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vegetable - vegetarian, mushroom, champignons, chickpeas, loaf

t=teaspoon T=tablespoon + - = more or less

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Mushroom and Cannellini Loaf with Red Currents and Red Onion Confit
This delicious non-meat loaf is high in calcium and protein. The center is chard (or spinach etc. or any green leftover) and the second half has paprika and tomato puree stirred in, giving it a contrasting colour. Topped with red currents (or other tart berry or sautéed sour apple dice) their tangy flavour harmonizes delectably with the Red Onion Confit. Delicious for a buffet cold or warm. Don't let the ingredients list discourage you, it is an easy dish to assemble. A great dish to make when you have leftovers such as cannellini beans, chickpeas, rice and green vegetables. You will need a small non stick loaf pan about 22x9x7 cm.

serves 4-6

preheat oven to 200° C.

150 g. champignons or mixed mushrooms
200 g. cooked cannellini (or half cooked al dente brown rice and half chickpeas, chickpeas can also be used)

100 g. firm tofu

100 g. fresh or frozen chard, spinach, savoy cabbage or similar

1 leek

1 sm. onion

1 stalk celery
2 garlic cloves

2 bay leaves
2 t. dried crumbled sage leaves or 1 t. sage powder
1-1/2 T. toasted sesame oil (be sure to use toasted sesame oil)
1 T. Soya sauce
2 eggs
+- 1/4 t. salt
+- 1/4 t. pepper
olive oil

1 recipe Red Onion Confit

(optional: 100 g. almond pulp from making almond milk-see below)

additional seasoning for the second layer:

1/2-1 t. sweet paprika

2 t. tomato puree

garnish:

red current segments per person

If the greens are not leftovers, cook the chard, spinach or savoy cabbage until almost done. Chop and set aside.

Cut the cleaned champignons into halves then chop - finely or coarsely, however you prefer it.

Slice the white part (and part of the green if it is tender) of the leek into thin rings. Chop the onion finely and the garlic coarsely.

Mash the tofu with a fork.

In a large pan, heat a little olive oil. Add the onion and allow to sauté 5 minutes. Add the leek, garlic, celery, mushrooms, sage, a good grating of pepper, and the bay leaves. Allow to cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the tofu and continue to cook another 5 minutes or so.

In the meanwhile, mash the chickpeas with a fork and beat the eggs.

In a large bowl, add the mushroom mixture, the chickpeas, Soya sauce and sesame oil together with the eggs. Stir well to blend ingredients. Taste and add more Soya sauce or sesame oil if needed. Add salt.

Wipe out the pan with a little olive or sesame oil (yes, even if it is a so-called non stick pan). Lay two bay leaves spaced evenly in the bottom of the pan and fill with half the mixture. Distribute over this the chard or other greens evenly. Stir the paprika and the tomato paste into the remaining half and fill the pan.

Place into another baking dish large enough to hold the loaf pan and enough boiling water to come half way up the pan (add the boiling water when the pans are in the oven - pull out the rack a little and carefully fill). This is not crucial to the dish, but baking it in a bain marie insures that the loaf will remain moist. If you don't have a large enough pan to hold the loaf, then set an oven proof dish on the bottom of the oven with several centimeters of boiling water in it.

Bake for 45 minutes or until it just begins to shrink a little from sides.

After 35 minutes place the current segments in a small oven proof dish and place in the oven to warm and soften.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit 10-15 minutes before upturning on a platter. Cut thumb thick slices with a serrated knife. Garnish with the currents and serve with a dollop of Red Onion Confit. Grilled cherry tomatoes go also very well with this.

Note: of course this is also tasty without the confit and the berries. A tangy sauce, perhaps a puree of roasted red peppers or tomatoes (or blend of both), with a splash of balsamic vinegar stirred in or your favourite chutney would be equally delicious!

Tip: the secret to this dish is the toasted sesame seed oil which imparts a delicious toasted nut flavour to the dish. I can't resist and always add a few drops more at the table - a little goes a long way! When I have almond pulp left over from making almond milk, I add about 100 g. (1/2 cup) of it to this recipe (see Banana Pudding with Almond Milk and Caramel Cinnamon Sauce and the Nut and Seed Milks!) Although chickpeas can be used in place of the cannellini beans, I don't find this quite so nice. It is worth it to look for the cannellini beans.

All recipes are excerpts from "Welcome to My Kitchen" - The Epicurean Table and are copyright of the author. Recipes are not to be added to any form of archive or other works of any kind.

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