Vegan Holiday Lentil Loaf Food

VEGAN LENTIL LOAF

Steps:

• First, cook the lentils. Combine all ingredients together in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F once 10-15 minutes have passed.
• In the meantime, cook the Vegetables for the filling. Add a splash of Water to a large sauté pan along with the Onion, Celery, and Garlic. Cook over medium heat, then add in the Carrots with an additional splash of water and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
• Next, add the diced Mushrooms along with 1 tbsp of Tamari and the fresh Herbs. Stir well and sauté the mixture over Medium heat until almost all of the liquid has evaporated from the pan, around 10-12 minutes. You want the vegetables to be as dry as possible!
• Once the Lentils have finished cooking, transfer them to a fine METAL strainer (do not use a strainer with large holes) and use a spatula to "stir" the lentils and remove as much extra liquid as possible. The Red Lentils will break down and become a thick puree, while the Brown Lentils will remain relatively intact.
• Add the Lentil Puree, cooked Vegetables, Walnuts, Ground Flax, and remaining 1 tbsp of Tamari to a large bowl. Mix until everything is evenly incorporated, then firmly pack the "batter" into a greased or lined 8×4″ loaf pan. There should be a little extra batter protruding from the top of the pan - I like to round this out to create an even top of the loaf.
• Bake the loaf in the oven for 50 minutes, then remove and let sit in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving, preferably overnight. I would suggest reheating the loaf in the oven just before you slice it, so it can be served warm.

VEGAN LENTIL LOAF

Steps:

• Cook rice according to package directions.
• Make a flax egg by mixing 1 tbsp of flax meal with 2 1/2 tbsp of water and set aside for at least 5 minutes.
• Boil lentils in 2 quarts of water for 18 minutes, then drain.
• While the lentils are cooking, dice 2 onions, and saute them in olive oil over low heat.
• Sprinkle the onions with 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp poultry seasoning, and 2 cloves minced garlic. Continue to saute over low heat for 10-12 minutes until translucent.
• Add 2 cups cooked rice, cooked lentils, cooked onions (and/or other cooked veggies), 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tsp salt, and flax egg to a food processor and pulse a few times until everything is combined and partially mashed together.
• Fill an oiled bread loaf pan with the mixture and pack it down tightly.
• Top with ketchup or other sauce.
• Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 1 hour.
• Allow cooling for about 15 minutes before slicing.

VEGAN LENTIL LOAF

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
• Prepare lentils by rinsing them and adding to a pot with water and a bay leaf. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat down and simmer covered until all the liquid is absorbed and lentils are tender (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat, discard the bay leaf and set the lentils aside to cool. This step can be done in advance.
• In the meantime toast walnuts by spreading them onto a baking sheet and toasting in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a medium sauté pan and cook onions, garlic, carrots and celery until they've softened and become fragrant. About 5-10 minutes. Once cooked remove from stovetop to cool.
• Add lentils (reserve ½ cup for later), cooked veggies, toasted walnuts, oats, tamari, tomato paste, ground flaxseed, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, thyme, oregano, basil, cayenne pepper, ground pepper and sea salt to the food processor. Pulse until mixture is just combined and the texture is to your liking. You want the mixture to be combined enough to stick together, but you don't want it to be completely pulverized.
• Stir in the reserved lentils and press mixture into parchment lined loaf pan. I used a 9" x 5" x 2½".
• In a small bowl stir together glaze ingredients and spread the glaze over top of the loaf.
• Bake covered with foil for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for about 8 more minutes. Let the loaf rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
• Store leftovers in a sealed container for up to 5 days in the fridge. Or freeze for up to 1 month.

VEGAN HOLIDAY LENTIL LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Chop onion and celery finely, and crush the garlic clove.
• Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray, and saute the onion, garlic and celery until onion is translucent.
• Add the sage.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
• Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and fill the loaf pan with the mixture.
• Press down.
• Bake 30 minutes covered, 10 minutes uncovered.
• Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.