Make this ahead of time if you want this to be a quicker meal to make: Bring 3 cups vegetable broth to a boil in a pot. Rinse your lentils and then add them to your boiling vegetable broth. Wait until it begins to boil again then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until they are soft, stirring occasionally. This will be approximately 35-40 minutes. Once cooked set aside.
Shred your carrots, chop your celery and your onion. Mince the garlic and add all these ingredients to a pan with your ¼ cup vegetable broth. cook for 7 minutes then mince your garlic and add to the pan. Cook for another 3 minutes.
Add the basil, parsley, paprika and nutritional yeast to your pan with the veggies and stir until combined. Remove from heat.
In a small bowl, combine flax and water and microwave for 30 seconds.
In a bowl combine lentils, veggie mixture , flax mixture, oat flour and bread crumbs. Stir until combined. Place in a greased* loaf pan. In a small bowl mix 2 Tbsp tomato paste with 2 Tbsp of water, spread this mixture over your lentil loaf. Place it in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees. The edges should be lightly browned and be pulling away from the pan a bit. If you choose to use cupcake tins, only cook for 20-45 minutes.
Let it cool and either make more of your tomato paste and water mixture to top it off with, or use a ketchup. Whatever suits your fancy!
To make this recipe a little easier, I like to cook large amounts of lentils at a head of time and freeze them so they're ready to use.
*If you don't want to grease your pan you can probably line it with parchment paper instead, I just didn't have any.
Recipe by Green Leaves and Jam, a Plant-Based Diet at http://greenleavesandjam.com/hearty-lentil-loaf/