Spanish Lentil Casserole

My mum has come to spend some time with us and you can tell because my home smells amazingly well all the time. It smells like my childhood used to smell. 

Every day she asks me what I would like for dinner. And weirdly enough, every day I ask her to prepare all these dishes that used to have a "meh" when I was a child. Maybe because it is now when I´m able to appreciate how much effort time and loves goes it goes into each plate.

My mum is definitely the best cook ever. She taught herself to cook, and then she taught me. And then I turned into this quirky random cook that is completely unable to follow a recipe or to plan meals in advance.

I do what my husband likes to call "scrap-cooking". Which basically means "open your fridge and prepare something nice and quick with whatever you have".

I´m proud to be a "scrap-cook". The only "but" is the fact that you will never eat the same twice at mine, because I´ll probably never find the same ingredients selection in my fridge again and, even worse, because I´ll never be able to remember what I used, in which order and how I did it.

This week´s recipe is obviously my mom´s. An amazing and heartwarming casserole that every single Spanish family will eat at least once a week. And it is a bit of "scrap-cooking" style, as you can substitute any of the vegetable ingredients listed below for whichever vegetables you have at home. A recipe that will receive lots of "meh" but that will also be utterly and deeply missed as the kids get older.

WHAT YOU NEED

300gr Dry Lentils
3 Potatoes
2 Carrots
2 Onions
3 Chicken Thighs
150gr Chorizo
1/2 Celery Root
2 Leeks
3 Garlic Cloves
2 Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste
1.5L Water

WHAT YOU DO

Wash, peel and cut all the vegetables in small cubes/pieces.

Put them in a pressure cooker or deep saucepan with lid.

Add the chorizo, chicken and lentils.

Season with salt and pepper and add the bay leaves.

Pour the water and close fit the lid.

Cook for 20 minutes on the pressure cooker or 1.5 hours in a normal saucepan with the lid on.

Serve hot and enjoy!