Thanksgiving Oat And Bean Loaf

★★★★★

Entres, Gluten free, Thanksgiving, Today

Prep Time: 25 min Cook Time: 55 min Total Time: 1 hr, 20 min Difficulty: Easy Servings: 10

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large onion, finely minced
• 8 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• ¼ cup celery, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon rosemary, ground
• 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
• 2 medium carrot, grated
• ¼ cup tamari (use gluten free)
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Frank’s hot sauce (optional)
• ¼ cup sweetened dried cranberries (optional, but tasty)
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats ground in blender to a fine consistency (gluten free for gluten free option
• 3 15 ounce cans of beans. I usually use 2 cans of pinto beans and 1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed.

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 375°F. Prepare 9 x 5 loaf pan with cooking spray. Wipe off excess spray with clean paper towel. Fold parchment paper to place in the bottom of the pan lengthwise. Multiple folds will help increase the strength. The parchment paper is optional if you plan on removing the loaf and keeping the topside up.

Heat a skillet with 1/4 cup water and saute the onion and until translucent. Add garlic being careful not to burn. Add more water if needed.

Add the carrot and spices and cook until all is soft. Add tamari and mustard and hot sauce if using and thoroughly mix. Stir in cranberries if using. Turn off heat. If there is a little excess water in the pan, no need to cook it off or drain it.

Drain and rinse the beans and place in a large bowl. Mash them well and then add the onion mix and the ground oats. The mixture should come together quickly. Add more water if required.

Press mixture into the prepare loaf pan and place into oven for 45 minutes. Allow to cool 15 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.

Excess mix can be made into burgers. Use a 1/2 cup measure sprayed with cooking release spray to shape the burgers. Press mix into cup with spatula and invert onto a baking sheet. Flatten with the bottom of the measuring cup. Cook with loaf 25 minutes per side allowing to cool for at least 10 minutes before flipping the burgers at the midway point.

Both loaf and burger are great topped with cranberry sauce.