Meatless Monday with a Vegan Holiday Roast Dinner

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel blog for another Meatless Monday. We took the Meatless Monday pledge as part of our CSR business initiatives in support of reducing meat consumption one day per week (15%) to improve the health of people and the planet.

On the menu tonight is a vegan holiday dinner complete with roast, gravy and stuffing and a bit of elbow grease. Traditionally turkey, beef or ham would be the protein source but today’s recipe demonstrates that doesn’t have to be the case. Our thanks to Whole Foods Market for the Celebration Lentil Loaf and Vegan Mushroom Gravy recipes and the Vegetable Herb Stuffing recipe comes courtesy of Sweet Fit.

Celebration Lentil Loaf Ingredients

• 1 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 3/4 cup bulgur wheat
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms,
• Sliced 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup apple cider (non-alcoholic)
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

1. Put lentils in a small saucepan with 2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer until lentils are very tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Put bulgur in a small saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer until bulgur is tender and water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a medium skillet, combine mushrooms, onion, cider poultry seasoning and salt. Cover and simmer over medium heat until vegetables are very tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until just chopped. Scrape into a bowl and fold in lentils, bulgur, oats, bell pepper and parsley.
   

   Images courtesy of wholefoodsmarket.com and sweetspot.ca

4. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Pack lentil mixture into pan and smooth the top. Bake until edges brown slightly, about 1 hour. Cool in pan 25 minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate. Remove parchment and use a serrated knife to cut the loaf into 1-inch-thick slices.

Vegetable Herb Stuffing Ingredients

• 1½ loaves (16 ounces each) sliced firm white bread
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 2 medium stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• ¾ tsp. poultry seasoning
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• 2½ cups vegetable or vegetarian chicken-flavoured broth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease shallow 3- to 3½-quart ceramic or glass baking dish; set aside.
2. Arrange bread slices on two large ungreased cookie sheets and toast in oven 16 to 17 minutes or until golden and dry, turning slices over halfway through toasting.
3. Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat for 1 minute or until hot. Add carrots, celery, and onion; cook about 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove skillet from heat; stir in parsley, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.
5. With serrated knife, cut bread into ½-inch cubes, then place in very large bowl. Reset oven temperature to 325°F.
6. Add broth and vegetable mixture to bread in bowl and toss until bread mixture is evenly moistened.
7. Spoon stuffing into prepared baking dish. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until heated through and lightly browned on top.

Vegan Mushroom Gravy Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 8 ounces wild mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup Merlot, or other spicy red wine
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari (or soy sauce or Bragg’s)
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons whole-wheat or spelt flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, bring 1/2 cup broth to a simmer. Add onion and garlic and cook for about 4 minutes or until onion is translucent. Stir in mushrooms, rosemary and thyme and continue to cook about 2 minutes or until mushrooms release their liquid and start to become tender. Add wine and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining 3 cups broth and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together tamari, yeast and flour to form a thick paste. Add mixture to skillet about 1 teaspoon at a time, whisking constantly to make sure paste dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add pepper.

Serve with cranberry sauce, your favourite hot vegetable, some smooth mash and a healthy dose of fresh green salad.

We encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge to reduce meat consumption one day per week. It’s easy with simple and delicious recipes like this one. Spread the word at work to promote the value of CSR business initiatives and make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant, hotel or salon even greener.

Enjoy and happy holidays.
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.