Lentils with zucchini and miso dressing

This is a quick high-fibre one-pan meal – easy to whip up when zucchinis are around. You don’t have to toast the seeds or nuts, but it really enhances their flavour.

• serves

  3-4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) sunflower seeds or pine nuts
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (45 ml) olive or rapeseed oil
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, quartered and sliced
• About 400 g zucchini (courgettes), halved lengthways if large, cut into roughly 1 cm thick slices
• 2 x 400 g tins lentils, drained and rinsed, or 500 g drained precooked lentils or from a jar/pouch, rinsed
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• A pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• Sea salt and black pepper

Miso dressing

• 3 tsp brown or white (shiro) miso paste (or 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari and ¾ tsp sugar)
• 3 tsp (15 ml) cider vinegar (ideally raw)
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) cold-pressed rapeseed oil
• 1–2 cm piece fresh ginger, grated

Instructions

1. First make the miso dressing: whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl, adding 1– 1½ tbsp hot water to combine, until smooth (no need to add salt as the miso/soy is already salty). Set aside.
2. Heat a large, wide frying pan (ideally 30 cm diameter) over a medium heat. Add the sunflower seeds or pine nuts and toast for a few minutes, tossing or stirring regularly, until they just start to colour. Tip out of the pan onto a plate; set aside.
3. Add 1½ tbsp oil to the pan, then add the onion(s) with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Fry, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes or until softened and turning golden.
4. Push the onion to one side of the pan, then add another 3 tsp oil.
5. Throw in the zucchini (courgettes), season with a little salt and pepper and fry, stirring them regularly, for 7-10 minutes or until well coloured and softened. Mix the onion back into the courgettes towards the end of cooking.
6. Tip the lentils into the pan and add the garlic and chilli flakes, if using. Cook for about 5 minutes until the lentils are piping hot.
7. Take it off the heat, then pour in the miso dressing. Stir it in and leave to sit for a minute to just mellow in the heat of the pan.
8. Divide between warmed plates. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to each and sprinkle with the toasted seeds or pine nuts to serve.

Note

This is great with aubergines – as well as or instead of courgettes. You can also top each portion with a crisp-edged fried egg.

Recipe and image from High Fibre Heroes by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury Publishing, $54.99)

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.