Lentil, seed, veggie loaf – chuck it together and go

This little loaf worked a treat. I was planning on making lentils burgers, but burgers have a tendency to go dry (and also a loaf is far less messy!). So I had a go at making a loaf and it was so good I made a second one a few days later, changing the ingredients up just a tiny bit.

The loaf is very moist, it can be served with an egg on top if you wanted to raise the protein intake further, or with some melted cheese, or just as it is with lashings of vegetables. I actually have been eating this like bread also as a snack with some cream cheese, or cheese/ butter/ peanut butter; I guess you could call the lentil loaf high protein bread!

Enjoy,
Andrea

Ingredients:

• ~250/ 300g red lentils (I used approximately half a bag) – rinse under the tap
• dried thyme – at a guess 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
• dried oregano  – at a guess 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
• cumin – a decent shake e.g. 1/2 teaspoon
• garam masala – a decent shake e.g. 1/2 teaspoon
• (second time around I added some ground cinnamon)
• atlantic salt
• 1 diced onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced (I avoid the Chinese garlic and when I can buy French/ Spanish)
• 2 large grated carrots
• 2 sticks celery finely chopped
• 1/2 grated apple (second time around I used the whole apple to save waste)
• Extra virgin Greek olive oil – I buy mine on subscription from Amazon, the same as pictured below.
• Ground millet flakes – sufficient to bind well; e.g. 1 cup
• generous amount of toasted sprouted sunflower seeds (you could use plain/ toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds or flax or chia seeds).

You will need a large bread loaf tin, some parchment paper, and the oven pre-heated to approximately 210C.

Red lentils

Pink garlic

Carrots, celery, apple

Oregano

Cumin

Cinnamon

Garam masala

Extra virgin olive oil

Thyme

Sunflower seeds

Millet flakes

Sea salt

How to make your lentil loaf:

1. Rinse the lentils, cover well with water, toss in the oregano, thyme, cumin, garam masala, salt and if using, cinnamon (I added cinnamon the second time as I was intending a more ‘bread’ type loaf. It was yummy!).
2. Bring to a bubble and then simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft and most of the water is absorbed. Keep an eye on them so that they do not go dry and add more water as needed.
3. In a large saucepan, saute the onions and garlic until soft. Then add the grated carrot, chopped celery, grated apple and heat through until starting to go soft. Turn off and wait for your lentils to be done.
4. When the lentils are soft, toss them into the larger saucepan with the cooked onion mixture, mix through and add your millet flakes and sunflower seeds until the texture is fairly thick and neither too dry, nor too wet. it should be the texture of bread.
5. Transfer to a greased and lined bread tin and bake in the oven anywhere between 190 and 210C (depending on how hot your oven gets) for approximately 50 minutes or until the loaf looks cooked through like a loaf of bread. Unlike bread, however, you want this moist so you don’t need to check that it is cooked through with a knife. If you were to stick a knife in you would want it to come out a little sticky. This makes for a deliciously moist texture.
6. You are now ready to enjoy hot or cooled.
7. Yummy