Photo: HeatherW / Flickr

This protein-packed soya nut loaf can be served hot or cold. For a hot vegetarian meal, cut the warm loaf into thick slices and serve it with mashed potatoes and peas. Add a creamy mushroom sauce and your meal will be delicious. Leftover vegetarian soya nut loaf can be used the following day for a cold meal, in which case it will go well with a fresh green salad, healthy rolls and some mayonnaise. If you have time constraints, prepare this meal over the weekend.

Ingredients

The following ingredients allow for six servings: 150 grams of soya beans (soaked overnight), 3 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil, 30 grams of butter, 1 medium onion (chopped), 1 medium carrot (coarsely grated), 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 2 medium tomatoes (skinned and chopped) and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.

Further ingredients include half a teaspoon of dried thyme, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, half a cup of oats (large flake), 1 extra large egg (lightly beaten), 50 grams of Brazil nuts (roughly chopped), 3 tablespoons of parsley, 1 tablespoon of soya sauce and dry breadcrumbs. You will also need some salt and pepper to taste.

Method

Set aside two and a half hours to prepare the vegetarian soya nut loaf and allow for two-and-a-half hours of cooking time. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Once the soya beans have been soaked overnight, cook them in the water (partially covered) for two hours until they are soft. Once soft, use a potato masher to mash the beans well. Next, heat the butter and oil in a pan and allow the carrot, onion and garlic to cook until they begin to soften.

Reduce the temperature and add the tomato paste, tomatoes, thyme and sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix the ingredients together and cover the pan. Allow the veggies to simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes until they are soft. Add the mixture to the bean mash. Add the egg, nuts, oats, soya sauce and parsley and stir well.

Bake

Grease a loaf tin, coat it with breadcrumbs and pour in the mixture. Smooth it and bake for 30 minutes.

Tags: cooking, eating healthily, recipes, vegetarian