Food Fiend Experience

This recipe is a vegetarian take on a meat favourite and I am delighted to say it is just as satisfying and definitely much healthier and lower in calories. I hope you will find it an interesting change and be able to use it for entertaining friends as well.

Ingredients
150 g dried puy lentils
250 g chestnut
250 g small Portobello mushrooms
500 g white mushrooms
1 red pepper
1 courgette
2 onions
6 clove garlic
I tinned chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 aubergine
150 g grated Parmesan cheese
75 g wheat germ
4 eggs

Method

1. Finely chop garlic and dice onions.
2. Wash puy lentils and cover with boiling water and add vegetable stock cube. Heat until boiling and then cook with lid on a simmering heat for 20 minutes or until cooked. Stir frequently and add extra water if needed and do not allow to boil dry.
3. Heat non-stick pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Cook 1 diced onions for 2 minutes until it starts to soften then add the garlic and cook until it starts to turn brown. Add tin of tomato and dried herbs and season with pepper and salt. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes.
4. Slice aubergine into approx. 5 mm rings. Break 2 eggs into a bowl and beat lightly. In a second bowl mix 75 g of wheat germ and 75 g of grated Parmesan cheese. Dip each slice in the egg and then dip in the wheat germ and Parmesan mix and place on baking sheet covered with silicone sheet. Cook in preheated fan oven at 180 degrees for 7 minutes and then turn and then cook for a further 7 minutes.
5. Slice mushrooms, dice red pepper and courgette. Heat non-stick sauce pan on medium heat and cook onions until soft add garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes, Add red pepper cook for 2 minutes and then add mushrooms and courgette. Add seasoning and continue to cook until vegetables cooked through. Stir in the cooked lentils to this mixture to make the filling.
6. Using a rectangular roasting dish (25 cm x 18 cm approx.) pour the tomato sauce to cover the base of the roasting dish and then layer the cooked aubergine slices on top of the tomato sauce. Pour the cooked vegetable and lentil mixture on top of the aubergine and then cover with another layer of aubergine. Make a mixture of yoghurt, Parmesan and 2 eggs. Mix well season with pepper and pour over the top of the final aubergine layer.
7. Bake in fan oven on 180 for 20- 25 minutes or until starting to caramelise.