Savoury Chestnut, Rainbow Carrots and Lentil Cake

Happy New Year.  

I guess many of us will be glad to see the end of 2016 and try to welcome 2017 with optimism and hope.   I have had an interesting year, what more can I say - it could have been better, but it was not terrible either.  I am thankful.   As always and as I do every year, I want to say Thank you to my loyal readers.  I honestly do appreciate you for supporting and reading my 'not for profit' hobby blog and taking time to comment when you can.  

I made this Savoury Chestnut, Rainbow Carrot and Lentil Cake last week a few days after Christmas.  It would be perfect for the festive table, but it would also be fabulous on the table on New Years Eve or New Years Days Sunday Roast Dinner.

This Savoury Chestnut, Rainbow Carrot and Lentil Cake is inspired and adapted from one I saw in the Vegetarian Christmas magazine.  I cannot remember the last time I picked up a vegan or vegetarian magazine, but the recipes were far more interesting in presentation that I was tempted to pick up a copy.  Its essentially an upside down colourful nut roast.  I had intended to make this for Christmas Day as I had picked up some baby rainbow carrots from the market in Cardiff.  I had put them in the fridge to maintain some sort of freshness, they lasted well. 

A generous slice of this Savoury Chestnut, Rainbow Carrot and Lentil Cake would be perfect next to roast potatoes, sprouts and/or other greens.  And don't forget the gravy, its essential here.  

I've had a good good break, a quiet affair really with just D and me.  I will share more about my Christmas Day and what I got for Christmas.  Wow I truly cannot believe it is 2017 and wonder what the year will bring.  Anyway, lovely reader Happy New Year once again.  

Root Vegetable Terrine with Chestnuts

If you have any carrots and parsnip left over from the festive week then I have a recipe for you, just don't make a soup with it.  I actually made this Root Vegetable Terrine on Christmas Eve for Christmas Day.  

This was my only contribution to our Vegetarian Christmas Dinner plate as D took charge in the kitchen.  Over the years, cooking up Christmas dinner has become his responsibility, I am not sure when or why this happened, but I am quietly pleased as it gives me a deserved break and it always feels like a treat when he cooks for me, just does.   

D is not keen on overly keen nut roasts and didn't care either way if it made an appearance on our plate, so as a compromise, I decided to make a Parsnip Terrine recipe that I have made in the past. 

I introduced a few different elements to it in an attempt to make it more festive, namely the inclusion of earthy nuggets of chestnuts.  Though it was not necessary, slices of terrine  made an appearance on our Roast dinner plate.  We also had it on Boxing day served at room temperature with some tangy pickle.

Very Easy Chestnut Bangers - Sausages

Sausages - vegan, vegetarian or meat-based are not the easiest to photograph, unless of course you drown them in thick muddy gravy, but I couldn't be bothered to do that - so here are my Chestnut Bangers - exposed and naked!

What's good about them though, my timing in making them - perfect for the Festive Season and for your vegetarian and/or vegan guests and even those who have a gluten intolerance.  

I was inspired to make these Chestnut Bangers whilst flicking through Denis Cotters For the Love of Food and I was reminded of Lucy's vegetarian breakfast sausages made with vacuum packed pre-cooked chestnuts,  tofu and cheddar cheese.  I also have a vegan recipe by Rose Elliot from her Vegetarian Christmas Cookbook.  Both recipes are straight-forward to make, I know this as I have made them both in the past, but I had an idea how to make a much more easier recipe relying on a couple of ingredients knocking around in my kitchen cupboard. 

I was determined to cook with my tin of Merchant Gourmet Chestnut Puree that's been sitting in my kitchen cupboard for a couple of years (and yes, its still in date) and Savoury Nut Roast.  I am already a fan, however this time round I wanted to do something different with it - make Chestnut Bangers. Half were frozen and half were shallow fried in a little oil over three days for brunch and evening meals.  

Vegetable Palette: Orange Round Up

Welcome to October's round up of The Vegetable Palette and Fruit Palette: natures colours - natures goodness''. 

The theme for October was Halloween Colours  and we had three fantastic contributions.  (Please scroll to the bottom of the page for the new theme if you would like to take part this month).

I begin with a Tangled Thai Salad with Lime Peanut Dressing made with yellow beetroot and carrots from Janet at The Taste Space.

Next we have a Chickpea and Butternut Squash Schnitzel from the Veg Hog. The purple carrots looks fabulous too. 

