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Holy cooking disaster Batman! Thankfully not today's recipe but due to the recent fridge disaster I have a stack of veggies that I am trying to use up. One being a large courgette which I decided would be perfect for testing out a courgette crisp/chip recipe. I have just sat down after opening my kitchen door and window to let out the charcoal fumes. lol. The recipe stated they needed two hours to roast...at the hour mark I went into the kitchen to check on them only to find a hundred little piles of charcoal. Ah well..can't win them all, eh? lol. Thankfully today's blog recipe had a much better result...
As much as I love to create new and interesting ways of eating as a vegan...sometimes you can't beat the old classic of vegetarian cooking. One such dish is the humble veggie loaf/roast. I've tried many various recipes over the years with varying results. The worst that comes to mind is a red lentil loaf that as soon as you turned it out onto a plate for serving...completely fell apart and splodged over the entire surface of the serving dish and also tasted of nothing. Not a great meal..lol. However one of my very favourites is a cashew nut based loaf that has a herbed stuffing centre so I wasn't surprised to find myself printing off Sondi's recipe after it bounced across my Pinterest screen last night. The attached photo made the loaf look so tasty and I had a cauliflower sat on my kitchen counter waiting to be used up.
The recipe is the creation of Sondi Bruner and for her original recipe and blog posting, please click here. I found her website to be very interesting and came away with some sound advice.
Making this loaf is very simple although there are a few stages but not one of them are hard work. I was actually so intrigued by this recipe I found I enjoyed making each stage and felt quite satisfied when I placed my loaf into the oven to bake. I had such high hopes for the results and I wasn't disappointed. The loaf is wholesome with the herb laden lentil casing and the mashed cauliflower centre provide a great balance to the overall flavour and stop what could have been a very dry loaf. I ate my slice with a side dish of steamed red cabbage and broccoli and felt comforted by this meal. I will most definitely be checking out more of Sondi's recipe very soon and I urge you to do the same...thanks Sondi.
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| Sondi's Lentil Loaf with Garlicky Mashed Cauliflower 'Potatoes' |
Sondi's Lentil Loaf with Garlicky Mashed Cauliflower 'Potatoes' Make 1 2lb Loaf
(Recipe from SondiBruner.com)
1 small head of cauliflower (about 1 1/2 lb)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 cup grated carrot
1 1/2 cups of cooked green lentils
1/4 tsp dried basil, parsley, sage and oregano
1/2 cup of gluten free oats
1 tsp salt
In a veggie steamer, steam the cauliflower and garlic for 10-12 minutes. Until tender. Let them cool for a bit and then adding a 1/4 tsp of the salt, blend in a food processor until smooth. Set to one side.
Preheat the oven to 35o'F/180'C/GM4.
In a large pot, saute the onion in a few tablespoons of water until softened. Add the celery, carrot, lentils, herbs and remaining salt and cook for about 10 minutes.
Stir in the gluten free oats.
Take half of the mixture out of the pot and plunk it in the food processor. Pulse it 8 - 10 times until it gets slightly mashed, then put it in the pot and stir.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Take about 3/4 of the mixture and press it into the bottom and sides of the pan. Fill the centre with the mashed cauliflower, then press the remaining mixture on top.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top of the loaf is dry and golden.
NB: I left mine to set in the tin for 10 minutes before I turned it out onto a plate. I also didn't use the full amount of mashed cauliflower. ~R~
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Wednesday has been very good to you...
~Red~
NB: This recipe is not mine so I take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard work and creation of Sondi Bruner and hers alone. I do thank her for it...~R~
