Tomato lentils for a warm bowl.

A warm meal does not always need a long list of ingredients or a new cooking technique.

Here, ready-to-eat lentils go into a tomato base with onion, garlic and greens. This suggested recipe has not been kitchen-tested. It makes roughly two portions and takes about 25 minutes, as an estimate.

What you need

• 240 g ready-to-eat canned lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes, about 400 g
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 handfuls spinach or other suitable greens, washed
• 1 tablespoon olive or rapeseed oil
• Half a teaspoon ground cumin, optional
• 50–100 ml water, as needed
• Black pepper and a little lemon juice, to taste

Cook it gently

1. Warm the oil in a saucepan. Cook the onion gently until softened, stirring regularly.
2. Add the garlic and cumin, if using. Stir briefly, without burning the garlic.
3. Add the tomatoes and simmer until the onion is fully tender and the sauce comes together.
4. Add the ready-to-eat lentils and a little water if needed. Simmer until thoroughly hot, stirring so the base does not catch.
5. Add the greens and cook until tender. Taste, then add pepper and lemon juice if you like.

Keep the useful part

Serve with rice, bread or another part of your meal. Change the greens or leave out the cumin. The point is a flexible tomato base, rather than a rule about the exact plate everyone should eat.

No nutrition totals have been calculated. Check the lentil and tomato labels for added ingredients and any allergens relevant to you. Dried lentils need a different preparation; do not substitute them directly into these steps.