Cashews and Lentils Loaf
This recipe is for the vegetarian equivalent of a meatloaf. Serve it alongside a steamed vegetable. It's good topped with the Vegetarian Gravy.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 6
- 1 tablespoon cumin seed
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large onion, peeled and diced
- 2 cups carrots, shredded
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- Optional: 1 chili pepper, seeded and diced
- Sea salt, to taste
- ½ teaspoon cracked or freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked lentils
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- Optional: Nonstick spray
- Boiling water
Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until they start to brown and release their aroma. Either in a spice grinder or using a mortar and a pestle, grind to a powder and set it aside.
Add the oil and celery to a large microwave-safe bowl; cover and microwave on high for 1 minute.
Add the onion, carrots, red bell pepper, and chili pepper, if using, to the bowl; stir, cover, and then microwave on high in 1-minute increments, until the onions are transparent and the bell pepper is soft. (Uncover and stir between each 1-minute microwave cooking session.) Stir in salt and cracked pepper.
Add the lentils, cheese, and cashews to the bowl and stir into the cooked vegetables. Add the eggs and mix well.
Put the cooking rack into the crock of the slow cooker. Create a loaf pan out of two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Line with a piece of nonstick aluminum foil or spray with nonstick spray. Shape the loaf in the pan created out of foil and place it on the cooking rack.
Pour enough boiling water into the slow cooker to reach just under the top of the rack. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or until the loaf has set. Remove from the slow cooker and allow loaf to rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Loaf Pan Handles
Create handles to make it easier to lift the loaf out of the slow cooker by crossing doubled strips of foil long enough to span the cooking rack and both sides of the cooker under the foil packet holding the nut loaf. When the nut loaf is done, you can cross the strips over the top of the nut loaf, and grabbing them with one hand use a wide spatula to reach under the loaf to lift it out of the slow cooker.
