I love lentils. “Moudjendra” has always been my favourite lentil dish. That’s until I cooked lentils with bulgur wheat. This dish screams healthy and its vegan too. I got so many great ingredients from Foodsaver Stores for this recipe like a fantastic veggie mix. The Green wave mix is a combination of broccoli, kale, courgettes and wakame seaweed.

These veggies are so great with lentils and bulgur. Bulgur absorbs all the goodness from the veggies and all the flavour from the lentils and chickpeas. Foodsaver chickpeas are partly cooked so no soaking is needed. Just throw them in the pan with the lentils and they cook perfectly in 20 minutes.

I like to serve this lovely dish with black olives. For a non-vegan version, grilled halloumi is a great accompaniment.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Canadian lentils
• 1 cup Foodsaver Chickpeas
• 4 cups water
• Maldon salt and pepper
• 4 Tbs Minerva extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds*
• 1 tsp Ardo chopped garlic
• 3 Tbs Ardo chopped shallots
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved*
• 1 cup Foodsaver bulgur wheat
• 2 cups Ardo green wave mix
• 2 Tbs toasted pine nuts*

*All ingredients from Foodsaver Stores except those marked with an asterisk.

Method:

Put lentils and chickpeas in a large pot with 4 cups water. Season water with salt. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes. Drain lentils and chickpeas into a bowl, but keep the cooking water. You will need two cups. If it’s less, top it up with fresh water to 2 cups.

Rinse the pot and wipe dry. Put 4 tablespoons olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook for about a minute, stirring, until fragrant and slightly darker in colour.

Add garlic and shallots. Cook stirring often until beginning to colour. Add halved tomatoes to the pot and cook for about a minute. Add bulgur wheat and stir. It’s important to coat the bulgur in the oil and pan juices.

Add the “green wave mix” and stir to combine. Return the cooked lentils and chickpeas to the pot. Pour over the 2 cups cooking water. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, cover the pot and cook undisturbed for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave undisturbed for another 10 minutes. During this time the bulgur wheat will absorb all the goodness and flavours from the pot.

In the meantime, lightly toast the pinenuts in a dry frying pan. To serve transfer lentils on a platter. Scatter over the toasted pine nuts. Serve with black olives and grilled halloumi if you like.