In my quest to use our leftover lentils, I searched out recipes for lentil loaf. After pursuing a few options, I decided on this Vegetarian Lentil Loaf. I was a bit skeptical that it would hold together without an obvious binder, but I decided to give it a shot.The recipe calls for sage and Italian seasoning. Of course, we happened to be out of both. And I usually make my own Italian seasoning, but we were also out of oregano. Note to self - restock spice cabinet! Anyhow, I used 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp parsley, 1/4 tsp basil, a healthy few grinds of black pepper and some tomato paste concentrate to liven up the flavors.
When the loaf had about 10 minutes to go, I made a side dish of white corn, grape tomatoes and spinach that I seasoned with salt & minced onion flakes. Then, I added a healthy splash of vegetable broth to make a sauce.
The recipe said to let the loaf cool a little bit to help with slicing, but their definition of a little bit might have been, oh, 20 minutes. Mine was five minutes, and it's 9:00 and I'm hungry. As you can tell from the title of this blog, it didn't quite slice as much as it kind of splooshed. But, while I lose points for form, I really liked the flavors. Having everything mellow out in the oven for an hour really got the spices and onions and tomatoey goodness to combine very well.
The side dish was much more of a success - it had a nice richness that my veggie sautes normally don't have. I think I'll try the broth and mixed onion trick more often.
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