Recipe - Herbed Lentil Loaf

4 One half cup ;water
2 cup Lentils; picked over and
rinsed
One half pound Firm tofu; crumbled
One fourth cup Rolled oats
One fourth cup Soy sauce
One fourth teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Fresh parsley; minced
One half cup Fresh basil; finely chopped;
OR
2 teaspoon Dried basil
1 teaspoon Rubbed sage
1 tablespoon Olive oi8l
3 Celery ribs, with leaves;
finely chopped
1 md Onion; finely chopped
1 md Onion; finely chopped
3 Garlic cloves; minced

TOPPING
1 cup Raw almonds
2 tablespoon Nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon Soy sauce

MUSHROOM MISO SAUCE
One fourth cup Whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup Nutritional yeast flakes
One fourth cup Brown rice miso
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 small Onion; finely chopped
1 cup Mushrooms; thinly cut or sliced up
2 cup ;water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 8 x 8 baking pan.

Put 3 One half cups of the water and the lentils in a large saucepan. Cover and
bring to a boil over mediumhigh heat, then immediately reduce the heat
andsimmer until the water is absorbed, 50 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the tofu, the remaining 1 cup water, the oats, soy sauce
and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the parsley, basil,
thyme, and sage and pulse just to mix. Transfer to a large bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over mediumhigh heat. Add the
celery, onion, and garlic and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add to
the tofu mixture.

Add the cooked lentils to the tofuvegetable mixure, and stir to mix.
Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan, and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the almonds, yeast flakes and soy sauce in a food processor
fitted with the metal blade, and pulse to coarsely chop.

Sprinkle the topping over the top of the lentil loaf and bake for 15
minutes more. Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares.
Serve with the Mushroom Miso Sauce on the side.

Mushroom Miso Sauce:

Put the flour in a small dry frying pan over medium heat and toast,
stirring often, until it has darkened evenly to a light brown. Transfer the
flour to a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, stir the nutritonal yeast, miso and hot water together.

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion
and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and
cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the 2 cups water to the browned flour and whisk until
combined.

Whisk the flour mixture into the mushrooms, and simmer, whisking often,
until the mixture is thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the nutritional
yeast and miso mixture. Bring just to a simmer, and remove from the heat.
Serve hot.

From DEEANNE's recipe files

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini