Curried Potato Hash with Roast Pepper, Lentils & Yogurt

preparation 10 minutes
cook time 1 hour
Serves 2

A laidback vegetarian recipe that can be eaten at all times of day - with a fried egg for breakfast, or with a big green salad for lunch. Protein is provided in the form of creamy yoghurt and lentils, while baby spinach is rich in iron.

Recipes taken from MasterChef Green by Adam O’Shepherd and MasterChef champions (Bloomsbury Absolute, £26). Photography by Adam O’Shepherd

Ingredients Method

1 red pepper
2½ tbsp olive oil
400g new potatoes
80g brown lentils
½ red onion, roughly sliced
25g butter
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ tbsp curry powder
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp ground turmeric
100g baby spinach
Sea salt, to season
To serve
125g natural yogurt
Small handful mint leaves, finely sliced

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ Fan 180°C /Gas 6. Put the red pepper on a roasting tray and drizzle ½ tablespoon of olive oil over it. Roast for 15–20 minutes until soft. When the pepper is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin (discard) and scrape away the seeds. Cut the roasted pepper into strips and set aside.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the new potatoes for 10–15 minutes until they are soft when tested with the tip of a sharp knife. Drain well, return to the pan and place a clean tea towel over them to cool and really dry them out.

Bring a second saucepan of water to the boil and cook the lentils for 15–20 minutes until tender but still with a little bite and texture to them. Drain well and set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, use your hands to break them up into chunky pieces, straight into the frying pan with the onion. Turn up the heat to high then add the butter. Leave the potatoes, without stirring, for a few minutes to get some lovely crispy edges to them, then toss them over to crisp up all over another 2 minutes.

Add the garlic, all of the spices and cooked lentils and cook, stirring, for another minute. Season with a good amount of salt. If the hash looks like it’s drying out, add a little more butter or olive oil. When the hash is nice and crispy, fold the baby spinach and roast red pepper strips into the hash using a wooden spoon until it has all wilted.

Serve the hash drizzled with yogurt and garnished with the mint leaves. For a more substantial offering you can also serve it with a crispy fried egg or a poached egg.

Ingredients

1 red pepper

2½ tbsp olive oil

400g new potatoes

80g brown lentils

½ red onion, roughly sliced

25g butter

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

½ tbsp curry powder

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp chilli flakes

½ tsp ground turmeric

100g baby spinach

Sea salt, to season

To serve

125g natural yogurt

Small handful mint leaves, finely sliced

Method

Bring a second saucepan of water to the boil and cook the lentils for 15–20 minutes until tender but still with a little bite and texture to them. Drain well and set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Serve the hash drizzled with yogurt and garnished with the mint leaves. For a more substantial offering you can also serve it with a crispy fried egg or a poached egg.