THIS is a cheap and nourishing protein source which, in my opinion, is much, much nicer than any commercially produced veggieburger — although I have to confess I’m a fan of them as well.

You can vary the herbs and spices, replacing the thyme and paprika suggested here with something spicier, such as cumin and chilli or a good curry powder.

You can even change the shape to that of a sausage, and, hey presto! Veggiebangers.

I invariably serve these with my home-made vegetarian gravy, spuds and whatever green vegetable is around.

When it comes to hard-boiling the eggs, by the way, remember the Commie Chef’s ideologically sound dialectical golden rule: don’t let the water boil and don’t let the eggs get hard.

Put them in cold water, bring the water to the boil then immediately reduce the heat so that the water simmers. Let it do so for three minutes and you’ll have lovely boiled eggs which don’t give off an unpleasant smell and which are hard without you having to register them with the police as an offensive weapon.

You do need a food processor to make these, or a masher, a strong arm and a lot of patience.

Ingredients

• 225g/8ozs brown, blond or green lentils

• 1 medium potato, scrubbed and chopped

• 1 medium carrot, scrubbed and chopped

• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

• level tsp dried thyme or mixed herbs

• level tsp paprika

• 2 eggs, hard-boiled and shelled, chopped

• 4 eggs, beaten

• tbsp tomato purée

• 55g/2 oz butter, melted

• flour for coating

• salt and freshly-ground black pepper

• vegetable oil (sunflower or rapeseed are best) for frying

What to do

Soak the lentils for a minimum of two hours, then boil them along with the vegetables, herbs and paprika until all are soft, about 45 minutes.

Drain and blend in the food processor with the hard-boiled eggs and half of the beaten egg.

Add the tomato purée and the melted butter and blend again. Season, then shape into burgers. Dip them in flour, then the remaining beaten egg, and fry on a medium heat a few at a time — they need plenty of space in the frying pan — in a little oil, turning after 3-4 minutes, by which time the bottom of the burger should be a pleasing golden brown.

Repeat until the mixture is used up.