Bloomington Thanksgiving dinner 2011: Golden Lentil Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing

This is the premier vegetarian entree for Thanksgiving. The original recipe was clipped from a vintage Vegetarian Times, but it has been reworked because the first time I made it...let's just say it didn't work.

Don't be put off by all the different spices that are in this recipe. Using the bulk section of the east side location of Bloomingfoods, you can purchase just the right amount of each spice for just a few cents each.

This recipe calls for a total of 4 cups of fresh bread crumbs. One baguette will produce enough bread crumbs for the entire recipe (plus a little extra). Slice the bread and put it in a food processor until it the largest pieces of bread are the size of peas.









Golden Lentil Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing

• 1 1/2 cup split red lentils
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tbs. butter, at room temperature

for the chestnut stuffing:

• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 large onion (or 1 cup) chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups canned or jarred peeled chestnuts (found a Bloomingfoods on their discount rack)
• 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• fresh sage leaves for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350.
In a medium sauce pan, combine the lentils and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes or until the lentils have absorbed all the water.
Stuffing: In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and the red pepper and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for about 7 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
In a food processor, combine the chestnuts, bread crumbs, sage, parsley and cooked onions and peppers. Pulse on and off until well combined. Transfer to a large bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Keep in mind that this is the big flavor in the dish so don't be afraid to season really well.
Now for the lentil dough (and dough is used loosely here). Put the cooked lentils in the food process along with the garlic, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Process until smooth. This will become like thick peanut butter.
Place a large (2' long) sheet of wax or parchment paper on the counter near your sink. Empty to lentil dough onto the paper. Wet your hands and gently kneed the dough a few times to create a log shape. Then pat out the dough until it is an 11 x 14 inch rectangle. You will need to wet your hands a few times during the process to keep the dough from clinging to your hands.
Now the easy part. Once the dough is in an 11 x 14 rectangle, spread the chestnut stuffing evenly over the dough, making sure to go all the way to the ends of the dough. Then, starting with the short end of the dough, start to roll it up using the parchment paper to help lift and roll the dough into a jelly roll shape.
Once rolled, you can wet your hands again and reshape the log if needed, replacing any of the stuffing that fell out of the ends.
Transfer to a well greased sheet pan. Rub the room temperature butter all over the outside of the log. Bake in the oven until heated through and the outside is just beginning to brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the reserved sage leaves.

And check out the sandwich made with left over roulade in the 'Leftover Recipes' section.