March Lunches

Well. It finally happened, we've finally moved on from Vietnamese rice noodle salad. For how long I'm not so sure - when we find something that works we tend to keep it around for a long time. Last winter we had baked zucchini with almost every meal for months and now I can't stand the thought of eating it. I don't want that to happen to this lunch favourite so it's out of rotation for a while.

Boyfriend requested a quinoa salad for lunch this week, but we forgot to buy quinoa. And that my friends is the supremely interesting story behind this week's lunch recipe for summer lentil and zucchini 'pasta' with roasted capsicum and garlic sauce.

Summer lentil & zucchini 'pasta' with roasted capsicum and garlic sauce
Makes enough for 8 lunches

Ingredients
For the sauce

1 punnet cherry/baby roma tomatoes
1 bulb wild garlic, roasted
Whole red capsicum, roasted, peeled and de-seeded
Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
teaspoon italian parsley
Juice of one lemon

For the lentils
Handful shredded Italian parsley
tablespoon lemon juice
rosemary
2 bayleafs
2 garlic cloves

2 spring onions sliced thinly
salt & pepper to taste

Plus...
1 large zucchini
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Roast whole capsicum and bulb of garlic in a heavy roasting pan until capsicum skin blackens on all sides. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

2. Prepare lentils according to The Kitchn's directions here. Combine with lemon, spring onion and parsley as well as salt and pepper to taste.

3, Using either an ordinary peeler, julienne peeler or the small attachment on your spiralizer prepare zucchini.

4. For the sauce: combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until combined. Season to taste. 

5. Divide seasoned lentils and zucchini amongst lunch containers, garnish with1 teaspoon pine nuts. Divide sauce between dressing containers.

6. Can be served warm or cold.