Wellness Show + Sunflower Lentil Pie
Submitted by Vive Le Vegan Blog
Any of you attending The Wellness Show? I’ll be doing a cooking demo (well, baking really!) on Sunday, Feb 8th at 1:30. So, if you’re at the show on Sunday, stop by and say ‘hi’ after! Here’s the full schedule of presenters on the different stages, if you’d like more info.
Now, on to food! I’ve been posting a lot about new recipes lately, but today I have an oldie but goodie from my second cookbook, Vive le Vegan. Here is my Sunflower Lentil Pie with Sesame Mustard Tahini Sauce. Both recipes are easy to make, though it does make for lighter work in one meal to prepare the tahini sauce a day in advance.
To make the pie, you first cook the lentils until tender (with some onion), and then process that mixture with the seasoning, quick oats, and sunflower seeds. 
The lot gets transferred to a lightly oiled pie dish, as shown here before baking. Then bake, wait… and serve! Tahini sauce is particularly good with this pie, but you could also drizzle with a balsamic-oil slurry or a vegan gravy.
I like LOTS of the tahini sauce. I’m on a tahini kick right now anyhow. But, a note to you newbie vegans… I must tell you that when I first tasted tahini I thought it was repulsive! I couldn’t imagine how people could find it marginally palatable! But, tahini has its place in cooking, and can be spectacularly delicious in sauce when combined with some choice ingredients that help balance its natural bitterness. So, give your palate a chance to develop with the flavors of new ingredients, and try a few recipes to help the process. Speaking of which, this Sesame Mustard Tahini Sauce can be found here (scroll down to the second recipe).
Back to the pie. We often have a few slices of this leftover, and it makes a delicious and satisfying sandwich filling… or, can be used as a pate or sliced and reheated and layered in a wrap, or as a ‘veggie burger’ replacement. Mostly we use the leftovers as sandwich filling, it’s substantial and tasty. If you have Vive, give this one a try!
