Cinnamon and Cherry Tomato Koshari

DIFFICULTY
Average Average
PREP TIME
Under 2 Hrs. Under 2 Hrs.
COOK TIME
Under 1 Hr. Under 1 Hr.
SERVES
4-6 4-6
Anna Jones
Cinnamon and Cherry Tomato Koshari
“This bravely spiced rice and lentil dish is more than a sum of its parts and comes (mostly) from the store cupboard. It’s topped with a crown of crispy frizzled shallots, which brings a key level of crunch and contract to what its otherwise soft and comforting. In its pure Egyptian street-food form there is pasta, macaroni to be precise, and often chickpeas, too. I’ve just used rice and lentils here for simplicity, but you could add a handful of macaroni to the rice, or a drained can of chickpeas, to make it a little more authentic.” – Anna Jones
Main ingredients
  • Vegetables
Ingredients
Method

Ingredients

  • 150g of whole brown lentils
  • 750g fresh cherry tomatoes or 2x400g tinned cherry tomatoes, drained
  • 4 cloves of garlic, kept whole
  • 6 shallots, peeled and very thinly sliced
  • 5 tablespoons coconut oil
  • A small bunch of coriander, including stalks
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice or 4 allspice berries, bashed
  • 1 stick of cinnamon
  • 300g of rice
  • Rapeseed oil
  • A small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
  • A small bunch of mint, roughly chopped

  • Method

  • 1
    Oven temperature, 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.
  • 2
    First, soak your lentils in 300ml of warm water for an hour, then drain and rinse.
  • 3
    Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
  • 4
    Heat up your Le Creuset 30cm Shallow Casserole dish on a low to medium heat, add the tomatoes, the unpeeled garlic cloves, a quarter of the sliced shallots and 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil.
  • 5
    Chop the coriander stalks then add those as well, along with the allspice and stick of cinnamon.
  • 6
    Roast in the oven for 10 minutes then remove from the oven and sprinkle on the rice and rinsed lentils.
  • 7
    Add 900ml of boiling water, season with salt, cover with the lid and place in the oven for another 25 minutes.
  • 8
    While this is cooking, make the crispy shallots. Fill another pan with a 3cm depth of room-temperature rapeseed oil. Put over high heat and once hot, add the remaining shallots. You should see the oil bubble up when you add them. Give them a quick stir so they are all evenly submerged in the oil, then leave to cook for around 4 minutes, keeping an eye on them as they cook.
  • 9
    Once they start turning a light golden colour remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and onto some kitchen paper then leave to cool completely.
  • 10
    Remove the rice from the oven and, using an oven glove, take off the lid and pick out the whole garlic cloves.
  • 11
    Let the rice stand for 10 minutes and, meanwhile, pop the garlic out of its skin and mash with some sea salt and the remaining 3 tablespoons coconut oil.
  • 12
    Stir the garlic oil through the rice followed by the chopped parsley, mint and coriander leaves.
  • 13
    Season with salt and pepper and top with the crispy shallots, serve in the pan in the middle of the table.