Broke in the new oven today with roast veges - kūmara, potato, yams, parsnip, pumpkin and jerusalem artichokes, accompanied by steamed green beans and brussel sprouts (the latter also being excellent roasted, but we went for steamed today). And nutloaf - not sure where I got this recipe, and I muck around with it often, but tonight's was generally proclaimed very good. I also made possibly the best self-saucing pudding I've ever baked. The sauce stayed on top, but it was still delicious. Both of these dishes have been classics in my home growing-up.
Nut Roast
INGREDIENTS
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium sticks celery, finely chopped
3 cups finely chopped nuts (can chuck some seeds in instead to bulk it out, but I wouldn't go more than a cup)
2 tsp dried herbs (thyme, sage, tarragon)
1.5-2 cups breadcrumbs
enough chickpea flour to make everything stick (maybe 1 cup or so?)
1 Tbsp soya sauce
1 1/4 cup stock (I used 1 tsp vegecon dissolved in water)
* can make gluten free if you use tamari and gluten free stock and breadcrumbs. whoo.
** can also make with 3 cups breadcrumbs and only 1 Tbsp regular flour if chickpea flour not available.
METHOD
1. Saute onions, garlic, celery and herbs in a little oil until soft, and remove from heat. If you use a big pot you can mix all the other stuff into the same pot!
2. Add nuts, stock, soya sauce, and breadcrumbs, and mix everything together.
3. Go grease your baking dish and let the crumbs absorb the liquid a bit.
4. Now add the flour, a bit at a time, mixing in between until you have a mixture that hangs together pretty well.
5. Press into your baking dish, spray top with a little oil, and bake at 200 degrees celcius for 45-60 mins.
Best Self-saucing Pudding
I have already put up a self-saucing pudding recipe from pantry basics, and I also have been meaning to try this exciting twist on the classic (and go read the blog post, I cried).
Well, here is a recipe I copied ages ago out of my own Mum's special collation of recipes. It is the ultimate. I have made marginal (margarinal?) vegan adjustments.
INGREDIENTS
Pudding
50g dark vegan chocolate
60g margarine (Olivani)
2 Tbsp cocoa
1/3 cup soy milk (or whatever plant milk you like)
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 vegan egg (I used No-Egg, but flax seeds'd probably be awesome with a little extra baking powder added with the flour)
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
Sauce
1 1/2 cups water
50g marg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
METHOD
1. Grease a baking dish (not too big).
2. Combine chocolate, margarine, cocoa and soy milk in a saucepan. Stir over a low heat till chocolate is melted and ingredients combined.
3. Sift flour into a large bowl and stir in sugars. Add the chocolate mixture, No-Egg and vanilla. Stir well and spread mixture in baking dish.
4. For the sauce, stir ingredients in a pot over a low heat until combined.
5. Pour gently over pudding, and bake at 180 degrees celcius for about 45 minutes.
