If you've been a follower of this blog for any amount of time you may have noticed something missing...well not really missing, but not featured yet. Meat. It originally started as an effort to save money & be healthier - after all beans are a heck of a lot cheaper than meats - then it turned into a challenge of sorts: searching for tasty new recipes sans meat.* We weren't sure how it would all work or if it would even last, but we've made it so far. We really don't miss meat, especially when we happen upon a recipe such as this. I'm going to try and not go on and on about how good this is...but it is SO GOOD. Very meatloaf-ish, just tastier. Brad is super excited to take the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow in sandwich form.
Lentil Loaf
1 cup red/orange lentils
1 cup bulgur (or leftover rice, millet or oats)
1 cup grated cheese (orginal recipe calls for organic cheddar cheese, I used colby jack)
1/2 cup barbeque sauce (tomato sauce or salsa)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (parsley, scallions, chives or mix)
2 teaspoons tamari (or soy sauce)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add lentils and simmer for 10-15 minutes (until soggy). Drain and rinse with cold water until cool. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour mixture into oiled loaf pan or casserole dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
*We are not vegetarian by any means - we've heard it classified as "flexitarian"...we still enjoy meat at restaurants, or your house, we're just consuming far less than we used to. I'm sure if you stick with us long enough, you'll see one or two meat recipes featured on here.
original recipe found here
3 comments:
Everyone who's reading this and thinking, "Lentil loaf? I don't know..." has no idea how good this is. I admit, I was skeptical too... it's a little to close to vegetarian-as-fake-meat (tofurkey, anyone?) which is a pet peeve of mine. There are too many good vegetables and vegetarian ingredients in the world to go to great pains to pretend it's meat.
Ten years ago this recipe probably would have been called "Vegetarian Meatloaf" and you couldn't have paid me enough to touch it. Of course, ten years ago I wouldn't have eaten Lentil Loaf either.
The bottom line is this: to date, this is my favorite entree we've posted. Don't be afraid.
This looks great. We'll have to try this one too. Are lentils high in protein??? You know Justy and his protein intake :)
Yes, lentils are a great source of protein! Check out this site http://www.highproteinfoods.net/
Post a Comment