The Only Vegetarian at the Party

Close up of  my Red Pepper and Lentil Jalousie 

I was at a New Year's Eve party last night, at my brother's and, due to sickness and domestic crisis, found myself the only veggie. My brother had made two pots of chilli; one meat, one veggie , and so it fell to me to eat plenty of the veggie one! He'd asked me to make and bring a pie that he's had many times at my house. It's a real crowd- pleaser , even for quite hardened meat-eaters. I got it from the Christmas 2005 edition of BBC GF Vegetarian magazine, and the page is all torn and stained, as so many favourite recipes are. Here's the recipe:

Red pepper & lentil jalousie

Serves 6 – according to the recipe but if you are serving as part of a buffet, you can feed double that.

1  tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

140g/5ozred lentils

300ml/1/2pt vegetable stock

1 tbsp sundried tomato paste

1/2 tsp yeast extract

1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

85g/3oz fresh breadcrumbs

15g pack coriander, chopped

5OOg pack puff pastry, thawed if frozen

1 medium egg, beaten

1 Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the onion

and celery for 3 – 4 mins until softened. Stir in the

lentils, vegetable stock, sundried tomato paste and

yeast extract, then bring to the boll. Cover and

simmer over a very low heat for 15-20 mins until

nearly all the liquid has been absorbed. Allow to

cool slightly. Stir in the red pepper, breadcrumbs,

coriander and seasoning.

2 Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Cut the

pastry in half and roll out one piece on a lightly

floured surface to an 18cm x 32cm/7in x12 1/2in

rectangle. Place it on a lightly oiled baking sheet

and spoon the red lentil mixture down the centre,

leaving a 2.5cm/1 in border-Brush the pastry edges

with beaten egg.

3 Roll out the remaining pastry to make a 20cm

x 34cm/8in x 13'/2in rectangle. Fold lightly in half

lengthways and cut slits through the folded edge,

2.5cm/1 in apart, but leaving a 2.5cm/1 In border.

Unfold the pastry and place over the red lentil

mixture to cover. Press together the edges of the

pastry to seal. Knock up the edges using a knife,

held horizontally, to mark flaky layers (this helps to

seal it and make it rise evenly). Flute the edges of

the pastry and brush with the beaten egg. Bake for30-35 mins until golden.