Gratin of white cabbage & lentils in a Provençal sauce

• brown or green lentils140g g
• white cabbage↗⅓

  about 375g/13oz shredded

• breadcrumbs↗25g g
• parmesan↗25g g

  (or vegetarian alternative), freshly grated

• extra-virgin olive oil↗a drizzle of
• red onion↗1

  chopped

• garlic cloves↗2

  chopped

• red pepper↗1

  seeded and cut into postage stamp-sized squares

• extra-virgin olive oil↗3 tbsp tbsp
• ground coriander↗1 tsp tsp
• thyme↗2 generous sprigs

  2 generous sprigs

• cans chopped tomatoes2x

  2x

• tomato purée↗1 tbsp tbsp
• caster sugar↗1 tsp tsp
• basil↗leaves from 1 large sprig

  leaves from 1 large sprig, roughly torn up

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Pre-heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6/fan 180C. Cook the lentils in boiling unsalted water for about 20- 30 minutes until just tender, then drain. Fry the onion, garlic and red pepper in the olive oil until soft (about 10 minutes). Add the ground coriander and thyme, and stir for 30 seconds or so. Now tip in the tomatoes, tomato purée and sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Leave to simmer to a thick sauce, stirring occasionally, for about 15- 20 minutes. Check seasoning, take out the thyme and stir in the basil.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, cook the cabbage in boiling salted water for about 3-4 minutes, until just tender. Drain, and run under the cold tap, then drain thoroughly again. Mix the cabbage and lentils with the tomato sauce, and spoon into a shallow ovenproof gratin dish.

3. 3

   Mix the breadcrumbs and cheese, and scatter over the mixture in an even layer. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil. Bake for 20-30 minutes until sizzling and patched appetisingly with brown.