Celebrity Walnut Loaf

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 9 slices commercial whole wheat bread (about 8 ounces)
• 2 cups walnuts (about 8 ounces)
• 3 large eggs
• 3 medium onions, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 1 bunch parsley, stems discarded and leaves chopped
• 2/3 cup canned crushed tomatoes or 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained very well
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• generous seasoning fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (8 ounces)
• 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock, store-bought or homemade
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
• fresh ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 toast the bread slices either in the toaster or on a baking sheet placed under the broiler.
• 2 let cool.
• 3 preheat the oven to 375 degrees f.
• 4 generously butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, then line the bottom with waxed paper and butter the paper.
• 5 tear up the toasted bread slices and make crumbs out of them in a food processor.
• 6 place in a large bowl.
• 7 process the walnuts until finely ground and mix into the bread crumbs.
• 8 combine the eggs and onions in the processor and process until fine but not liquefied.
• 9 stir into the bread crumbs.
• 10 place the green pepper, celery, parsley, tomatoes, and oil in the processor and grind until fine but still with some texture.
• 11 stir into the loaf mixture along with the poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.
• 12 mix this all very well until evenly moistened.
• 13 (the mixture may be prepared to this point and refrigerated up to 8 hours in advance.) scrape it into the prepared loaf pan and smooth over the top.
• 14 cover the loaf with foil.
• 15 bake 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out dry.
• 16 let sit 5 minutes, then run a knife all along the sides of the loaf to help loosen it.
• 17 unmold the loaf onto a platter and remove the waxed paper.
• 18 let the loaf cool 20 minutes or so before slicing it.
• 19 it's best to serve the loaf warm and the gravy hot.
• 20 mushroom gravy: melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat.
• 21 add the mushrooms and saute until brown, about 7 minutes.
• 22 stir in the flour; it will become very pasty.
• 23 cook this roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• 24 it will stick to the bottom of the pan a little bit; that's okay.
• 25 stir in the stock, wine, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil.
• 26 cook the sauce at a bubbling simmer for 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly and scraping any crusty bits that stick to the bottom of the pan.
• 27 serve in a pretty gravyboat.