Another lovely Sunday Dinner!

Today we had Spicy Lentil and Sweet Potato loaf with tomato sauce and salad (and the troops had pasta). Someone mentioned lentils earlier (we were talking about the chicken programmes, and how people say they can't afford to buy free range chicken and my friend said just buy some lentils and broaden your mind!). And I thought, mmmmm, haven't had lentils for yonks, and I love 'em!
I put some red lentils (about 200g probably, but I didn't weight them) in a pan and covered them well with cold water. Then I brought them to the boil and cooked them gently until all the water had been absorbed and the lentils were soft - with red lentils that only takes 15 minutes or so.
In the meantime I sauteed a finely chopped onion till it was soft in some olive oil and then added a teaspoon of 'lazy garlic' and a teaspoon of 'lazy chili' and a good shake of whole cumin seeds. I also thinly sliced 3 small sweet potatoes and boiled them till they were nearly done. When the onion and spices were done I added them to the cooked lentils with about a dsp of veg stock powder and some salt and pepper, and a beaten egg.
Then I greased a loaf tin and lined it with greaseproof and greased that. Then I put half the lentil mixture in and then the slices of sweet potato followed by the rest of the lentils, and baked it in the oven for half an hour.
While it was in the oven I tipped a tin of chopped tomatoes into the frying pan I had done the onion in, added a glug of sherry and let it reduce to a nice thick sauce over a medium heat. When it was cooked I added salt and pepper and about a third of a teaspoon of sugar.
I tipped the lentil loaf onto a serving plate, peeled off the paper and spooned the sauce on top. It was lovely!
For pudding we had the most delicious Chocolate and Chestnut Truffle cake, which I have to admit is a recipe from 'somewhere on the internet', which The Daughter found. I don't know where it came from (it's possibly a Nigella?) - if it's yours, tell me and I'll credit you. It was bloody amazing anyway!

"250g dark chocolate
250g unsalted butter
250g peeled cooked chestnuts (I used a 200g vacuum packet of prepared, cooked chestnuts)
250ml milk
4 eggs, separated
125g caster sugar

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a pan over a very gentle heat. In another pan, heat the chestnuts with the milk until just boiling, then mash thoroughly with a potato masher (or process to a rough purée in a machine).
Put the egg yolks in a bowl and mix with the caster sugar. Stir in the chocolate mixture and the chestnut purée until you have a smooth, blended batter. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them carefully into the batter."
The recipe now says to put the mix in a 23cm springform greased and lined cake tin. I haven't got one of those, so I put it in a greased and lined rectangular roasting tray which is about 10" X 6" (I'm guessing, and I don't think it's terribly important to be honest), but it wouldn't all fit so I also put it in 6 bun cases in a bun tray, and 2 small glass ramekins (buttered) - that used it all up!
I baked it in the oven at 170°C/Gas Mark 3 - the buns and 2 ramekins for about 25 minutes and the larger cake for about 35 minutes.
You can either eat it warm as a pudding, in which case it is deliciously soggy and moussey inside, or apparently, if you let it cool, it sets and goes more cakey. Mine hadn't set yet last time I looked so I can't vouch for that. What I can vouch for is the fact that it is ridiculously lovely. I had my portion with a dollop of Total Greek yoghurt and a splodge of Waitrose blackcurrant coulis (which is unsweetened, so lovely and sharp!). Mmmmmmm........