Julia and Lucy’s Easy Tomato and Lentil Pasta

I am teaching my 7 year old daughter (Julia) simple meals to cook, so that she can cook her own meals. While she still requires a little help, and Lucy almost 4 years old always gets a tasks this was an easy recipe and it really did taste moreish.

Ingredients

Yummy

• Tin of peeled whole tomatoes (or you can peel 4 tomatoes, if you do not want the sugar that comes with the tinned ones)
• A Tin of Lentils (or about ½ a cup soaked overnight in 1 cup of water and a teaspoon of vinegar)
• Dried powdered Cumin and dried Basil
• One chopped onion
• About a teaspoon of crushed garlic
• A handful of fresh basil
• Pasta, we used spinach Tagliatelle (made using spinach juice)
• 2 x teaspoons olive oil
• Optional ¼ cup red wine

Method

1. Take medium size saucepan and place on stove, get it warm (should take between 1 and 2 mins)
2. Add oil, add onions, and cover the onions with oil
3. This must cook for about 3 mins
4. While that is busy, blend the tomatoes and lentils, and a teaspoon of cumin, until smooth’ish, not too much (for tins drain the liquid, not completely)
5. That should not take more than 3 mins.
6. The onions should be getting clear, no add the garlic and basil and stir that in, simmer for 1mins add red wine cook off for about 1 min
7. Then add the blended mixture
8. Simmer for about 15-20 mins (until most of liquid gone)
9. In the meantime chop the basil
10. With 5 minutes to go, add boiling water into pot deep enough to cook the pasta (a decent amount) add 1 table spoon salt
11. Then add the pasta into the pot and turn off and cover the sauce
12. The pasta we used need 4 mins to cook, once time is up drain in colander and place back over the pasta pot and sprinkle with olive oil
13. Add chopped basil into the sauce, and stir it in
14. Serve (with some grated Parmesan if required)

enjoy...