I was going to send a private message, then thought there are so many good cooks on this forum, that I'd beg a recipe from DanielW on an open forum. He recently mentioned baking lentil bread, something I'd never heard of before, but sounds intriguing. Please, when you get time from your gardening and other interests, would you please post the lentil bread recipe? I'm sure quite a few of us would be grateful.
My daughter is a huge fan of lentils and coming to visit soon. Would love to have this recipe also. Good idea marlingardener - and yes please DanielW Second the motion!
@Daniel W ..... Yoo hoo where are you? We are all waiting to know about this here recipe. You are SO busy doing a million things, I daresay you missed this plea for information, and now we are forming a neat queue.
@Tertters sorry! I took today off to install a ceiling fan and a/c in my library/sewing room/nap room / guest room LOL. I will hop to it tomorrow with my cooking experiment
OK, here it is, so far. First, a bit of explanation. A lentil loaf is the vegetarian community's attempt to fill the gap left by not eating a meat loaf. Not imitate, which it doesn't accomplish. For those in UK and continental Europe, I don't know if there is something similar to meat loaf as a comfort and thrifty food. I grew up on it. My mom had a recipe (1950s and 1960s) containing hamburger, oatmeal, eggs, some other stuff, made into a loaf shape, topped with catsup and baked. It was the main part of a supper meal, and left-overs were made into sandwiches with mayonnaise, mustard, relish. That comfort food is what the lentil loaf is meant to "replace". It's not bread-like. More like a sort of burger in loaf form, to be sliced. One thing, lentils cost a whole lot less than ground beef. In my 20s, I did an experiment on myself and quit eating meat. Not a judgement on anyone else, or attempt to change anyone else, just something I wanted to try for myself. I'm now in my late 60s and haven't eaten meat for more than 40 years. But I do sometimes miss certain comfort foods. During the past couple of years, I've had more nostalgia about foods, hence my return to lentil loaf. The challenge is that lentil loaf doesn't hold together as well as meat loaf. I wanted to find a recipe that didn't crumble. Plus, my original recipe was from Vegetarian Times magazine in the mid 1990s, and included an alternative ingredient that I can't find now. I decided to use that recipe, hybridized with a different recipe I found online, and see what happens. Here it is, still a work in progress. Recipe Two cups rinsed brown lentils. - bring to a boil in six cups of water, boil 40 min. Lentils soak up all of the water and will be very tender. Let them cool off about 30 min so the eggs won't scramble when added. (Eggs are used as a binder.) Combine - 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup oats (I used old fashioned but instant oats might have been better as a binder) 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons dehydrated chopped garlic (I made this a while back. Can you tell I like garlic? ) 2 teaspoons dehydrated tomato powder (I made this a while back. I don't know if such a thing can be bought.) 2 tablespoons tomato sauce (maybe tomato paste would be better, then the tomato powder wouldn't be needed). about 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil (for that "umami" taste) Sautè: 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped carrot Now combine the lentils, the dry mixture, two eggs (well stirred), the sautéed vegetables. I tried using the mixer, the blades gummed up too much so I used the dough hooks. I left it a bit chunky for texture, but most of the lentils were smashed. In the past, I always mixed by hand. Line 8 inch bread pan with parchment paper. Transfer the loaf to the bread pan (there was too much. I baked the rest in a small glass dish). Bake 40 min at 375F (my oven seems to be cooler than recipes require, 350F might be better for others). Take out of oven. Coat the top with about 1/4 cup of catsup. Bake another 15 min. Remove from oven. Let cool before carefully removing parchment paper. Result When hot, this was a little crumbly. Fully cooled, this loaf cut almost like a real meat loaf. A bit more firm and less juicy. It's probably a texture (not flavor) more like a Christmas fruitcake. I thought this was great on sandwiches with mayo, mustard, relish. Next time, I think I'll cut the recipe in half , I may increase the sesame oil (for umami), and the garlic . I think instant oats would bind better than traditional oats, although the texture was already quite good. A little olive oil added, might make it more juicy but will that make it more crumbly? Also, maybe red lentils might give a better color but I don't know if that would change the texture (I looked at the grocery story, no red lentils this time). By the way, an ersatz "meat loaf" might work out using "Beyond Burger" as a replacement for hamburger. But that stuff is pricey. I might still attempt it.
Daniel, thank you so much! I'll try this. Dehydrated tomato powder just isn't available around here. Is there something I could substitute?
@marlingardener I think you could just use tomato paste instead of tomato sauce. I used tomato sauce plus powder because those are what I have on hand.
This looks fabulous! My daughter is a HUGE lentil fan and I'm excited to share it with her. Thank you
