The lentil loaf baked in foil is a light and healthy meal, perfect for varying the daily menu. Lentils are in fact a precious food, which contains a lot of iron and fiber and, like all legumes, should be included frequently in our diet. Lentils, in particular, is normally eaten more in winter, in soups or stews. The lentil loaf, instead, is a suitable dish even in summer, as it is delicious both hot or cold. This recipe is also recommended if you are on a diet: the lentil loaf, in fact, is cooked in the oven in foil, without oil or other fats. You can flavor the lentil loaf in foil by adding herbs and spices to your liking; I used parsley, paprika and cumin and I added onions and carrots used to boil the lentils. To garnish the vegetarian loaf I prepared a quick, slightly hot carrot sauce.
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Ingredients for a vegetarian lentil loaf with carrot sauce
For the lentil loaf
For the carrot sauce
- Power 395,00 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 51,64 (g) of which sugars 5,97 (g)
- Proteins 18,22 (g)
- Fat 14,28 (g) of which saturated 2,50 (g)of which unsaturated 2,00 (g)
- Fibers 9,33 (g)
- Sodium 297,36 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 180 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
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Recipe for lentil loaf baked in foil with carrot sauce
How to prepare the lentil loaf in foil
To prepare the lentil loaf in foil, boil the lentils in plenty of unsalted water together with the carrot (after having peeled it) and a piece of onion. Taste them after 20 minutes and, if they still seem partially raw, continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes.
When they are cooked, drain and let them cool. Put the bread in a blender with the parsley. Finely chop them, add the lentils (together with the boiled carrot and onion), a pinch of salt, cumin and paprika.
Blend for about a minute, then taste and, if needed, season with salt. Then add the egg as well. Mix thoroughly with a spoon, until you get a homogeneous mixture.
Take a sheet of aluminum foil and overlap a sheet of baking paper. Put the lentil loaf mixture on the baking paper. Lightly wet your hands and also helping with the paper itself, compact the mixture and give it an elongated shape.
Wrap the lentil loaf in baking paper, forming a wrapping similar to that of candies.
Keeping the baking paper tightly closed, also wrap it in aluminum, forming a tight foil. Place it on a tray and bake it in a preheated oven at 356 ° F (180 ° C) for 35 minutes, then take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes before opening the foil.
How to make carrot sauce
To prepare carrot sauce, start by scraping 7 oz of carrots; then cut them into pieces. In a non-stick pan, lightly fry peeled garlic and diced onion in the olive oil.
Then add the carrots and let them sauté over high heat for a minute or two. Salt lightly and also add the tomato puree and 1/2 cup of hot water.
Stir briefly, cover with the lid and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, until carrots are tender. At this point add a few drops of Tabasco. Raise the heat and add the vinegar. Let it evaporate for about half a minute, stirring often, then turn off the heat.
Let cool slightly, then blend the carrot sauce in a food processor. You can blend it for a long time, to obtain a smooth and homogenous sauce, or leave it a little granulose.
When the lentil loaf has cooled, cut it into slices and serve with the carrot sauce.
Check out the video recipe on YouTube!
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How to store lentil meatloaf
You can store the lentil meatloaf and carrot sauce in the fridge for about 3 days.
Tips and variation
If you don’t digest regular lentils, you can use peeled lentils: the quantity is the same, but they will cook in about 10 minutes.
Varied doses for servings