Green Lentils with Oven-Roasted Mushrooms

How to prepare green lentils with oven-roasted mushrooms

1. Wash the lentils and boil them in water only for 15 minutes from when they start to simmer, over low heat.
2. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and slice the pepper. In a large pan, sauté the onion and pepper in 2 tablespoons of oil over low heat just until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl, trying to leave the oil in the pan.
4. Remove the mushroom stems and slice the caps. Quickly sauté them in the fat remaining in the pan. Don't crowd them too much, you can sauté the mushrooms in batches (I did it in 3 batches), drizzling a little oil for each batch if needed. Sauté quickly over high heat, stirring constantly, just until the mushrooms soften slightly (about 2-3 minutes). Transfer the mushrooms over the vegetables.
5. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, add oregano and chopped dill. Mix well.
6. Drain the lentils and season them with a little salt too.
8. In a heat-resistant dish, place 1/3 of the vegetables, then top with 1/3 of the lentils. Continue layering this way - the last layer should be vegetables. Tuck the bay leaf broken into 2-3 pieces between the layers.
9. Dissolve the tomato paste in 3/4 cup of water and pour into the dish. The water won't cover the contents. Cover the dish and bake at 180°C for 25 minutes.
10. Remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes to reduce the sauce. Check that the lentils are cooked.
11. Remove from oven and let cool. The sauce will absorb into the lentils. It's good right away or reheated. For my lunch box, I packed 1/4 of the casserole with a farm-fresh boiled egg on top.

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