Legume Triumph

Although I am not a vegetarian, more often than not I do cook like one.  The latest example is today's culinary experiment, vegetarian meatloaf!  Meatless meatloaf?  What?  Stay with me.

This meatloaf uses mashed up lentils in place of ground beef, and everything else is just the same as regular meatloaf.  It turned out to be delicious!  Tasted pretty much like meatloaf, honest!  I gave it an 8 out of 10, which in my eyes is definitely a triumph.  The recipe is at the bottom if you're intrigued enough to try this yourself ;-)

In case you didn't know, lentils are super healthy - full of protein, fiber, and iron.  In fact, Health magazine has named lentils one of the world's top five healthiest foods.  Plus, the oats, egg, and garlic add extra nutrition to this dish.  Interestingly, while learning about lentils on the internet I found out that the Old Testament has a story about Jacob purchasing the birthright from Esau with lentils.  I happen to be reading The Red Tent right now, which is about Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and includes stories about Jacob and Esau!  I wonder if reading about that region is what gave me the notion that I needed to make something with lentils.  I do get pretty engrossed in whatever I'm reading/watching at any given time.

Recipe:

1. Cook 1 cup of lentils in 2 cups of water.  Let it cook for at least 30 minutes, more like 40-45, so that the lentils are quite soft.

2. Drain (although there won't be much water left), allow to cool slightly, then mash up the lentils in a mixing bowl.  They don't have to be completely mashed, just give 'em a good smashing.  

3. Add one cup of quick-dry oats, 3/4 cup shredded cheese of your choosing (cheddar, swiss, jack, American), and 1 small diced onion.  I also added some minced fresh garlic at this point - up to you. 

4. Add in one egg, 4.5 ounces of tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce (I used spaghetti sauce but later wished I had used plain tomato sauce), and whatever spices/herbs you want.  I used garlic powder, salt and pepper, parsley, and a little cayenne pepper.  I also added a bit of olive oil thanks to a recommendation from one of the recipe's reviewers who said it was a little dry.

5. Mix well and spoon into a loaf pan or a casserole dish.  Smooth out the top.  Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes. 

6. When the top is starting to look like it's getting dry and cooked, take it out of the oven and top it with a glaze of ketchup, a little Worcestershire sauce, and a little brown sugar.  Yum!

7. Let cook a little while longer and then enjoy!

Also, here is the recipe I used if you'd like to check it out yourself.  I used some of the reader comments - I ALWAYS read those because they are often VERY helpful - so check those out too.  Happy lentil-ing!