Yummy Vegan "Plant Loaf"

I know what you're thinking. Plant loaf?? That sounds.. Er.. Interesting. And not nearly as savory sounding as "Meat Loaf". I assure you, however, this dish tastes about a 100 times better and is completely vegan!

I got the original recipe from OhHowSheGlows blog, and tested my own modifications. You know it's a great recipe when you can add or omit ingredients and it still turns out like a champ.

Ready?...

To start, you're going to need a few ingredients. These can all be found at your local grocery store.

Main Ingredients:
3 tbsp - ground flax seed
1/2 cup - warm water

1 cup - Dry lentils
3 cups- vegetable broth
1 splash - olive oil (for broth)
1/2 cup - oat flour
3 cloves - garlic, minced
1/2 of a sweet onion, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1/3 cup - green onion, diced
2 or 3 mushrooms, finely diced (optional)
1/2 of a peeled/shredded apple
1/4 cup - raisins (optional)
1 cup(~3 slices) - breadcrumbs, toasted
1 small bag - chopped/toasted walnuts
1/2 tsp - salt
1/2 tsp - pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp - thyme
1/2 tsp - dill
1/4 tsp - fennel (optional)

The Glaze:
1 tbsp - balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp - REAL maple syrup
1 tbsp - vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
1 tbsp - tomato paste
1 large splash of good rum. Because we all love rum and it tastes yummy. Please don't ruin this with cheap-a$$ Bacardi...

Ok, let's get started!

Directions:
1) In a medium saucepan, bring the veggie broth to a boil. Dump in your lentils. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil so the pan doesn't boil over. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the broth has been soaked up and the lentils are nice and mushy (about 40 minutes or so). Stir occasionally during this time. Once done, remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.

TIP: Everything else, you should be able to prepare while the lentils are cooking, so read on...

2) Pre-heat your oven to 350*(f).

3) While waiting for the oven to heat, dice up the bread to make crumbs. I use Udi's gluten-free bread cause their little loaves are awesome and yummy. 3 slices usually do the trick. Toast the crumbs in a baking sheet! When done, put in a bowl and set aside to cool.

4) Make your glaze. There's really no rhyme or reason to this one; just combine all the glaze ingredients together and stir.

5) Using same baking sheet as before for the bread crumbs, put some parchment paper in it, and dump your chopped walnuts in. Spread evenly around, and bake in oven for about 5-8 minutes. When done, put in same bowl as breadcrumbs and let cool.

6) While waiting for all that toasted mess, prepare the flax mixture. This is a great baking substitute for eggs!

Place the flax in a small bowl. Warm up the 1/2 cup water, and pour over the ground flax. STIR WELL. Then, push it aside and let it sit for about 5-10 min to gel up.

7) Prepare your vegetables! In a large skillet, sauté your onion and garlic with vegan butter on med/low heat for about 2-3 min. DO NOT BURN THEM! we just want 'em translucent.

When the onions are finally tender, toss in the carrot. When the carrot starts to get tender, throw in the apples, celery, chives, raisins, mushrooms, and sauté for another few minutes.

Add all your spices, and mix together. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Despite there being apple and raisins in this, it's going to start smelling quite savory.

8) The lentils should be ready by this point. Dump into a large mixing bowl. Mash the crap out of them with your toes.

I'm just kidding, don't use your toes. That would be gross. Use a potato masher. Like the attached picture, see? This will help everything stick together.

9) Add your sautéd vegetable mixture and flax gelatin mixture (yes, ALL of it) to the mess, and stir.

Next, add your oat flour! Stir in. Add the toasted breadcrumbs and walnuts. Mix it all together with your hands! (yes, just like regular meat loaf).

You can adjust the seasonings at this point if you wish. Yeah, you can taste it 'cause there isn't anything bad that will poison you if you eat it raw!

9) Press the mixture firmly into a loaf pan (I like to use parchment paper in it for easy removal). If you're tactile like I am, this is going to feel awesome on your hands, and you may not want to stop smoothing it out! Lol...

Attack it with the rummy, I mean yummy chilled glaze, and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Once it's done, let cool for about 10 minutes. This is important as it needs to set (and it will, don't worry) and you're all done!

Serves about 8 thick slices, and you can pair it with your favorite side. :-)