Vegan Recipe: Hearty Lentil Casserole

Serve this filling dish with crusty bread and mesclun salad, for a deliciously healthy homestyle meal!

Ingredients

• 3 cups dark vegetable broth (such as mushroom broth, or pre-mixed Better Than Bouillon No-Beef Base)
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup brown rice (or wild rice blend)
• 3/4 cup lentils
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or more, to taste)
• 2-3 dashes Tobasco-style hot sauce
• 1-2 dashes liquid smoke
• ¾ cup fresh tomato puree (or jarred crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce)
• Fresh or dried chopped parsley, optional, to serve

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

If using fresh tomatoes, drop about 2 small organic tomatoes (or one large one) in boiling water, until the skin splits. Cool, peel, and puree.

Combine all ingredients* in 9″ x 13″ casserole dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until lentils and rice are done and most liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with parsley; serve and enjoy!

Production Notes

*If using fresh tomato puree: for best flavor stir puree into casserole after removing it from the oven, rather than before baking.

For soup or stew instead of a casserole, use 5 cups broth and an extra shake each of hot sauce and liquid smoke. Optional addition: mix 3/4 to 1 cup diced seitan roast or vegan sausage with other ingredients, before baking.

To make slow-cooker dark broth for this recipe, start with Easy Slow-Cooker Veggie Broth but also add about 1 cup dried shitake or porcini mushrooms. After straining cooked broth, for each 3 cups add 1/2 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon red wine, 1 teaspoon Marmite (or red miso), and salt and pepper to taste.

Image credit: Creative Commons photo by Maggie Hoffman.