This hearty vegan veggie loaf or "meatloaf" is made from a base of lentils and rice, baked up to perfection and topped with a flavorful BBQ glaze. The ingredients and amounts are enough to make 2 loaves and you will be able to cut 6 nice slices out off each loaf.
4cupsmushroomsportobello or other mushrooms, finely chopped
5cupsspinachroughly chopped
1cupgreen onionschopped
1cancanned whole tomatoesChopped, I use Flora San Marzano Tomato of Agro Sarnese-noncerini D.O.P. - only use the tomatoes, use the sauce for the BBQ sauce
½cupcilantrofinely chopped
½cupparsleyfinely chopped
1tbspsagefresh sage, minced
2tspsambalor any other hot sauce
½cupdried mushroomsground, use a coffee grinder or spice grinder
BBQ Sauce
¾cuptomato pasteLow sodium, I like to use Woodstock Organic Tomato Paste
¼cupmaple syrup
1.5cupmarsala wine
2tspworcestershire (vegan)use the vegan Worcestershire sauce to make this a vegan dish!
1tspliquid smoke
2.5tbspapple cider vinegar
¼cuptamariReduced sodium SAN-J Gluten free Tamari
1.5cuptomato sauceuse the sauce from "San Marzano tomato" can
½tspchipotle powder
1cupvegetable stockLow sodium vegetable stock or make your own
Instructions
Prepare your mise en place, including the BBQ sauce ingredients and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Personally I like to make the BBQ sauce first so I don't have to worry about it anymore but this is up to you.
Start the cooking process by bringing the lentils and rice to a boil in two different pots (lentils are shown in the first picture). After getting the lentils to a boil, set the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender and most of the water is absorbed. Mash the lentils before adding them to the sauted onions, mushroom and spinach (2nd picture).
Dry sauté the onions* using some vegetable broth if needed. Add the jalapeño pepper and garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds. At this point you can add all the remaining ingredients except the lentils and rice. Simmer for about 10 minutes.* Note: To dry sauté (or sautéing without oil!) use high heat and frequent movement to caramelize the food. An important thing to keep in mind is that foods will not brown, color or caramelize if you use liquid or have too much moisture. Once you achieve the desired coloration then add your liquid.
Add the rice and lentils to your mushroom mixture and mix everything.
In a pot, mix the liquid ingredients for the BBQ sauce, reserving the cup of the vegetable stock and whisk well to ensure all is mixed thoroughly. Add the vegetable stock and thoroughly combine. Bring the sauce to a boil and let it simmer so the sauce will reduce and thicken into a nice glaze (about half the volume from what you started with). You can make this before you start cooking the lentils and rice!.
Fill your backing dish with the lentil/rice & mushroom mixture. Leave some space so you can add a layer of the BBQ sauce. Place the dish in the oven for 45 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
Let it cool down for about 15 to 30 minutes. Place your serving plate on top of the baking dish and flip around. Add some of the BBQ sauce on top of the loaf and decorate with some parsley or cilantro. Enjoy!