Chicken Loaf with Coconut-Cilantro Sauce

I was too lazy to do meatballs.  This started because I was tempted to make the red lentil meatballs again, but figured I'd do something slightly different because I have a blog to maintain.

I've pretty much accepted that I won't finish off the bulgur and other non-KLP foods by the end of the month, but I'm still trying to reduce their presence.  Most of them are good for you, so it isn't like I'm just making tons of cookies.  The date-filled hamantaschen don't count because they were for a bake sale.  All of the volunteers there were so impressed by how I was at selling.  Then someone remembered I do this for a living.

Isn't this unicorn cake adorable?  I wish I was halfway decent at cake decorating.  That was a prize in the cake walk.  Oh, right, we were talking about meatloaf...  The spices were pretty much the same as the Turkish recipe, but I added mushrooms for more filler and moisture.  That makes it a little French-inspired, maybe North African.  The sauce is all over the place, but it worked well because I seem to have over-spiced the loaf for my taste.  For everyone else, it's probably about right.

For the Loaf
1/4 C dry red lentils
*1/4 C medium bulgur
3/4 lb ground chicken
1/2 C diced onion
1/4 lb finely chopped mushrooms
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric

1.  In a small saucepan, combine lentils and 1/2 C water.  Bring to a low boil over medium heat, then lower heat to a simmer.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Stir in bulgur, cook for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.  Let it sit for at least 15 minutes, and up to an hour.

2.  While the lentils are cooking, combine chicken, onion, mushrooms, and spices in a bowl.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour, for the spices to meld.

3.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Knead together lentil mixture and chicken mixture.  Spread in a loaf pan and bake until a thermometer reaches 160º, about 45 minutes.  Allow loaf to rest for 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the Sauce
1 can coconut milk
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp olive oil

1.  In a medium skillet, heat the spices with the oil until fragrant.  Add the coconut milk and cilantro and bring to a light boil, stirring frequently.

2.  Slice loaf and serve drizzled with generous amounts of sauce.  I ended up with almost a cup left over.  You could use it as salad dressing.  I thinned it out a little, added more cilantro and some pintos, and had it as soup.

Difficulty rating  :)