I had the great pleasure recently of returning to a face to face Made in Hackney community cooking class. Although some restrictions are still in place – it was really great to meet new people (from a distance) and cook up a storm! There is something very therapeutic about cooking with others and making something great out of a few ingredients and then seeing and eating the fruits of your labour 🙂 I took my efforts home and me and my husband tucked into this excellent lentil loaf, roasted veggies and vegan onion gravy. The lentil loaf was made in a small loaf tin but you can double the ingredients and make in a normal tin. This is a great Sunday lunch dish and is really easy to whip up 🙂 you can of course chop any veg you like really small and add into the mix!

Ingredients
1/4 x cup of lentils (brown, green or puy lentils)
1 x onion – finely chopped
2 x carrots, grated.
1 x clove of garlic, grated.
1 x full cup of very finely chopped mushrooms
1/2 x tsp of dried thyme
1/4 x tsp of cumin
3/4 x tsp of smoked paprika
1/2 x tsp of Turmeric
1/2 x tsp of garlic powder
1 x tsp of vegan bouillon
3 x tbsp of flour
A little olive oil
Fresh ground salt & pepper

Glaze
2 x tbsp of passata
1/2 x tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1/2 x tbsp of fruit syrup or date syrup.

Method
Wash the lentils well in a sieve, place in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, the reduce the heat to a medium-low, cover with a lid and cook for 18-20 minutes. You want the lentils to be slightly undercooked. Drain and leave to one side.
Preheat the oven to 190c.
Saute the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until soft, add the carrots then mushrooms and continue to cook until soft.
Add the seasonings and lentils to the mixture and mix together well. Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings to taste.
Mix the glaze mixture together. Lightly grease a small loaf tin and line with some baking paper, pour the mixture into the tin and press down firmly to compact all the mixture.
Spread the glaze over the top and bake for around 30-40 minutes, until the top begins to caramelize.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly before removing from the tin, slice and serve while hot.
This dish goes amazingly well with roasted rosemary potatoes and carrots and some braised red cabbage.