Lentil casserole with cheese and potatoes

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 585 g lentils, brown
• 2 baked potatoes
• 150 g mushrooms
• 1 bell pepper(s), red
• 1 onion(s)
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 10 g parsley, flat
• 100 g crème fraîche
• 100 g tomato paste
• 15 ml mustard, medium hot
• 40 ml soy sauce
• 150 g Gouda, grated
• 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder
• 1 piece(s) butter
• 1 pinch(s) salt and pepper, black
• 1 shot of oil
• 225 ml water

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Heat the water in a kettle. Preheat the oven to 220°C (top/bottom heat). Quarter or eighth the mushrooms, depending on their size. Halve the bell peppers, remove the seeds, and cut into approximately 1 cm cubes. Place the lentils in a sieve and rinse with water. Cut the potatoes, still with their skins, into 0.5 cm thick slices. Chop the parsley with the stems. Halve the onion and finely dice it. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, lidded pot over medium heat. Sauté the diced onion for 4-5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Add the lentils to the pot with the other ingredients and deglaze with the hot water. Add the tomato paste, soy sauce, mustard, and vegetable stock to the lentils and season with salt and pepper. Then stir in 3/4 of the chopped parsley. Cover the lentils and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Toss the vegetables with the crème fraîche and transfer to a baking dish. Layer the potato slices on top, spread 1.5 teaspoons of butter over them, and bake for 25-35 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Once the baking time is over, remove the baking dish from the oven and sprinkle the Gouda cheese over them. Turn on the oven’s broiler function and gratinate the lentil casserole for about 5 minutes, until the cheese begins to brown. To serve, divide the lentil casserole with the potato topping onto plates, sprinkle with the remaining parsley, and serve.