1: Pre, heat the oven on 180C/356F.

2: Wash the red lentils. Add them to a pan, cover in filtered water and then swirl around with your hands. You’ll see the water will turn white. This is the lentils releasing starch. Do this for 1 minute then pour the water away and catching the lentils in a sieve.

3: Add the lentils back into the pan and cover again (about half inch above the lentils) with filtered water.

4: Put the lentils on a medium heat and cook for approx 15 minutes or until soft.

5: While the lentils are cooking slice your cherry tomatoes in half (or slice your large tomato into 4, 6 segments), slice your peppers into four pieces and slice your courgette into rings. It doesn’t matter how they look as we’re going to blend them.

6: Using a brush (don’t free pour) coat your veggies lightly in olive oil and then place in your pre, heated oven for fifteen minutes or until they have roasted. When they’ve finished they will have shrunk in size and the pepper skin partially browned in a few places.

7: While your lentils are cooking and your veggies are roasting, you can add to a blender jug your tin of chopped tomatoes, carton of passata, apple cider vinegar, Marmite, nutritional yeast, bouillon and pitted dates.

8: By the time you’ve done that your lentils are probably now ready – you’ll know this as the water will have cooked away and the lentils will look soft and flurry. Test a small mouthful to see.

9: Tip the lentils into a sieve to drain the water away and then add them to your blender jug.

10: Once your veggies are roasted, use an oven glove to take the tray out of the oven and rest it on a pain stand or a wooden chopping board to save your kitchen surface. Unless you’re fancy and have a stone counter top! Lucky you.

11: Using a pie slice or a large metal spoon or serving tongs – whatever you have – add the roasted veggies to your blender. If you only have a small blender you might want to do this in two batches.

12: Put the lid on the blender and blend until smooth.

13: Taste! If you’re new to wholefood plant, based eating you may want to sweeten up a little more with another date. Once you’ve been eating this way for a while you won’t need any dates and the roasted veggies will add all the sweetness you need.

Tip: If you want to make this sauce go further or have more to stock up your freezer – just add another can of chopped tomatoes or/and a carton of passata. Experiment by adding in a small handful of spinach or some chopped celery. Make it your own!