• This is bean heaven: white kidney, black-eyed and flageolet
• Unusually, the recipe to this casserole has rarely been tweaked, despite having been on the COOK menu for years.When it’s right, it’s right

Try it with:

• It makes a great pie: defrost; decant into a ramekin; top with some filo pastry (scrunch it up for a rustic look); then brush with oil and pop it in the oven.
• Or, for the less adventurous, it’s also terrific with a jacket potato or rice, salad and greens.

*We’re committed to growing our range of vegan-friendly dishes. However, we can’t claim official vegan certification as our kitchen doesn’t have a separate area for vegan preparation and cooking.

This hearty recipe combines red lentils with three types of beans – flageolet, white kidney and black-eyed beans to create a warming meal that’s full of protein.

We soak the red lentils and black-eyed beans overnight to make them lovely and tender. To make the casserole sauce, we sweat sliced onions and garlic, then add the soaked red lentils, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, some oregano and vegetable stock, and simmer for about 10 mins to ensure that while the lentils are cooked, they still retain some bite. Then we mix in the flageolet beans, white kidney beans and black eyed beans. Finally, we stir through parsley and basil to add freshness and flavour.

We oven-roast a mix of red and yellow peppers and cup mushrooms as a tasty garnish. We also add green beans and baby spinach for extra colour and texture.