Tomato Pasta #5 | Mixed grains with spiced tomato-braised greens

Need a new idea for a wholesome family meal? Here's a recipe for you.

Rice, pulses, pasta … or all three?

Despite the title, my intention for this Tomato Pasta column was not to keep coming back to tomato pasta; to instead find alternatives to our staple, budget and time balancing, always crowd-pleasing weeknight family meal. You can read more about the project here.

On the one hand, this week’s attempt falls short: quite clearly, there are tinned tomatoes, and there is pasta.

But, on the other, it’s very different to the dish my son normally hoovers up: as well as pasta, there is also rice, there are lentils, and the tomato sauce is spiced (coriander, cumin and sweet spices too) and wraps itself around soft green beans. I also tried to stealthily introduce an additional vegetable via the medium of Greek-style yoghurt (reader, it worked).

The dish was sparked by a craving for Egyptian koshari — where grains of rice and lentils are mixed with strands of vermicelli, topped with elbow macaroni, chickpeas, a spiced tomato sauce and moreish, intensely savoury cr…