Noah and I hosted dinner last Shabbat, and there were a few vegetarians coming, so I wanted to make something that would serve as a main dish for vegetarians but still a side dish for the meat eaters. I settled on making a lentil loaf, inspired by this recipe.
*full recipe below
I started by putting up 3 1/3 cups lentils with 4 cups water to boil and cooking for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, I shredded 2 carrots and 1 apple in a bowl and then added 1/2 cup raisins and 1 cup chopped celery:
On the stovetop, I cooked 2 small chopped onions and 4 cloves garlic in a little olive oil. Once the onion started to color, I added the veggie/fruit mixture:
I cooked for about 10 minutes and then combined in a separate bowl with the cooked lentils, 1/2 cup oats, 4 eggs, and dried thyme:
Once mixed, I put the mixture evenly in a baking pan and prepared the topping (the best part!!). Meatloaf is probably my favorite comfort food (although I hardly even eat it!), and I think the reason I like it so much is primarily because of the traditional glaze on top. For the lentil loaf, I made a glaze out of 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup honey, and 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.
I cooked for 45 minutes at 350º, and it came out great!
Sweet Lentil Loaf, serves 10 Ingredients - 3 1/3 cups dry lentils - 4 cups water - 2 onions, chopped - 4 cloves garlic, minced - 1 apple, grated - 2 carrots, grated - 1/2 cup raisins - 1 cup chopped celery - 4 eggs, beaten - 1/2 cup oats - 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme - 1/2 cup ketchup - 1/4 cup honey - 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar Method - combine lentils with 4 cups water and simmer for about 45 minutes - cook onions and garlic in a pan until onions begin to color - add apple, carrots, raisins, and celery cook for 10 minutes - remove veggie/fruit mixture from stove and combine with cooked lentils, oats, thyme, and eggs - push firmly into a baking pan - mix ketchup, honey, and balsamic vinegar and spread on top of lentil loaf - cook for 45 minutes at 350º
For the rest of the menu I made hummus-crusted chicken, avocado potato salad, and Israeli salad. Guests brought challah, wine, salatim, quinoa, a veggie side, and dessert.
The avocado potato salad was really easy and would be especially good for a summer recipe and/or bbq. I chopped and boiled 5 potatoes for about 10 minutes until soft and then set in the fridge to cool. Meanwhile, I mashed 1 avocado and combined with a cucumber, tomato, and 1/4 red onion:
I added the cooled potatoes to these ingredients along with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and served cold:
The Shabbat table all set:
What a delicious-looking recipe! I hope to try it out soon. Sounds like a beautiful Shabbat dinner.