Cozy zucchini bake

It's march already with its hope of spring, yet it's freezing outside. March never fails to remind us we live in Iceland  and there is still some waiting to do ;) I made this bake one day when I really wanted something warm and comforting, like lasanja. I didn't feel like having heavy pasta however, so I decided to change it up with zucchini :) This tasted great and felt like real comfort food. So warm and cozy. Lentils are high in protein and a good source of iron, as well as having the advantage of cooking in 15-20mins and no need to soak overnight! Good for the daily busy bee :)

What you need:

- 1,5 small zucchinis or 1 big

- Red lentils, I boiled 500g but had lots of leftovers, 250g is probably enough for this dish alone

- Any veggies you have in the fridge (I used tomatoes, red bell pepper, mushrooms)

- 1-2 cups (1-1,5 dl) Tomato puree

- Grated cheese (used aprox. 250g)

Start with boiling red lentils. Took around 20mins :)

Cut up veggies while lentils are boiling. Heat the veggies on a pan and mix with the lentis, as well as tomato puree. Portion can be optional, depending on how thick you want the filling to be. Season by taste, I used around a tablespoon of cayenne pepper and chilli pepper each as well as a tsp of lemon pepper and ground ginger. 

I cut up the zucchini in fairly thick slices (around 1cm) and placed on the bottom of an oven proof deep dish

Add the lentil filling :) 

Add cheese. Repeat as you would do with lasanja: zucchini, filling, cheese

After the second layer, add another layer of just zucchini to add a little extra crunch. Bake at 180°C/350°F for aprox. 30minutes.

So good :) Red lentils are the sweetest type of lentils and really mix well with the zucchini. 

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Virkilega mæli með þessum ljúfa og bragðgóða rétti :) Rauðar linsur eru svo sætar, mjúkar og góðar. Í bland við ost og kúrbít kemur út frábært bragð sem yljar manni í kuldanum. Mæli með þessu eða gulróta- og sætkartöflu súpu nú þegar frostið hefur aftur látið sjá sig. 

- Amanda <3