And finally we have a golden bowl of Chestnut Pumpkin Soup from Nasifriet from By The Way...Loving the web!

Here are some other Orange Halloween ideas for future inspiration. If you would like to participate in the Vegetable Palette or even the Fruit Palette, then please follow THIS LINK on how to participate.  The theme for November is WHITE VEGETABLES.  See HERE for ideas from last year entries.

Lentil and Chestnut Soup

We had planned to drive down on Christmas day from Scotland to Essex, England to be with Ds mother and sister. However due to the recent harsh weather and dangerous driving conditions, this did not happen and we have ended up staying at home.

I've already mentioned the reason why the Christmas tree and all associated decorative ornaments have remained boxed in the attic this year, so there were no exchanges of presents between the two of us. But it was not all bad for me, I did receive an unexpected gift in the post which warmed my heart. Thank you J.

In the box were a number of edible goodies like flowering tea, but it was this gorgeous hand knitted hat which delighted me the most. It complimented my purple winter coat wonderfully. Of course I wanted to wear it and show it off immediately. I asked D if we could go out for a walk in the snowy park and get some fresh air in our lungs. My real reason was to wear it on my noggin' and strut my magic stuff.

I am embarrassed to admit it, but there was once a time when I would snug and wrinkle my nose at the thought of a handmade present. It is only in the past six years or so that I have gained a greater appreciation of handmade gifts, other than them being unique, they are also made with a lotta love and kindness. Early in the week I also received these tiny mitts from Pia which I won in her giveaway a couple of months ago. These are just so cute and will adorn my Christmas tree come next year.

So after our walk in the snow, we tucked into this dense and creamy lentil and chestnut soup. I have to point out that this soup was made with tinned pureed chestnut. I know shame on me for not using fresh chestnuts especially as they are in season. But have you seen the price of them at the grocers and supermarkets?! Ridiculously expensive. I had hoped to have foraged for some this year, but it did not happen. So for ease I used canned. If you cannot find pureed, whole cooked chestnuts will do fine. Just chop them up before you add it them to the soup to simmer. This lentil and chestnut soup is deep and its texture and flavours are enhanced further by the celery leaves and fennel seeds.

Lentil and Chestnut Soup
Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients
140g green or brown lentils
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
2 ½ pints of water
1 x 435g canned and pureed chestnuts
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat oil in a pan and add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and fennel seeds. Cook over medium low heat for about 10 minutes. Then add the lentils along with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat an simmer covered until the lentils are tender (about 40 minutes). Remove the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the chopped up chestnut puree and simmer gently stirring now and again, to ensure that the chestnut puree has broken down and been absorbed into the soup. Adjust seasoning then serve with the celery leaves scattered over. Adapted from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison

Deep Cavolo Nero soup

Remember the cavolo nero aka Tuscan kale I picked from the garden on Sunday, well I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it.
I have been hankering after this Zuppa di Castagne e Cavolo Nero, a deep dark chocolate looking soup that I saw on Barbara’s blog Dish'n' That a little while ago. I just didn’t have any nuggets of fresh chestnuts or even those cooked ones that are shrink wrapped, so I decided to substitute the fresh chestnuts with a tinned puree. But that wasn’t the only thing I changed, I adapted it a little more as I was cooking. I hope Barbara doesn’t mind.

The soup certainly had texture and depth of flavour, and if I had not made it myself from scratch I would have been suspicious that a meat stock had been used, as it had a ‘meaty’ taste and smell to it. This flavour is imparted by the chestnuts. The soup itself was rather delicious and certainly a meal in a bowl, and as Barbara suggested I served it with a hunk of good crusty bread. I am submitting this recipe to Grow your own (GYO), which celebrated it second birthday. It was started by Andrea Meyer of Andrea's Recipes. It is a twice-a-month blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow ourselves and the dishes we create using our homegrown products. GYO#40 is presently being hosted by Nate at House of Annie and he's invited us all to do it again. How can I resist such an offer, especially to show off the last of my homegrown black kale.

Cavolo nero, Chestnut and Butter Bean Soup
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
3 stalks celery, peeled of stringy bits with a potato peeler, then chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 x 400g canned plum tomatoes in juice
1 ½ pints vegetable stock
1 x 435g canned unsweetened pureed chestnuts
1 x 400g can white beans, drained and rinsed
About 250g of Cavolo Nero, stems and ribs removed and leaves chopped into pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons Tamari
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot and add the onion and garlic. Let sweat a bit, then add the carrot and celery. Saute for a few minutes, then add tinned tomatoes, the chopped kale, Tamari and seasoning and cook for a few minutes more before adding the vegetable stock. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally, before adding in the pureed chestnuts and beans and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Transfer about ½ pint of the soup to a blender and process. Return to the pot; give it a stir. Add more seasoning if required and let simmer for a few minutes before serving.

