A few months ago, this recipe came as a lightening bolt when I was thinking about what to make from an assortment of vegetables left on the rack. It has been on the menu pretty much every week since as it is such an easy but tasty meal for midweek. It looks good too.

I thought about giving it a more distinguished title – ‘Medley’ might have been one word to include as, indeed, that is what it is. The vegetables can be varied but I prefer not to use leaf vegetables.

100-120g green lentils
1 onion or 2 shallots, peeled, and finely chopped
2-3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
A few stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 red pepper, seeds and fleshy bits removed, finely chopped
1 leek, cleaned, sliced and chopped
1tsp turmeric
Small handful parsley or coriander, coarsely chopped
Other vegetables, such as butternut squash, sweet potato, parsnips, all peeled and finely chopped
Olive oil
Sprinkling of frozen peas
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra spices such as cumin, coriander and chilli, toasted and ground (optional)

Cook the lentils in salted water for about 10 minutes until almost cooked. Strain.

In a large frying pan with a lid, gently cook the onion until soft. Add the turmeric and any extra spices as required. Stir around and season. Add the peppers, carrots and celery and any other vegetables and let cook for about three minutes, Add the leeks and cook for a further minute.

Add the lentils and a little water or vegetable stock, bring to the boil, turn down the heat and cover. Check and stir the vegetables around from time to time to be sure that they are not drying out,. Add more liquid as required.

When nearly cooked, add the frozen peas and chopped herbs. Let them cook through and check the seasoning before serving.

This dish goes well with fish, grilled lamb chops (when it can be spiced up) or an escalope.