ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Vegetarian or Vegan Layered Lentil Bake

Updated on May 2, 2018
GALAXY 59 profile image

Galaxy has been vegetarian for twenty years and a vegan 'dabbler' for six months. She loves exploring all aspects of alternative lifestyles.

Layered Lentil Bake

5 stars from 1 rating of Lentil Bake

Red Lentils.

Red Lentils, tasty and good for you too.
Red Lentils, tasty and good for you too.

Comfort Food at its Best.

Lentils are not used enough in recipes today, in my opinion. On cold winter nights filling, wholesome, comfort food is the order of the day in our house and this recipe for layered lentil bake is just perfect for a night in front of the fire, watching your favourite shows on tv. This lentil bake is a great vegetarian-friendly dish that is substantial enough to satisfy even the most dedicated of meat eaters. Lentils are high in protein, vitamin B and fibre, so they not only taste good but they do you good too. A win-win situation.

Lentils are of particular use for committed vegetarians as they are a very good source of iron, something that can be lacking in a vegetarian diet. This recipe can also be made using chickpeas, black lentils or yellow split peas, they all taste just as good and are good for you too. You can even use a mixture of lentils and peas if you want. If time is short you can make this dish using tinned lentils or beans, they work just as well and cook in a fraction of the time of dried ones.The boiled eggs add protein too, as does the grated cheese if you use it.

For a vegan-friendly version of this layered lentil bake simply leave out the eggs and cheese and substitute extra virgin olive oil for the butter. You can add a tin of your favourite beans to provide the extra protein.

Lentils are Packed Full of Goodness.

Lentils are a great source of fibre, vitamin B, iron and are a good source of protein too.

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 hour
Ready in: 1 hour 15 min
Yields: Serves four people as a main course.

Ingredients

  • 10oz red lentils
  • 2 large white onions, chopped
  • 1 large can tomatoes, chopped
  • 3oz butter, softened
  • 3tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 large free range eggs, hard boiled
  • 5oz brown breadcrumbs
  • 1 1/2 pints vegetable stock
  • 2tsb dried herbs
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 6oz hard cheese, grated

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
  2. Oil a shallow baking dish, a medium sized lasagne dish is perfect for this recipe.
  3. Put the 6 fresh free range eggs on to boil.
  4. In a large based pan put the lentils, onions, mixed herbs, vegetable stock and the can of tomatoes. Season well with the salt and black pepper and give the mixture a good stir. Bring up to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for twenty minutes.
  5. Stir occasionally using a wooden spoon and check the lentils to make sure they are cooked through, they should be soft and yield when you squeeze them between your fingers.
  6. When the eggs are done they should take around ten minutes to boil, remove them from the heat and run cold water over them to cool. If you crack the shells at this stage it will prevent the eggs from turning black around the yolks.
  7. Melt the butter and extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan or shallow saucepan and then stir in the breadcrumbs. Remove the oil and breadcrumb mixture from the heat and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
  8. Remove the shells from the eggs and slice them into rounds. In the lasagne dish start to make up your lentil bake. Put in alternate layers of the lentil mixture and the boiled eggs. Finish with a layer of sliced egg.
  9. Sprinkle the brown breadcrumbs over the top and bake in the oven for thirty minutes, or until the top is crispy and brown. You can add some grated cheese to the top for added protein at this stage. Cheddar and double Gloucester taste really nice and they also melt well in the oven.
  10. Serve at once straight from the dish with some hot fresh bread. This isn’t a good recipe to reheat so use it all up once, it shouldn’t be too hard as it tastes really good.

Recycle Your egg Shells

Whenever you use eggs in a recipe don't throw the shells away. Wash them out then crush them and spread around your garden, they add calcium to the soil and naturally deter pests such as slugs and snails.

Vegan Alternative.

There are quite a few vegan cheeses on the market now and some of them are pretty good. The hard cheese versions work really well in this recipe as they grate well and melt when heated. If you want to make this lentil bake vegan use vegan spread or olive oil, swop the vegetarian cheese for vegan and omit the hard boiled eggs. It tastes just as good and is good for you too.

© 2010 Galaxy Harvey

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)