This is my first post in a long time. Thank you for your patience. I plan on posting more often as my life has opened up more time to share Life as a Garden. I am having to re-learn how to post on this Blog. I will get better as I do it more.
Vegetarian Nutmeat Loaf
This recipe is the closest taste to beef in a meatloaf I have ever eaten. You may even ‘fool’ your meat eating friends. I use all organic ingredients. Side dish recommendations are cole slaw, steamed vegetables, a salad.
Pre-heat oven to 400° F (200° C) Grease a 3 ¾ “x 2 ¼” x 8” loaf pan
- 2 ¼ cups shelled walnuts, then, finely chop them in a food processor
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 2 medium Roma tomatoes, blanched, skinned, de-seeded, finely chopped, squeezed of moisture*
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp basil
- 1 egg, beaten
Put in a large mixing bowl, the chopped walnuts, onion, shredded cheese, tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil and lightly mix together. Add the beaten egg and mix well.
Put the mixture in the greased loaf pan and push down to firm. Bake for 35-40 minutes or when the top is well browned. Take out of oven and cool in the loaf pan. Slice and serve warm.
*How to blanch the tomatoes and de-skin easily: Cut an X on the top of the tomatoes to cut the skin but not the meat. Boil enough water in a pot to cover 2 tomatoes. When water boils, add the tomatoes to the boiling water for 20 seconds only. Remove promptly and place in ice to prevent them from cooking more. The skin will come off easily. Quarter the tomatoes, de-seed, and chop finely. Take a handful of the chopped tomatoes, squeeze out the moisture and add to the nut loaf mixture.
Interesting information about tomatoes: For a close to a lectin-free tomato, I skin and de-seed them. When tomatoes were introduced to Italy, the Italians discovered the skin and seeds in tomatoes caused health issues. Therefore, they skinned and removed the seeds before cooking them. Roma tomatoes were developed by Italians for more meat and less seeds.
Life as a Garden 