Pastry Wrapped Beet Holiday Loaf

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 5 tablespoons water)
• 1½ cups pecans, toasted
• 3 cups cooked lentils
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2¼ cups shredded raw beets (about 2 large beets)
• 30 leaves fresh sage, chopped
• 1½ teaspoons dried thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed*

* Be sure to select vegan puff pastry.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Make flax egg: mix together flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and let sit.
3. Toast pecans by placing on a baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes. Make sure they don’t burn.
4. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add coconut oil. Add fresh sage and sauté until it starts to get crisp, about 2 minutes. Add shallots and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add beets, thyme and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.
5. Add toasted pecans to a food processor and pulse until nuts are ground/in small pieces. Add beet mixture, flax eggs, lentils, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. Pulse until mixture is evenly combined, but with some texture remaining.
6. To weave the puff pastry: On a lightly floured surface roll out one of the puff pastry sheets until you get a rectangle that is about 10 inches by 14 inches. Transfer the pastry sheet to parchment paper.
7. Take half of the lentil mixture and form a loaf shape down the middle of the puff pastry, leaving a bit of room at both ends. Pat the mixture into a firm log. Cut strips down each side of puff pastry about 1½ inches wide. Cut off the top two and bottom corners and set aside. Now fold up the top flap over the end, then take the top left strip and fold over the loaf. Take the top right strip and fold that over, making an x. Do this all the way down, crisscrossing strips. Try to keep the strips close together leaving only small gaps. Once you get near the bottom, fold the bottom flap up, then finish crossing the last strips, tucking the ends into anywhere they look good.
8. You can use the set-aside corner pieces of pastry to cut into leaf shapes and tuck them into the weave.
9. Bake for about 40 – 45 minutes checking occasionally until the roast is golden and puffy. Serve hot from the oven with Shiitake Mushroom Gravy, or on it’s own. Enjoy!