Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Recipe

Happy New Year!! Andrew and I had a great Christmas in San Diego. We spent lots of time with family and friends and it was hard to leave.  I will eventually post some photos from Christmas when I find my camera cord. For now I wanted to post a recipe! Last weekend I made a Lentil Quinoa Loaf with Mango Salsa and it was amazing.  I modified the recipe from one of my favorite blogs and wanted to share it with y'all!!


Lentil Quinoa Loaf

Modified from The Dailygarnish

This Loaf is hearty and satisfies the meat eaters and vegetarians alike.  The fruit salsa, dried cranberries and orange juice sounds like an odd combination, but trust me it's amazing! Enjoy. 
  • 1 cup dry lentils
  • 1/2 cup dry quinoa 
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 3 Tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 celery ribs, finely diced
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 1 red onion, finely diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon good balsamic vinegar 
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
  • 8 Tablespoons mango salsa
  • 1/2 jalapeno (optional) 
  • Salt and pepper to taste
**Make sure the veggies are diced about the same size that way the loaf will stay together

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Place the lentils and quinoa in a fine strainer and rinse thoroughly. Pick through the lentils to assure quality.  Combine Lentils, quinoa, orange juice, broth and a 1/4 teaspoon salt in a sauce pot and cook until liquid is absorbed and lentils are nearly tender. 

3. While the grains are cooking, heat a large skillet with a couple splashes of olive oil over medium heat. Once the pan is hot add in the onion, celery, carrot, and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper and saute until soft adding in the garlic when the veggies are just about soft. 



4. Place the chia seeds in a bowl with 1/2 cup water, stir to combine.  Let the chia/water mixture sit in the bowl for a few minutes for it to create a gel like texture (sounds appetizing, I know). If you would rather use eggs then use 3 eggs in place of the chia seed/water mixture.  



5. Once the veggies are cooked and off the heat add in the dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and balsamic vinegar.  Stir in the cooked lintels, quinoa and the chia seed mixture.  Make sure to mix it well. You will most likely still need salt and pepper at this point. Add a half teaspoon of each, stir and taste (unless you added eggs, in which case you might want to trust your gut on the amount of seasoning you add). If you need to adjust the seasoning, do so.  

It tastes way better then it looks in this picture!

6. Press the mixture firmly into a greased loaf pan. Make sure it is even and flat on the top.  Slice the jalapeno thinly and place the rounds on top of the loaf.  Spoon the salsa on top of the jalapenos and spread evenly over the whole loaf

7. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow the loaf to cool for 10 minutes before carefully slicing and serving.  

8. ENJOY!!