Recipe - Vegetarian Cassoulet

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 long red chilli, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 jar piquillo peppers, drained and roughly chopped
• 100g each of white beans, chickpeas, borlotti beans, soaked overnight in water
• 700L jar tomato passata
• 1L vegetable stock
• 1 medium eggplant or 2 Lebanese eggplant
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• Salt
• 100g of red split lentils
• 200g edamame beans, podded
• 80g panko crumbs
• 80g smoked cheddar, grated
• 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked

Method

1. Heat oil and butter in medium saucepan over a medium high heat and cook onion, chilli and garlic together until soft and translucent. Stir through chopped piquillo peppers.
2. Add soaked and drained legumes and stir through the mixture for 2 minutes.
3. Add passata and stock, stirring to combine.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes.
5. Whilst legumes are cooking cook the eggplant over an open flame until charred outside and the flesh is softened.
6. Whilst hot, scoop the eggplant out of the skin onto a chopping board, adding smoked paprika and a pinch of salt, chopping together to form a rough paste.
7. After 35 minutes cooking, add the eggplant, lentils and edamame beans and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the legumes are cooked but still holding their shape.
8. Heat oven on grill setting.
9. Mix panko crumbs, smoked cheddar and thyme leaves together in a small bowl.
10. Scoop legume mixture into 4 individual ovenproof dishes and top with panko mixture, pressing edges of the crust down with the back of a spoon to form a crust.
11. Grill for 5 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve hot.

Source