Vegan Lentil Loaf // S1E13 Beyond the Sea
“Dinner was delicious, as usual.”
Scully’s dad seems like a real meat and potatoes guy. If you’re looking for a vegan lentil loaf that replicates the flavor, texture and appearance of meat, this isn’t that. But it is delicious. Inspired by Scully’s family, this vegan lentil loaf is the kind of meal we might make for our own parents.
This episode gives us a look into Scully’s personal life in a very real way. It opens with Scully cleaning up after a dinner she’s made for her parents, and Scully’s dad jokingly giving her a hard time about her Christmas tree. And then Scully has a middle of the night vision of her dad, sitting on the chair, silently speaking unknown words. It is one of the most unsettling 5 seconds in all of The X-Files. The vision is interrupted by a phone call, and we find out that Scully’s dad has died.
One of the things that makes this episode great is the way the writers weave together the story of Scully’s father’s death with a seemingly unrelated investigation of the serial killer, Luther Lee Boggs. Scully has a lot of unresolved feelings about her father. We learn how close they were her entire life; she was the Starbuck to his Ahab. However, he possibly did not approve of her career at the FBI, a tension that was left unresolved at the time of his death. Scully doesn’t know if he was proud of her and her accomplishments.
Enter Luther, easily the slimiest (though not literally) X-Files villain. He claims to have a psychic connection to the afterlife, and specifically Scully’s father. Which he’s trying to use a leverage to get a stay of execution. These circumstances create one of the biggest tests of Scully’s faith in science, as she has both Luther Lee Boggs telling her things he shouldn’t know about her and her family, as well as that opening vision of her father.
This episode also manages a convincing role-reversal for Mulder and Scully. Before this, we’ve seen Mulder able to believe in even the Jersey Devil, but he brings a similar force of skepticism to Luther Lee Boggs. He “tests” Luther’s abilities with one of his own t-shirts to try to reveal his fraud. Luther Lee Boggs is executed, without Scully’s presence or belief in his psychic connections. Scully ultimately puts her faith in her relationship with her father, and denies Luther the satisfaction of manipulating her. She knows how her father really felt about her.
Final thoughts: we always think there’s more Scully’s dad content in The X-Files than there is. This is probably because Don Davis, the actor who played William Scully, plays a very similar career military father character on Twin Peaks, one of The X-Files‘s spiritual predecessors. This episode also asks you to believe the semi-implausible idea that a medical doctor in the FBI is a shameful career path, but we’ll allow it.
The Recipe File |
Preheat oven to 350°F. Rinse the lentils, which will remove any dust or excess starch. We prefer to use red lentils for this meatloaf because they are very tender and don’t have strong flavor, but other lentils will work (though you will need to cook them longer). Bring about 1½C water to boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the vegetable stock concentrate and then lower to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and drain off any excess water.
While the lentils cook, prepare a flax egg by mixing together 3 tbsp of ground flax seed and 3 tbsp water. Set aside.
Dice the celery and grate the carrot. Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and garlic until softened, about 4 minutes.
Stir in the celery and carrot, and cook for an additional 3 minutes, until the vegetables start to brown slightly. Stir in the steak seasoning, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper (if using). Cook for 1 more minute. De-glaze the pan with the cooking wine or red wine vinegar. Stir in the soy sauce and 1/4 C water. Remove from heat.
Combine cooked lentils and flax egg in a large bowl. Lightly mash the lentils and flax egg together. Stir in the breadcrumbs and cooked vegetables. Mince fresh parsley until you have about 3 tbsp and stir into the lentil mixture.
Lightly grease the loaf pan. Cut a small strip of parchment paper and place in the middle of the loaf pan, with edges sticking up to allow for easy removal of the lentil loaf. Press lentil mixture into the loaf pan, and form the top into a slight dome. Brush the top with your preferred barbeque sauce.
Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, until the edges darken and start to look crispy. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Vegan lentil loaf goes great with vegan mashed potatoes and gravy.
Vegan Lentil Loaf Recipe
Vegan Lentil Loaf
Equipment
- parchment paper
- loaf pan
- potato masher
- pastry brush
Ingredients
- 1 C dry red lentils
- 1 tbsp vegetable stock concentrate
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 stalks celery
- 1 – 2 large carrots
- 1 tbsp steak seasoning
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 2 tbsp cooking wine or red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce use tamari for gluten free
- 3 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1½ C breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley
- 3 tbsp barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Rinse the lentils. Bring about 1½C water to boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the vegetable stock concentrate and then lower to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and drain off any excess water.
- While the lentils cook, prepare a flax egg by mixing together 3 tbsp of ground flax seed and 3 tbsp water.
- Dice the celery and grate the carrot.
- Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and garlic until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in the celery and carrot, and cook for an additional 3 minutes, until the vegetables start to brown slightly.
- Stir in the steak seasoning, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper (if using). Cook for 1 more minute.
- De-glaze the pan with the cooking wine or red wine vinegar. Stir in the soy sauce and 1/4 C water. Remove from heat.
- Combine cooked lentils and flax egg in a large bowl. Lightly mash the lentils and flax egg together.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs and cooked vegetables.
- Mince the parsley and stir into the lentil mixture.
- Lightly grease the loaf pan. Cut a small strip of parchment paper and place in the middle of the loaf pan, with edges sticking up to allow for easy removal of the lentil loaf.
- Press lentil mixture into the loaf pan, and form the top into a slight dome. Brush the top with your preferred barbeque sauce.
- Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, until the edges darken and start to look crispy.
- Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
