I was surprised to find that Julian really liked this ‘I really don’t want to go shopping tonight so what do I have in the cupboard’ sauce – in fact he ate it as a soup/stew.
Put around 100g of red lentils in a pan of boiling water (unsalted) & boil for around 15 mins until tender & add salt and drain to give a thick soupy consistency. In the interim chop up around 200g of a washed pumpkin (e.g. 1/4 of a butternut) and cook in the microwave until tender but not falling apart. I leave the skin on because it becomes soft anyway and takes ages to peel. Fry 1 chopped onion with 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic. Add the lentils, 1.5 tins of tomatoes or 1 x 700mL bottle of passata, some sprigs of thyme & oregano and bring to the boil. Then add around 200g of well washed roughly chopped spinach, put the lid on the pan & simmer for about 2 minutes until the spinach is soft.
I would eat this with a more substantial pasta (e.g. bows or spirals) to carry the sauce and if I had had any I would have stirred ricotta or creme fraiche through the pasta before putting the sauce on top. But I didn’t so just grated parmesan on top.
To drink: a robust fruity but unoaked red.
Vegan friendly.