I love cooking with lentils as they are so easy to make and are a great source of protein. They work brilliantly for vegetarian recipes and they are also a simple way of introducing protein to babies once you start weaning. With The Boy I only gave him one lentil puree recipe but with Little Lady I have been more adventurous and give her lots of lentils in all shapes and forms. Here are some of the recipes that she enjoys.

Lentil “Bolognaise”:

This is a lovely rich sauce that I serve over pasta, couscous or rice. In place of the courgette you can use any other vegetable and I frequently add in sweetcorn or peas too.

1 clove of garlic

1 medium onion

1 courgette

100g dry red or green lentils (if using green then soak for 30 mins in cold water first)

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

4 tbsp tomato puree / passata

250 ml vegetable stock (I use baby stock cubes or if I can’t find them I use low salt vegetable ones)

Chop the onion, garlic and courgette finely. Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil until they are translucent and aromatic. Add the courgette (and any other veg you want to use) and fry until they too are soft. Add the tinned tomatoes, stock and tomato puree and turn the heat up until the mixture starts to boil then turn heat down and simmer for a few minutes. Then add the dry lentils and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes (for red lentils) or 40-45 minutes (for green lentils) (stirring occasionally) until the mixture has thickened and the lentils are nice and soft. You can serve this as is if your child is happy with lumps but this also purees up beautifully too. Serve with baby pasta, large pieces of pasta, rice or couscous.

Cheesey lentil and sweet potato pie:

This is on of Little Lady’s favourite things to eat and I sometimes have it for my lunch too. As mentioned when I originally posted it I amended another version of the recipe to add in sweet potatoes to make it even more filling and more of a complete meal rather than a side dish.

Lentil Burgers:

These “burgers” are a great vegetarian alternative to meat or poultry based burgers and as they contain lentils and sweet potato they are extremely filling and full of protein. I make mini ones for the children (though of course The Boy won’t touch them) and bigger ones for me and Mr MyMiniMeals.

50g dry uncooked red or green lentils

150ml water

200g sweet potato

1 small apple

1/2 clove of garlic

4 tbsp tomato puree or passata

100g breadcrumbs (I make my own by blitzing up some semi stale bread or pitta in a hand blender)

Bring the water to the boil and add the lentils. Cook them until they are soft (about 10-15 minutes). Cook the sweet potato in the microwave with skin on until soft OR peel and chop into chunks then boil in a pan until soft. Once sweet potato is cooked mash it. Finely grate the apple and mix it with the potato and then add the lentils, tomato puree, crushed garlic and about half of the breadcrumbs and mix well with your hands. Scoop up small balls of the mixture and make into burger shapes and roll into the rest of the breadcrumbs so they are well covered. Place burgers onto a well oiled baking tray or non stick baking sheet and cook in the oven on 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes turning half way. These freeze nicely if you wrap each one individually in clingfilm. I serve them with some vegetables on the side or if I am making for me and Mr MyMiniMeals I serve them in a burger bun.