Serves 6
The sweet strawberry sauce is a perfect contrast to the earthy, fully loaded lentil loaf. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Tip: soaking baking paper in water makes it much easier to mould into the shape of the pan.
2 cups (500 ml) dried green lentils, rinsed
1 cup (250 ml) almond flour
160 g can tomato paste
1 cup (250 ml) chopped white button mushrooms
1 cup (250 ml) grated carrot
1 cup (250 ml) frozen or fresh green peas
1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp (10 ml) dried thyme
1 tsp (5 ml) cumin
1/2 tsp (2 ml) sea salt
2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp (10 ml) grapeseed oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp (30 ml) raw style sugar of choice
3 cups (750 ml) strawberries, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp (30 ml) balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp (1 ml) freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp (30 ml) chopped fresh basil
Place lentils and 3 cups (750 ml) water in medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse lentils. Place 2 cups (500 ml) cooked lentils in food processor container and blend until puréed.
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). In large bowl, stir together puréed lentils, remaining cooked whole lentils, almond flour, tomato paste, mushrooms, carrot, peas, parsley, garlic, thyme, cumin, salt and eggs.
Spoon mixture into baking paper-lined 9 x 5 in (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan, making sure to leave some baking paper hanging over edges so you can easily lift the loaf out once cooked. Using spatula, spread out mixture, making sure it’s well packed down. Cook for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and continue cooking for 30 seconds. Add strawberries, balsamic vinegar and black pepper; cook 1 minute further. Stir in basil, cover pan and remove from heat.
Cool loaf in pan for 5 minutes. Carefully pull loaf out by lifting sides of baking paper and let cool for another 5 minutes on metal rack.
Serve slices of lentil loaf with strawberry sauce.
Each serving contains: 1972 kilojoules; 26 g protein; 14 g total fat (1 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 65 g total carbohydrates (16 g sugars, 26 g fibre); 298 mg sodium
source: "Little Green Giants", alive Australia #19, Autumn 2014
Lime juice and ginger add a tropical whiff to this French-Japanese mashup, where seaweed tendrils and Dijon mustard bring out the umami flavours in mushrooms and eggplant. The ingredients might seem to be strange bedfellows, but they work. The result is somewhere between a quiche and a soufflé, with a gluten-free eggplant crust featuring punchy mustard and citrus. This makes for a hearty vegetarian main for brunch, lunch, or dinner with a side salad, or a filling side dish. Fresh or dried If you don’t have fresh thyme and parsley, use 1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme (divided) and 1 Tbsp (15 mL) dried parsley. The flavours won’t be as pungent, but a little flavour is better than none.
These are the perfect two-bite appetizers. Though the first bite likely won’t “wow” you, the more you chew, the more the salt from the dulse soaks into the avocado and tomato. Wait for it. You can also turn these into breakfast à la avocado toast by substituting a piece of your favourite bread for a slice of baguette. What’s in a name? Theoretically, this should be called a “DLTA” because of the avocado (dulse, lettuce, tomato, and avocado). And if you left out the lettuce, you’d have a “DTA.” A DTA would arguably be a better overall eating experience, since lettuce slightly waters down the rich and creamy result and makes it harder to keep the tomatoes from sliding off the top of the crostini. But the juicy lettuce is actually helpful, since it spreads the salt from the dulse throughout the entire bite, making the “wow” moment come sooner. Besides, neither DLTA nor DTA is as fun an acronym as DLT.
This triple-threat recipe is made with (up to) three types of seaweed. Wakame is essential for the pesto, but kombu boosts the umami punch of sautéed garlic and cherry tomatoes, while kelp noodles are a low-carb substitute for flour-based noodles. Because kelp noodles can be hard to find (you’ll likely need to order them online), feel free to use your favourite boxed linguine, zucchini noodles, shirataki konjac, tofu, or yam noodles instead. You can also leave out the vongole (clams) to keep the recipe plant-based, or use mussels, which are usually more affordable than clams. Both clams and mussels are generally sustainable, as, like seaweed, they’re farmed without feed or antibiotics, unlike many farmed fish operations. Double-duty pesto Make a double batch of seaweed pesto, and enjoy it with eggs, scrambled tofu, or toast.
Spicy popcorn? You bet. This Japanese seven-spice blend combines salty and spicy notes for a healthy snack. If you don’t make your own togarashi, check the container before adding it to your popcorn to make sure it doesn’t contain salt. For an even simpler recipe, skip the togarashi and just grind a few pieces of nori and a pinch of salt in a blender or spice grinder to sprinkle on your popcorn instead. If you’re fresh out of nori, you can always grind wakame, arame, or dulse instead, leaving out the pinch of salt for dulse or any seaweed you taste and find already salty. Shichimi togarashi This customizable spice blend generally features sansho pepper, a.k.a. Japanese prickly ash, a green peppercorn with a citrusy taste, along with seaweed flakes, chili pepper, and dried citrus peel—often yuzu or mandarin orange. If you can’t find sansho, look for Sichuan peppercorn, which has a slightly stronger mouth-tingling effect. You can buy dried orange, mandarin, or tangerine peel. Or you can dehydrate your own, in which case you might as well dehydrate a 1/8 in (3 mm) thick piece of fresh ginger along with the peel. If you can’t handle a lot of chili pepper heat, reduce the pepper to your taste.