my lentil pasties

This recipe was devised with first class protein for vegans and growing children in mind. Taking my lead from such classic combinations of first class protein as beans on toast, rice and dhal, rice and stir fry containing tofu, pasta with tofu in the tomato sauce and I am sure many more. So lentils and whole wheat pastry, a pulse and a grain, were combined in a tasty way below.

half a packet of red lentils (about 250gms)
2 medium /large onions
250-300gms mushrooms
 2 sticks of celery
1 teaspoon or more of Natex original yeast extract
sunflower oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper and ground white pepper

Make short crust pastry as in a previous blog using 12oz. whole wheat flour and 6oz. marg, place in a bowl, cover with foil and refrigerate.
Bring to a boil then stir and simmer lentils in enough water to cover them plus about 1cm more above their level, stir every few minutes to prevent sticking and add a little more water now and then until you have a thick creamy consistency when they are cooked, which takes about 20 minutes.
While the lentils are cooking chop and fry veg in a generous amount of sunflower oil until golden brown and the oil separates stirring regularly to prevent burning, this gives the dish a rich savoury flavour. Add the fried veg to the lentils and stir in Natex, simmer for a few minutes, add salt and peppers and set aside to cool
Sprinkle flour on work top and roll out pastry as thin as you can, I usually roll out half at a time. Cut into circles using a 6 inch bowl. Have a cup of water next to your rolling area, take a circle of pastry, dip your finger into the water and moisten the outer half inch of the circle, place a tablespoon of the lentil mixture in the center and fold over to seal the edges shaping the filling as you go, be gentle as you can rip the thin pastry. Place them on a greased baking tray (I use 2 baking trays for this amount of ingredients) and prick each pasty about 6 times with a knife to let the steam out as they cook.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 7, 450f, 230c for about 20 minutes until golden brown, great with tomato sauce, hot or cold and can be reheated the next day. I like them with small potatoes and salad.