Rosemary infused Vegetable Bourguignonne

Many of you will know that Beef Bourguignon is a traditional and popular French dish. Beef Bourguignon is a flavourful stew prepared with beef that is slowly simmered red wine with garlic, onions, carrots, a bouquet garni, and garnished with pearl onions and mushrooms. I learned that it was originally a peasant dishes, but over the past few years has been refined and now appears on menus at Michelin star restaurants.

I have also seen various vegetarian and vegan versions of the Bourguignonne in magazines and cookbooks. I must admit as someone who has never eaten beef, the colour of the ‘muddy brown’ gravy just did not appeal to me, so I had never bothered making it, until yesterday of course.

I had some fresh chestnuts left over from Christmas that were starting to look like polished decorative pebbles. Plus a recipe of vegetable based Bourguignonne gave me another opportunity to cook from one of my Christmas presents: Rachel Demuths Green World Cookbook.
This Bourguignonne contains home grown garlic, baby onions and rosemary. This is also my entry for this weeks Weekend Herb Blogging, which celebrated its fourth Birthday last year. WHB was started by Kalyn of Kalyns Kitchen. It is now and organized by Haalo of Cook Almost Anything Once, I think this is a great way to get food bloggers to cook with what is in season and growing locally. This weeks WHB No. 216 is being hosted by Maninas: Food Matters. This made me smile. The first time I ever submitted to WHB was last year with a Coriander, cumin and chilli quiche and guess who was hosting then, Maninas. What a splendid surprise for me.
The question is which of the home grown ingredients should I be showcasing. I decided upon the rosemary.

Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean. I think it is such a reliable herb especially during the winter, when the softer herbs such as basil, mint and coriander are in short supply. It is also so easy to grow not requiring much maintenance. I love brushing my hand on the rosemary bush for its heady scent. I think it is a very good both fresh and dried for cooking, but have you ever wondered where it got its name from. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary spread her cloak over a rosemary bush while she rested and as a result of this the flowers turned blue like her cloak. From then on, the bush was called ‘Rose of Mary.” Rosemary is also known as ‘Sea rose, Herb of Crowns, Mary’s Tree, Guardrobe, Incensier, Elf Leaf, Sea Dew, Dew of the Sea, Polar Plant, Mary’s Cloak, Stella Maria, Star of The Sea and Compass Plant’. Wow, so many beautiful names for one hardy plant.
We had this with mashed potatoes. Wow D gave it two thumbs up declaring it the most delicious meal of the year so far. The mushroom gravy lightly infused with the flavour of the rosemary is quite silky, and the celeriac chunks kept their shape well. I think this dish tastes even better the following day, as the gravy has a chance to penetrate through the exterior of the chestnuts, especially as these were fresh and roasted in the oven and this made them melt in the mouth. Previous to that, they tasted just a tad powdery.

Bourguignonne of chestnuts, mushrooms and roasted garlic
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients

150g cooked whole chestnuts
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 bulb garlic, peeled and cloves left whole
200g small onions or shallots, peeled and halved
1 small celeriac, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
3 - 4 sticks celery, peeled and chopped
300g chestnut and button mushrooms, stalks removed
2 bay leaves
Sprig of fresh rosemary from my garden
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
100ml red wine
1 tablespoon tamari1 tablespoon tomato puree
800ml stock made with 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 6.
Use a large, deep baking tray, big enough to take all the vegetables. Heat the olive oil in the baking tray. Add the garlic cloves and onions and roast for 15 minutes. Add the celeriac and celery and stir well and road for another 30 minutes. At this point carefully tip all the vegetables into a large ovenproof casserole dish with a lid. Stir in the cooked chestnuts, mushrooms and herbs and season to taste. Add the wine, tamari, tomato puree and stock. Stir well to combine. Now either reduce the heat in the oven to Gas mark 3 and cook for a further 2 hours or simmer gently on the top for 1 hour. Stir occasionally to prevent vegetables sticking. Check for seasoning before serving.

Adapted from Rachel Demuths Green World Cookbook. I think this is going to be one of my most used books of 2010.