Shawn Arseneau

Chef, Aux Vivres vegan restaurant, Montreal

Out with

The everyday boring “insert root vegetable of choice cooked in butter” side dish that always seems to make it to the table. It’s not that I have anything against cooking vegetables in butter, but I honestly believe that Thanksgiving is the one time year you should spend that little bit of extra time in the kitchen with loved ones.

Bring on

Thanksgiving has always been a special time of year for me. I often spend half the day cooking “mom made” meals for customers at the restaurant and the other half concocting adventurous dishes for friends and family back home. This walnut and lentil loaf with rosemary onion gravy is something I have grown to love making over the years.

THE RECIPE

2 cups brown lentils (dry)

1 1/2 cups walnuts (fine grind)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups water (for flour mix)

1 1/2 cups sunflower oil

2 cups onions (chopped)

1 cup celery (diced small)

1 cup carrots (diced small)

1 tbsp thyme

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup dry tvp

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tbsp salt

1. In a medium pot, cook the dry lentils until they are very soft. While the lentils are cooking, prepare the rest of the recipe.

2. Grind walnuts into a fine powder and set aside.

3. In a small pot, cook the flour with the 1 1/2 cups of water until it fully thickens then set aside.

4. Sauté the onions, celery and carrots in sunflower oil.

5. When the vegetables are soft, add the herbs and the ground walnuts to the pot.

6. Drain the lentils well then add them along with the remaining ingredients and flour mixture to the pot.

7. Transfer the mixture into a well-oiled pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

8. Baste with your favourite BBQ sauce with 10 minutes left in the cooking time. (I used our homemade Chipotle Ketchup.) Devour!

Rosemary Onion Gravy

3/4 cup canola oil

8 cups onion

1 Tbsp rosemary powder

2 Tbsp vegetable stock (dry)

3 cups water

3 cups tamari

1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast 1. Sautée the onions until they are golden brown.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Blend.