I was reminded this weekend that lentils exist. So I browsed a bunch of lentil recipes & found one that looked interesting. I've made a lot of pseudo-meat loaf in the past, but I'd always used frozen veggie meat crumbles. This turned out pretty well. It was a bit too salty/savory for me, and I'd already cut the broth back from the suggested amount. I'll probably cut it out completely next time -- the BBQ sauce already adds enough saltiness. I'll probably also take a suggestion from the comments & use this recipe to make veggie burgers rather than a loaf. It had that trademark bean-based squishiness that a lot of homemade veggie burgers have. I couldn't get it out of the pan without it turning into just a pile of lentil stuff, but it was still good. I think you could also make this in different flavors by replacing the onions/garlic/BBQ sauce with other stuff -- chopped + pureed pineapple is what came to mind first for me, to make funky burgers that you could put grilled onions, peach salsa, and guacamole on.
Original recipe
here.
- 1 1/2 cups dry lentils
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups pre-cooked mixed wild rice (I cooked this with half broth, half water)
- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Cook rice if you haven't already. Mix lentils, broth, and water together, and cook until lentils are well done (squishy), about 30 minutes. Chop up the onion (a food processor works great) & the garlic. Sautee onion & garlic until they're softened. Once the rice & lentils are done, mix everything together. Oil the sides & bottom of a loaf pan -- this will fill the loaf pan all the way to the top, and maybe beyond that if you have a stumpy pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
