Cashew Nut Roast with a Choice of Two Stuffings & Red Wine Gravy

 Vegan

 
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There’s something about a big roast dinner - and you don’t have to give that up when you go veggie or vegan. I cook this most Christmases and everyone loves it, including the meat-eaters! But it’s far too nice to limit to once a year. Serve with roast potatoes, mixed vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and sprouts - and gallons of gravy.

Top tip:
1. Save yourself time by making it the day before you want it then just re-heat in the oven covered with foil.
 

Serves: 
4 - 6
Time: 
20-30 minutes preparation plus 40 mins cooking time
No sesame
Reduced sugar
Ingredients: 

Oil spray or 1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium leek, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp vegan margarine, eg Pure, Suma or Biona 
350ml/generous 12fl oz hot water
1 tsp yeast extract (marmite, vegemite etc.)
550g/16oz cashew nuts - grind them in a food processor but not too fine. Leave some texture
2 tbsp soya flour (available from health stores)
2 tsp fresh herbs or 1 tsp dried
160g/6oz white bread crumbs
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Filling: choose from one of these
1 dsp olive oil
450g/1lb mushrooms, sliced medium
2 cloves garlic
1 dsp soya sauce
OR
1 pack smoked tofu, mashed roughly
1/2 large  jar roasted red peppers, sliced fine
1 tsp soya sauce

Red Wine & Onion Gravy
2 tbsp miso
2 tbsp hot water
2 shallots or 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 rounded tbsp wholemeal flour
240ml/9fl oz vegan stock, eg Green Oxo or Marigold red or purple tub
240ml/9fl oz red wine *
Salt and pepper to taste

*Vegan wine: Viva!'s wine club is a good bet! Otherwise try our link. The Co-op also labels its own wines as appropriate, so read the back of the bottle carefully!

Method: 

1. Melt the margarine in a large saucepan and cook the celery and leek in it for a few minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F/Gas Mark 4.

3. Meanwhile, make the filling of your choice.
Mushroom: cook garlic in olive oil until golden. Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Add soya sauce. Let this cook gently, then drain off any liquid that’s left and reserve for gravy. Put mushroom garlic mix aside.
Smoked tofu: mix mashed tofu with red pepper pieces and soya sauce. Set aside.

4. Make the roast. Mix the yeast extract into the hot water (alternatively you could use any stock you like) and add this to the leek and celery.

5. Stir in the soya flour, nuts, herbs, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper and mix well. Allow to cool slightly while you grease a loaf tin.

6. Place half the nut roast mixture in the tin and press down well - then add the mushroom and garlic stuffing (pressing down well again) and place the rest of the nut roast mixture on top. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes and allow to sit for a few minutes, covered. Turn it carefully out of the tin and slice. 

7. While the roast is baking, make the gravy. In a small bowl, mix miso and hot water and mix well. Set aside.

8. In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, sauté shallots/onion in oil until translucent. Add flour and mix well; this will become pasty and dry.

9. Slowly start adding stock while stirring continually. Add a little bit at a time until everything becomes well mixed and there are no lumps. Use a balloon whisk to get rid of floury lumps if necessary. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is thickened, stirring often.

10. Stir in miso, taste and season with salt and black pepper if necessary. Keep warm until ready to serve with the roast.

Your rating: None Average: 3.6 (28 votes)

Comments

Serves 4_6

Submitted by Veggie1 on February 3, 2013 - 8:29pm.
4

This recipe looks very tasty and I will try it this week, but...I would love it if you could give more recipes for one or two people. I only cook vegan for myself and whilst I try to freeze leftovers, having to buy 16oz of cashews for instance is quite expensive and it would be so much simpler if the recipe quantities were less. We don't all know and cook for lots of other vegans!

Cooking for one

Submitted by Jane on April 9, 2013 - 12:57pm.

Hi, sorry about this but there just aren't that many solo recipes available and we have limited time to develop them. I would suggest halving or even quartering recipes - most will work pretty well this way - and it's what I do if I'm cooking for myself. You could freeze the other half if it's too much also. If you need specifically solo recipes, try Leah Leneman's Vegan Cooking for One - it's on Amazon and other major websites and offers detailed shopping lists and such - particularly useful if you are on a tight budge and/or just hate wasting food! The recipes are quite simple but can easily be jazzed up with a bit of imagination. 

Even if you don't know that many vegans, there are plenty of local vegan groups throughout the UK. Perhaps you might be able to meet up occasionally? They often have pot-luck suppers and so forth. 

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