Brown lentils and rice cooked together and buried under a mountain of slowly browned onions. Vegan, costs almost nothing, and the onions do all the work.
Prep
15 mins
Cook
50 mins
Servings
4
Per serving
£0.60
Difficulty
easy
There are only four real ingredients here, so the onions have to be taken much further than you would normally dare, right to the edge of burnt. That is where the sweetness and the near-meaty depth come from. Cook them low for twenty minutes, then hot for the last five.
Put the lentils in a saucepan with 800ml cold water and the bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 18 to 20 minutes until just tender but still holding their shape. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, heat 5 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of the salt and cook for 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Turn the heat up to medium-high for the last 5 to 8 minutes and keep stirring until the onions are dark brown, shrunken and some strands are almost black at the tips. Lift half of them out onto kitchen paper.
Almost-burnt is the target, not golden. The bitterness at the edges is exactly what balances the lentils.
Add the cumin, coriander and allspice to the onions left in the pan and stir for 30 seconds.
Stir in the rinsed rice, the drained lentils and the remaining salt, turning everything in the spiced onions for 2 minutes.
Measure the reserved lentil liquid and top up with water to make 450ml. Pour it in, bring to the boil, then cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes.
Turn off the heat and leave the pan covered and undisturbed for 10 minutes. Do not lift the lid during this time.
Fork through gently, drizzle with the last tablespoon of oil and pile the reserved crisp onions on top. Serve with yoghurt if you eat dairy, parsley and lemon wedges.