French Onion "Meat" Loaves with Mashed Butternut Squash

INGREDIENTS:

“Meat” Balls: 

1½ cups black garbanzo beans
3 large portobello mushroom caps | chopped
1-2 cups garbanzo bean flour 
⅔ cup yellow onion | grated
¼ cup yellow bell pepper | grated
1 large shallot | minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme 
1 tbsp onion powder 
1½ tsp sea salt 
1 tbsp tamarind concentrate  

French Onion Sauce:

3 tbsp grapeseed oil 
3 large yellow onions | thinly sliced into half sized moons 
1 large shallot | chopped 
2 tsp sea salt 
5 sprigs fresh thyme 
key lime zest | 1 key lime
1 tbsp key lime juice 
1 tbsp tamarind concentrate 
1 cup hemp milk 
⅔ cup spring water 

Mashed Roasted Butternut Squash: 

1-2 butternut squashes  
1½ tsp sea salt 
1 tbsp date syrup 
⅛ tsp allspice 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mashed Roasted Butternut Squash: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cut squash down the middle from top. Once sliced in half, scoop out seeds.

Brush squash with grapeseed and sprinkle a generous amount of sea salt.  

Bake for 1 hour or until very tender. 

Scoop out flesh and place in a large bowl. 

Using a hand mixer or electric mixer, mix squash flesh until smooth and creamy.

Add remaining spices and date syrup. Mix well and set aside.   

"Meat" Loaves:

Add black garbanzo beans and mushrooms to food processor and process.

Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add spices, onions, peppers, seasonings, key lime juice zest and tamarind concentrate to mixing bowl and mix.

Add 1 cup of flour at a time, until mixture comes together, add more flour if needed.

Form miniature meat loaves, even in size. If mixture is too dry, add spring water until a loaf may be formed. 

Place loaves on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

French Onion Sauce:

Add grapeseed oil to a large saucepan and turn heat to medium high. Add onions, shallots, sea salt and fresh thyme. 

Cook onions uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until caramelized. 

Once onions have turned a brown caramel color, remove thyme sprigs from pot. 

Add tamarind concentrate, key lime juice and stir until well combined. Note: Key lime juice will deglaze the bottom of pot. Deglazing is a cooking technique used for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies.

Cook for an additional 6-8 minutes or until combined.

Add hemp milk and stir.

Add a few tablespoons of spring water at a time until a smooth gravy consistency is reached. Set aside.

Add mini loaves to plate and coat with sauce.

Serve with mashed butternut squash and enjoy!