Lentil Loaf

Around our house we embrace our omnivore sensibilities; we have not fallen into many repeated food patterns, and we tend to cook a diverse menu every week.

Recently we had our friend over for her birthday dinner.   She enjoys a vegetarian diet, but she also eats fish. We enjoy seafood so it seemed a natural place to begin the brainstorm for our menu.  As we considered our student budget, and the market price for salmon, we transitioned into thinking about vegetarian dishes.  That was when I began considering a vegetarian "meat" loaf.

During a quick internet search, we found a recipe that looked good.  I carefully read the ingredients aloud, as if to imagine them in our fridge and pantry as I made my way down the list.  I finished reading, and it was unanimous: Lentil Meatloaf it was!  We had everything we needed to make it.

The special feature of this loaf is the glaze that gets brushed over the top before it gets put into the oven.  The glaze is made from ketchup, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar.  It is naughty enough to make this healthy loaf snazzy, and yet subtle enough to not overpower the delicious ingredients.

This recipe is an adapted version of the one I found on the blog Eat, Live, Run.  It was a joy to make throughout the entire process.  Perhaps it was because the ingredients were so wholesome.

Ingredients:
1 cup green lentils
3 cups vegetable broth
1 large onion, medium dice
1 stalk celery, small dice
1 large carrot, grated
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
1 Tbsp fresh sage
2 tsp kosher salt
cracked black pepper

For the glaze:
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a pot, simmer the lentils with the broth for about 25 minutes, until they are tender and the broth is absorbed.  Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a 350 degree oven for about six minutes, and chop them when they have cooled.  Saute the onions and celery until they are soft.  Add the carrot, sage, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook the mixture for a few more minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Let the mixture cool for a few minutes (you don't want the eggs to cook), and then add the eggs, walnuts, and panko.  When the mixture is complete, press it into a greased loaf pan.

In a small bowl mix the ingredients for the glaze together.  Using a pastry brush, spread the glaze onto the top of the loaf.  Bake for 45 minutes, and pop it out onto a platter, and slice it.  We paired our lentil loaf with au gratin potatoes, steamed baby broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and spinach salad.  It was a wonderful dinner.  We vowed to make the lentil loaf again really soon, maybe for our next vegetarian guest.