Cooking for Thanksgiving - Veggieloaf

For those of you who don't know, thanksgiving is coming up in the US, Thursday to be exact. It's basically an excuse to get a few days off work, travel halfway across the country (if you are so inclined) to be with family and eat mountains of food while either a) watching American football, b) drinking with family, c) remembering that while you love your family, it's great you only have to see them once a year, or d) all of the above. While I must admit this is not my experience, I have been told by others that this is the case.

Anyway, we have actually been celebrating thanksgiving in Australia since 2004 when we hosted John from Seattle. This will be however our first thanksgiving in both America and in the cold (it's almost snowing). We decided that as we would be celebrating thanksgiving in West Lafayette, we would gather together those others that did not want to travel but wanted good food and company.

So we have thirteen people getting together this Thursday at Robin's place (again :)) Group consensus was that I would look after the menu and the planning (and pre-cooking), everyone would help cook on the day, everyone would put in $20, with any money left over to be donated to a local charity in keeping with the thanksgiving spirit. Over the next few days I will relay the dishes we end up cooking, but I thought that I would start with a veggieloaf. I had a few requests for a vegetarian main dish to go along with the turkey, that 'could be smothered in cranberry jelly'. So after consulting many recipes, I took my inspiration from a vegetable loaf with lentils, falafel, the chickpea and spiced patty, and Alton Brown's technique for meatloaf.

It sure looks good out of the oven and before the final glaze of the roasted red pepper sauce (see below) and I will let you know how it tastes come Thursday!

Veggieloaf with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

For the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
4 red peppers, roasted & diced
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
4 cloves garlic
6 oz. silken tofu (170g)

2 tsp red wine vinegar

dash hot sauce
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

For the Lentil Loaf:
1 cup orange lentils
1 can chickpeas, drained

1 can black beans, drained
1 ½ cup vegetable broth

1 yellow onion, diced fine

1/2 red onion, diced fine
2 large stalks of celery, diced fine
3 large carrots, grated finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. mushrooms, diced (110g)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
2 tsp cumin seeds, ground

1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground

2 cloves, ground
dash hot sauce

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp. butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Make the roasted red pepper sauce first by combining all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or food processor and pureeing until smooth. Set aside.

3. Add lentils, chickpeas, black beans and broth to a saucepan and cook for 15 mins uncovered until the lentils have dissolved, the chickpeas are soft and most of the liquid evaporated. Start to mush most of the chickpeas and beans to thicken mixture. Allow to cool.

4. Saute the diced onions and celery until slightly browned. Add grated carrot and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the mushrooms and repeat. Finally add the garlic and cook for a further 2 mins. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.

5. Fold in 1/4 of the roasted red pepper sauce, the herbs, spices, salt, pepper and whisked eggs. Fold in the bean mix, then add the breadcrumbs. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan and dot with butter.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the loaf is firm and cooked through. Allow the loaf to cool for at least 5 minutes before turning out onto a tray lined with foil. Baste with another 1/4 of the roasted red pepper sauce and place back in the oven for 10 mins to form a crust. If eating straight away, allow to cool for a few minutes then slice, serving with the remaining roasted red pepper sauce on the side. Or wrap well in Aluminium foil and keep refrigerated. To reheat, place in a 350F (180C) oven for about 15 mins or until warmed through.