Lentil... melange solid?

Last night I made my first ever lentil loaf. As far back as childhood I’ve been instinctually repelled by anything “loaf,” unless of course it is a crusty mound of fresh-baked bread. But the idea of mooshing together an ambiguous cast of meat or meat-like ingredients into a shapeless, brown wad does not, by its very nature, stimulate the appetite. With the holiday weight gain in full effect, and the promotion of dessert from food course to Meal-in-and-of-Itself that seems to have taken hold of my daily eating patterns, I’ve returned to the healthiest of healthy cookbooks to populate my fridge with some responsible dinners and leftovers. So, lentil loaf or bust.

For a first attempt, I thought this turned out pretty good. A tad dry— something, perhaps, that can be tweaked by adding an egg next time around. This recipe is a slightly tweaked version of one that appeared in Healing With Whole Foods, an encyclopedic behemoth on the properties of certain foods and herbs according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. The book also contains hundreds of pages of recipes, all low-fat and nutrient-dense.

Cook up 2 cups of lentils. (I chose dark lentils for this since they retain their shape a little better. 2 cups, covered with water, brought to a boil and then simmered for 45 minutes or so.. until they’re soft and cooked through. I also like to cook them with a bay leaf or two thrown in.)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a loaf pan with canola oil spray.

Saute 1 small onion and 1 minced clove of garlic in a pan with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.

Add all of the above plus the following items to a bowl and mix together:

1/2 c whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 c wheat germ
1 tsp fresh sage
1 tsp dried thyme
dash of salt
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/4 c sunflower seeds

Add broth from cooking lentils to the mixture until it appears to be binding together.. about 1 1/2 cups.

Cook covered for 30 minutes. Cook uncovered for 20-25 more mins.

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Tonight, back to experimental territory for buckwheat crepes filled with sauteed arugula (it’s almost all used up!) and goat cheese.