Marvelous Lentil Quinoa Nut Loaf

On the shockingly long list of vegan staples I've never tried making at home is the humble lentil loaf. Kind of a vegan stereotype of sorts, but one I've rarely encountered in person. I actually rather like the idea of a lentil loaf. Green lentils have a nice, earthy taste and I feel they pair well with walnuts & quinoa for a protein dense, rich loaf.

Great Vow has a nut loaf they make for special occasions, however, it is based around the use of eggs as a binder, so no luck in looking to that recipe for much inspiration. Online the recipes are hugely varied, to such a degree it is hard to find something that sounds right. After a lot of reading and recalling the meatloaf my Mom used to make, I came up with a very tasty dish.

It crumbles a little coming out of the pan, but not too much. Slices pretty well and we found it very satisfying, particularly when served alongside the very last of the amazing mashed potatoes Christie made for Thanksgiving. I'm going to be working on an entirely gluten-free version of this dish next.

The Stuff (for loaf)

• 1 small onion
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 cups cooked, green lentils (overcooked is better, should be mushy/mashed)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoon red miso
• 2 T wheat germ
• 1/4 c flax meal whisked
  
• 1/4 c + 2 T water
  
• 3 T tomato paste (taken from a 6oz can)
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 t sweet paprika
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t dried marjoram
• 2 T fresh parsley
  

The Making (the loaf)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together the flaxseed meal and water in a large bowl, set aside. Dice onion and celery small, and mince the garlic cloves. Sauté the onion, garlic and celery until onion begins to caramelize. Add sauteed vegetables and remaining ingredients into large bowl with flax & water mixture and mix well. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and fill the loaf pan with the mixture. Press down and top with tangy tomato sauce.

The Stuff (the sauce)

• remainder of tomato paste from 6oz can
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 t sweet paprika
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/4 t or less ground clove
• 1/4 c water
  

The Making (the sauce & the loaf)

Whisk together all ingredients for sauce and spread on top of loaf before baking

Bake loaf 30 minutes covered, 10 minutes uncovered. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

east african nachos!

thanks, sherri, for putting me on the list! i've been lurking here a while stealing recipes, and i thought it was just about time i gave something back...

this was an accidental fusion experiment that turned out to be a new favorite comfort food dinner at our house - especially when i haven't been to the store in a while.

the heart of these nachos is the lentil dish below, found in "1,000 Vegetarian Recipes" by carol gelles. i've made modifications to the original recipe to make spiced more like an ethiopian dish. you could use other types of lentils, but i like the taste and texture of french lentils in this. i've put most of the added spices 'to taste' because i tend to throw a few pinches in of each until it tastes like a good balance of what i like. you can even omit the 'to taste' spices altogether.

lentils in tomato sauce

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 or 2 medium to large chopped onions

1 or 2 cloves minced garlic

1 or 2 chopped fresh hot peppers (i like jalapeños)

1/2 cup water

1 6oz can tomato paste

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon ground red pepper (depending on how hot you like it)

to taste:

ground nutmeg

chili powder

turmeric

ground black pepper

ground cloves

OR

berbere spice mix

3 cups cooked french lentils

1. in a saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. add onions, garlic, and peppers, stirring until softened.

2. add water, tomato paste, salt and red pepper; stir until combined.

3. add lentils; cook, uncovered, about 5 minutes. spice it up with the 'to taste' spices until mixture tastes balanced to your palate.

4. puree until smooth.

to make the nachos, i put toasted quinoa over corn tortilla chips, and the lentils over the quinoa (i know it sounds weird, but it's good!), and then add whatever nacho toppings i have on hand, such as melted vegan gourmet cheese, soy sour cream or plain yogurt, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cilantro, chives, avocado, hot sauce, etc. sautéed greens are an excellent additional layer as well.

Quickie Lentils

This dish is made extra quick and easy since it uses lots of canned items. In fact, this is such a quickie I'm feeling a smidge guilty for posting it. However, since Amy's asked for more lentil ideas and Christie asked me to jot down what I did, here it is!

2 15oz cans of lentils drained and rinsed
1 7oz can of diced green chilies
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon sweet, smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Sriracha sauce to taste

Put all ingredients into a saucepan and simmer for at least 20 minutes for the flavors to "marry". Yep, that's it. Put this in tortillas with salsa and greens for tacos or burritos. Serve as a topping to steamed grains, potatoes or yams.

Yes, I suggest Sriracha to give some heat to this dish, just add as much or as little as you like. I find in small amounts it adds a brightness and just a little heat to any dish, plus sometimes seems more easy to control than using powdered, hot chilies.

Except for the lentils you can really wing it with this recipe (really more a "suggestion" than a "recipe"). Heck you could even wing the legumes and use garbanzos, pintos, red beans... you get the picture. By all means, if you don't want to use canned legumes, don't. Just make the legumes first and use them drained -- about 3 cups or so.

Add more or use less cumin if you want. A squeeze of lime would be great in this. Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves chopped up and added on top would be lovely (our's had gone nasty in the fridge... ooops). Leave out the green chilies if you don't have them. Add some mustard seed, powdered coriander, tumeric, ginger and black pepper (or just some garam masala) to start taking this more of an Indian dal direction.