Cuban Vegetable Picadillo

Picadillo is a traditional latin American dish which is made using ground beef, but this vegetable version which uses lentils is delicious. To cook vegetable picadillo, you will need:

• 4 cloves of garlic (sliced)
• 1/2 onion (chopped)
• 1 red pepper (chopped)
• 1 can Passata (400g)
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 2 medium potatoes (cut into cubes)
• 400g soaked lentils
• handful of sutanas
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
• 100g pitted green olives (chopped)
• 25g capers (chopped)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large pan or wok and cook the garlic, onion and pepper until the onion is brown. Add the passata, oregano, cumin, salt, cayenne powder and black pepper and stir for 2 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock, sultanas, lentils and potato, bring to the boil and then reduce to a medium heat for 25 minutes.

Add the olives and capers and stir. Leave on a medium heat for 5 minutes, sprinkle with chopped (fresh or dried) parsley and serve with rice, or on its own in a bowl with some rustic bread.