Sesame Seed Olive Loaf with Black Pepper and Dill Dressing

itsostylish(70)

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Plant Power (Vegan)

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Sesame Olive Loaf

Olives are packed with flavor and they add tons of zing to chickpeas, which are rather bland on their own. Chickpeas are marvelous, though, as a basis for a loaf. This loaf offers a pleasing alternative to “meat loaf” for vegans, it’s firm, sliceable, has a crunchy topping and delicious flavor, which the black pepper and dill sauce rounds off rather nicely.

This loaf is also super easy to make and is great served with roast potatoes and salad for a special Sunday lunch.

Ingredients

Olive loaf

2 cups of cooked chickpeas
2 cups of bread crumbs
½ cup of chickpea cooking liquid
2 large spinach leaves
1 small onion
½ cup of olives (green or black)
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of chili flakes
1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Black Pepper and Dill Sauce

3 tablespoons of margarine (make sure that your margarine contains no animal fats)
3 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of vegan nut milk ( I used almond milk)
Handful of dill
1 tablespoon of ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Method

Olive Loaf

Roughly chop the chickpeas together with 1 tablespoon of cooking liquid (or liquid from a can) in a blender. Add to a mixing bowl and add the breadcrumbs.

Add all the spices (chili flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, mustard seeds) and the flaxseed powder to the mixing bowl and blend.

De-pip and chop the olives roughly. Dice the onion and shred the spinach and basil finely. Add to the mixing bowl. Blend and add 2 tablespoons of chickpea cooking liquid.

Grease a loaf tin well and add the mixture to the tin, a little at a time, packing it down with the back of a tablespoon. Once packed, spoon over 4-5 tablespoons of chickpea cooking liquid to cover the surface. Sprinkle over sesame seeds.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes until the sesame seeds are toasted and the loaf firm.

Black pepper and dill sauce

Make the sauce while the loaf is baking

Melt 3 tablespoons of margarine in a saucepan. Remove from the heat.

Add 2 tablespoons of flour and blend until perfectly smooth.

Add 1/4 cup of almond milk and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper, blend. Return to the heat and slowly add the balance of the almond milk, stirring all the while to ensure that there are no lumps. Remove from the heat, continue stirring for a minute or two, do that the sauce remains lump free. Finely dice the dill and add to the sauce. Heat through just before serving.