Epic Veggie Loaf with a Chilli Tomato Glaze

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Epic Veggie Loaf with a Chilli Tomato Glaze

I don’t know about you, but even though the summer seasons come and go, I find myself craving what others would term as ‘Winter comfort food’ – it happens to me every summer. Anyhow, I always succumb to this craving, and off the back of it, I have created a wondrous loaf, that I served with a simple coleslaw – a green salad would have worked just as well. In the winter months you could serve it with a baked potato together with steamed veggies of your choice for a full meal – shredded cabbage with apple sauce would also be a perfect addition to this. Whichever and whenever, I can promise you that this loaf will live up to its name, and truly hit the spot.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE LOAF

olive oil

1 large white onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 sweet carrots, roughly chopped

1 cup of uncooked puy lentils, pre-boil and drain

2 to 3 Tbsp apple sauce

2 to 3 Tbsp flaxseeds

1 Tbsp peanut butter

½ tsp chia seeds

Himalayan salt to taste

1 tsp curry powder

½ tsp chilli powder

1 cup string beans, chopped into ¼” lengths

¼ cup giant black raisins or sultanas

1 cup pecan nuts

¼ cup (60 ml) warm water

METHOD

Boil your puy lentils in more than sufficient water, and when soft, drain and set aside.

Whilst your lentils are cooking, process your pecan nuts for a few seconds in your food processor, then add your carrots, onion and garlic, and process for a few further seconds.

Prepare a wide low level saucepan with some olive oil on the heat, and spoon in the mixture from your food processor. Stir the mixture in, and cook until onions are transparent and soft (keep an eye not to burn anything). Add your raisins/sultanas, your spices and other ingredients one at a time, finishing off lastly with the precooked lentils. Cook and stir for around 10 minutes, or a little more.

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 360ºF (180ºC).

The mixture must be semi-mashed, so that it has texture but it’s a little on the mushy side too (by all means, once it has cooled down, process around a quarter of the cooked mixture in your food processor, then add it back to the remaining unprocessed mixture. I left mine unprocessed, but roughly mashed it.

Now spoon this mixture into a pre-greased loaf tin that has also been greased and lined with greaseproof paper – press down with a spatula, so that it is flat on the top, and make your glaze topping as per below.

INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE CHILLI TOMATO & GARLIC GLAZE

1 cup (250 ml) tomato ketchup

1 tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp garlic powder or granules

a dash of olive oil

¼ cup (60 ml) warm water

2 Tbsp (30 ml) sweet chilli sauce

Place the above ingredients in a large mug, or glass bowl, then mix thoroughly and spread evenly over the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf in your preheated oven for around 45 minutes until the edges are golden.

Bon Appétit !

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