A gluten free vegan lentil loaf – super yummy, hearty and perfect for the big holiday of love. A lot of people think meat when they try to envision a christmas meal. But the holiday of love can easily be celebrated without any animal products.
Celebrating christmas in a healthy, cruelty free way? Hell yes!
This nourishing holiday roast with walnuts, lentils, celery and other full ingredients is a super healthy alternative for the traditional roast. Not only is it gluten free, but also rich in proteins and thus creating a hearty taste experience that warms the belly on cold winter days.
Roast, baby, roast!
There’s nothing better than a holiday roast that’s rich in taste! To reach this intensive taste, I used the technique of roasting. Roasting is the process in which ingredients, like the onions, the garlic, the veggies and also the tomato puree in this recipe, are fermented for a short, but hot, period of time without adding any liquids, creating aromas and flavors (Other examples of roasting flavors are freshly roasted coffee and selfmade bread… mmmh, that smell!)
You don’t really need a food processor, but…
… it’s just a lot more fun with it!
Plant based diets aren’t all too complicated or extravagant, they can in fact be kept very simple. Because of this, even the biggest cooking grouch can manage to eat a vegan diet, if they really want to. But for people like me who can’t get enough of cooking or who want to simplify their day-to-day lives, pots, pans and regular blenders can, frankly, become boring very fast. And a good food processor can really revolutionize the process of making meals and bring a lot of inspiration into your own cooking habits. It can also make a huge difference when it comes to time and effort.
Lifehack!
I’ve personally been cooking with a food processor with cooking function since 2017. And I have not regretted this decision one single second. It really is quite the lifehack! This year, I became a proud owner of the Moulinex i-Companion xl (lovingly also called Mouli). It can chop, blend, grind, knead, rasp, fry, simmer, cook, and a lot more! So, if you are thinking about taking the next step to improve your cooking skills and possibilities, I can highly recommend the Mouli.
You can find out more about the Mouli on Moulinex’ website or by directly contacting me regarding any questions you may have about the model that I am using. You can also use the comment section below. Questions and ideas are always welcome 😉
More recipe ideas by me for a successful vegan holiday
Are you looking for a very special seasonal starter? How about this Jerusalem artichoke soup?
Or do you feel more like a warming Spice Chai Latte?
Gluten free vegan lentil loaf
Ingredients
- 300 g lentils brown, soaked in water overnight for 8 hours (alternatively use canned, precooked lentils to reduce cooking time)
- 150 g walnuts
- 100 g celery
- 1 carrot 120g
- 1-2 onions 150g
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp tomato puree
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme or 1 Tbsp dried
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary or 1/2 Tbsp dried
- 1/2 Tsp chilli powder
- 1 Tsp paprika powder
- 60 g buckwheat flour alternatively wholemeal spelled flour
- 20 g dried mushrooms soaked in 70ml water
- salt and pepper
For the icing
- 50 g tomato puree
- 100 ml cranberry juice depending on what is available, either unsweetened or sweetened, or alternatively orange juice
- 2-3 soft dates 30g (depending on the sweetness of the juice)
Instructions
- Place the soaked lentils in a sieve, rinse and cook in thoroughly salted water for 40-45 min. After cooking, pour off the remaining water and let lentils cool down in a bowl. (Moulinex i-Companion xl settings: sieve, 100°C, 45 minutes)
- Grind the walnuts in a food processor or blender and put in a big bowl. (Moulinex i-Companion xl settings: knead and grinding knife, level 11, 35 seconds) Tip: You don't need to clean the Mouli between steps since everything will be blended together at the end anyways ;))
- Peel the celery and rasp or chop in a food processor, same with the carrot. Place in a small bowl. (Moulinex i-Companion settings: knead and grinding knife, level 12, 30 seconds)
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, circulation mode
- Peel the onions and garlic, chop in a processor or with a knife (Moulinex i-Companion xl settings: Knead and grinding knife, level 12, 20 seconds)
- Either leave the chopped onion and garlic in the Mouli and add olive oil, or put into a pan and fry in hot olive oil for 7 minutes. (Moulinex i-Companion xl settings: Knead and grinding knife, level 2, 130°C, 7 mins)
- Add chopped carrot and celery and 1 Tbsp tomato puree. Fry everything for 7 more minutes. (Moulinex i-Companion settings: Knead and grinding knife, level 2, 130°C, 7 mins)
- Add the content of the pan/pot and the rest of the ingredients except for 2/3 of cooked lentils to the walnuts in the big bowl. Put the rest of the lentils (2/3) in the Mouli pot or a processor, or use a blender to blend the lentils. Alternatively use a potato masher to mash the lentils until blended. Then, add into the big bowl, too, and knead everything well using your hands. Add pepper and salt. (Moulinex i-Companion xl settings: Knead and grinding knife, level 11, 20 seconds)
- Pour the mix into a baking form with baking paper. Smoothen out the surface. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 50-60 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Mix all the ingredients in a small pot and cook for 5 minutes. If there's any bigger date pieces, mash those with a fork.
- After taking the roast out of the oven, let it cool for 15 minutes, still in the baking form. Then, take it out of the form, add the icing on top, and serve immediately.
