- A 400g bag of chioggia beetroot
- 2 carrots
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 red onion
- 1 orange
- 2 large handfuls of baby leaf spinach
- A handful of mint, leaves only
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 x 400g tins of green lentils
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Baking dish
- Foil
- Deep frying pan or wok
- Bowl
- Sieve
- 1.
Heat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Scrub and trim your beetroot. Cut into bite sized chunks. Trim the carrots and chop into similar sized chunks.
- 2.
Tumble the beetroot and carrots into a baking dish. Add 1 tbsp oil and 2 tsp of the fennel seeds. Season and stir to coat the veg in the oil and spices.
- 3.
Wrap the garlic cloves in a square of foil and tuck into the dish. Slide the dish into the oven and cook for 30 mins or till the beets are tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
- 4.
While the veg roast, peel and finely chop the onion. Zest and juice the orange. Finely chop the spinach. Roughly chop most of the mint leaves.
- 5.
Just before the roast veg are cooked, heat 2 tsp oil in a deep frying pan or wok over a low heat. Add the onion and season. Fry gently for 5 mins till softened. Take the roast veg out of the oven.
- 6.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins (use a fork to press down on them as they’ll be hot). Put in a bowl and whisk with the orange zest and juice and 2 tsp of the mustard. Drain and rinse the lentils.
- 7.
Tip the lentils into the onion pan. Stir for 2-3 mins to warm through. Add the spinach, roasted veg and orangey dressing. Toss together with the chopped mint. Serve on warm plates topped with the remaining mint leaves.
- Tip
Spice is nice
Tip any leftover fennel seeds into your cafetiere the next time you are making coffee to give your cuppa a sweet aniseed flavour.