Ingredients
Lentils
1 cup
Rice
1 cup
Garlic
As much as you want
Onion/s
To taste
Various veggies
Lots and lots
Cheddar + parmesan
Tons
Veggie stock (powdered)
2 tbsp in 800ml water
Apple
1
Dried figs
8
Sumac
Generous
Cumin
Generous
Mixed activated nuts
For the top (optional)
Dish
Use a large glass baking dish — glass distributes heat evenly and you can see the sides browning, which helps judge doneness.
Method
1
Cook the lentil and rice base. Wash the rice and lentils properly, then combine with the 800ml of stock water and boil on the stovetop for around 20 minutes. Turn the heat down toward the end — it will stick if you don't. Keep stirring regularly until the mixture thickens to a porridge-like consistency. This is the binding base for everything.
2
Activate the garlic. Crush and finely chop the garlic, then leave it out for at least 20 minutes before cooking. This lets the allicin compounds develop properly — the reaction that gives garlic most of its flavour and health benefits only happens once the cells are broken and exposed to air.
3
Fry the vegetables in stages. Start with the harder vegetables — onions, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant — and get some colour on them first. Then add the softer ones and the fruit (apple, figs). They don't need to be fully cooked through; they'll finish in the oven. The figs add a caramel sweetness that works against the sumac.
4
Combine and season. Mix the cooked lentil-rice base into the vegetable pan. Add the sumac and cumin generously — taste as you go. Sumac brings a sour, fruity tang; cumin brings the warmth. Together they make the dish.
5
Grate a lot of cheese. Both cheddar and parmesan. More than you think is reasonable.
6
Layer the dish and bake. See the layer diagram below. Bake uncovered at 180°C in the middle of the oven for 35–40 minutes. Pull it when the cheese is golden and the edges are bubbling.
How to layer it
Top
Crushed or chopped mixed activated nuts
Layer 4
Cheese — the final, generous layer
Layer 3
Remaining veggie and lentil mix
Layer 2
Cheese — first layer
Layer 1b
Soft veggie layer — flat beans, sliced zucchini (optional)
Layer 1
Half the veggie and lentil mix (the base)
The optional soft layer
Flat beans or thinly sliced zucchini laid directly on the first mix layer add texture and keep the middle from going dense. Worth doing if you have them.
Notes
The apple and figs are not garnish — they're structural. The fruit sugar caramelises in the pan and gives the bake a sweetness that balances the sumac's sourness and the cheese's salt. Don't skip them.
This keeps well in the fridge for several days and reheats beautifully. The flavours deepen overnight. If you're making it ahead, undercook by 10 minutes and finish it when reheating.
Variations that work: swap the rice for pearl barley (nuttier, chewier), add a layer of sliced tomato under the top cheese, or finish with a drizzle of tahini once it's out of the oven.