gut microbes as well.
You most probably know how protein can help us to feel satisfied & full after eating, but it is often forgotten that fibre does the same thing.

Here in the UK, the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) recommends an adult woman has approx 45g of protein per day, but in fact, on average, a UK woman is eating 64g of protein each day. Where as, on average, she is eating just 18g of fibre, which is well under the 30g recommended target (statistics accessed from BNF 2021).

So what foods can offer us more fibre? Fibre can be found in legumes, pulses, beans, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruit & whole grains.

I hope you can see where the focus for this dish came from - I’ve written it to encourage eating more fibre in a delicious way. 

Take a look at the recipe as there are some optional swaps. 

1 large red/purple onion, peeled and chopped
1 very big handful chopped tomatoes or 1 x 400g tin/canned chopped tomatoes
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 long red chilli, deseeded and chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup/200g cooked lentils (if from a can/tin they are pre-cooked)
2 teaspoons live apple cider vinegar
2 handfuls fresh herbs - basil, oregano, parsley etc
Salt and pepper to taste
400g courgette or zucchini or marrow, cut into 2 cm wedges*
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon roughly chopped raw almonds
Optional - Cheese for grating onto the dish or torn fresh mozzarella or soft goats cheese for dotting over the top 

Add half the oil and all the onion to a large frypan on a medium low heat. Pop a lid on and cook until the onions have begun to soften (about 5 minutes).
If cooking pasta to accompany this dish, then begin the cooking process now.
To the pan add in the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and chilli. Stir to combine and warm. If using fresh tomatoes, pop the lid back on and cook until the tomatoes have completely softened.
Once warmed and sauce-like, add the lentils and herbs to warm in the pan. Add vinegar, and salt and pepper to season.
Tip out the herby tomato and lentil dish into a holding bowl to keep warm.
Wipe out the pan and turn the heat up to high; Add the other half of the oil and the courgette/zucchini/marrow pieces; You may have to cook them in two batches, depending on the size of your frypan.
Cook so they crisp on one side a bit before turning over to cook on the other side.
The courgettes/zucchini/marrow will not need much cooking because they are delicious semi-cooked and still slightly crunchy. As you cook them add some pinches of salt and pepper.
Towards the end of the cooking time throw into the pan the pumpkin and almonds to toast up slightly for a few minutes.
Divide the courgettes between two shallow open bowls (like pasta bowls) and sprinkle over the pumpkin and almonds.
Top with the warm tomato and lentil dish, scattering over some fresh cheese if you wish, to melt into the dish.  

* If you are using fresh young marrow you will not need to remove the seeds; Leave the skin on;
Or, if you do not want to use courgette/zucchini then perhaps cook up some buckwheat or whole grain spelt pasta. The amount depends on how much you would like.