Bean loaf

We eat a lot of beans at home. I can't eat too much tofu for health reasons and I find beans are a great cheap source of protein and fibre. You can add them to spaghetti sauce, salads, stir fries, mexican dishes, curries... lots of things! I was planning on making a lentil loaf for dinner last night and started organising myself only to find I had run out of lentils. So here's the recipe I came up with.

Ingredients

• 1 carrot, 1 zucchini,1 stick celery, 1 onion, 1/2 capsicum diced
• 3 cloves garlic diced
• 1/2 cup finely diced/torn parsley, thyme, oregano and chives
• 2 tins (440g) butter beans, rinsed and drained (you could of course use dried and soaked beans)
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 egg or equivalent egg replacer
• 1/3 cup tomato paste, chilli sauce, bbq sauce, combined

Method

1. Fry vegetables and garlic until browned.
2. Mash beans in bowl ( I used a potato masher) and combine with oats, vegetables and garlic, oats and egg
3. Add herbs and liquids and stir well to combine
4. place in a baking dish ( I used a cake dish but a loaf tin would work well for aesthetic reasons I guess)
5. Bake at 200c for 40 mins or until top is browned and loaf is cooked in the middle.
6. Service with vegetables and salad

You could use any beans (or lentils) and add a choice of flavours such as soy sauce and ginger, curry powder or paste, spice rubs, dukkah. Nuts would also be a good addition.