Lentils and Rice

I just typed up this recipe for some friends (one of them has anaemia because they had cut back significantly on meat due to costs) and I thought it would be good to share here. As you will see from the figures at the bottom, it offers significant savings compared with meat.

Ingredients

½ cup lentils

1 cup rice

1tbsp whey

1 ½ cups stock (approx 750ml)

1 small onion, chopped

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

1 tsp thyme

salt and pepper

The night before

1. Place lentils, rice and whey in large jug and fill with water to double the volume.
2. Leave to soak overnight.

The next day

1. Strain and rinse lentils and rice.
2. Place in pan with all the other ingredients and bring to the boil.
3. Leave to simmer for 1-2 hours until all the stock has been absorbed.
4. This makes approximately 2lbs/1kg.

Serving suggestions:

• Can be served as is with vegetable casserole. We usually add some homemade salsa on the side to make it a little more tasty.
• Can be used in any dish which calls for mince (ground meat).
• Lentil burgers – mix with egg, tomato puree or salsa and seasonings (I usually use curry paste); place in heaps on greased baking tray; cover with tin foil and bake at GM4/180°C for 30-50 minutes.
• Meat loaf.

Iron Content

Lentils and Rice contains approximately 1.3mg iron per 100g which is roughly similar to chicken.

Lamb contains about 1.7 mg/100g.

Turkey contains about 2.1 mg/100g.

Beef contains about 2.7 mg/100g.

Ham contains about 1.1 mg/100g.

Pork contains about 0.9 mg/100g.

Bacon contains about 0.1 mg/100g.

Cost (1kg is roughly 2lb)

Lentils and rice costs about £1/kg.

Pork mince is £4/kg.

Lamb mince is £4.60/kg.

Beef mince is £3.75/kg.

Tesco value mince is £2.42/kg.