Celebratory Whole Cauliflower Nut Roast Wellington

So its Sunday and sometimes we go all out and have a full on vegetarian Sunday Roast Dinner with all the trimmings, stuffing and Yorkshire pudding, but today I share with you something else that took centre stage.

No not a Nut Roast, though I do love them or the very trendy Seitan Roast, no its a Cauliflower Wellington.

I was inspired  to make this after I saw a UK supermarket chain sharing its festive range last year and it included a Cauliflower Wellington. It was a whole head of cauliflower covered with a butternut and minced mushroom stuffing that was flavoured with red wine and spices associated with Christmas.  It was then wrapped in a puff pastry.  I did not get to try the supermarket version, but in true Shaheen style I thought I'd attempt to make a version of Cauliflower Wellington at  home. 

Here it is; my celebratory whole Cauliflower Nut Roast Wellington.  Is it not marvellous?! And are you not impressed?!  I am for once.

I cooked the whole cauliflower head, then covered it in a homemade nut roast and then wrapped it puff pastry.  It then went into the oven to bake and go all golden.

Mushroom Wellington Roast Spiral

These Mushroom Wellington Roast Spirals  were inspired from my time in Glasgow and when we went to The 13th Note in Merchant City.  The 13th Note was my favourite vegetarian/vegan  eatery in Glasgow, plus it being a popular music venue too.  

At the time there were not that many vegetarian or vegan eateries in Glasgow, there was The 13th Note, Mono and Stereo which was well  hidden in an alley way, unless of course you knew where to look and of course we did.   And there was The 78 Cafe Bar near Kelvingrove Art Museum. but it was relatively new. There was also Grassroots that was close to the University of Glasgow but the the vegetarian - vegan cafe closed down in 2009, though I have recently learned that it has re-opened once again.  It was one of my haunts in my University days.

Smoked Cheddar Cheese Nut Roast

I have lots of flavoured cheddar cheese in the fridge from Christmas and the New Year.  We have been snacking on them in the evening with crackers, but I have also decided to incorporate some of it into our cooked meals.

This is a Smoked Cheddar Cheese Nut Roast that I made to accompany Sunday Veggie Roast Dinner. 

D is never excited by nut roasts.  So to please him I told him he would also get some mock meat slices on his plate (left over from a previous meal).   This Smoked Cheese Nut Roast recipe comes from Green Gourmet Giraffe.  Johanna's version is vegan. 

Wow this was a flavourful nut roast.  

It was very textual too. I changed it just a little, but they are not worth mentioning really.  Adding a red pepper for colour and upping the smoked paprika and Smoked cheddar cheese and finally because it just seemed right, I had to use the Outback Spirit Tasmanian Pepper Salt seasoning that Johanna sent me last year all the way from Australia.

Vegan Chestnut Mushroom Christmas Pull Apart Wreath

I've had a busy weekend, time spent finishing off wrapping the last of the Christmas presents and some planning ahead cooking, one of which is a very time consuming Chestnut Mushroom Wellington.

The Chestnut Mushroom filling was so vast that I made a number of small Mushroom Wellington loafs and put them in the freezer, but I still had plenty of Chestnut Mushroom filling to experiment with.  

At one point, I had thought to make a Pull Apart Christmas Tree, I made one with veggie mincemeat early this year, but then decided on a Pull Apart Wreath. 

My homemade edible wreath is not perfectly round, but I am one of those people that that hates waste, so its kind of square, but I think that is what makes it a little more visually interesting.  However, I am still hoping to make a round wreath again in the future, perhaps with a pizza filling.  

The recipe is slightly adapted from the brilliant Nadine Abensur's Mushroom Wellington filling from The Cranks Bible.  The slight adaptation I make are with the nuts, sometimes I use mixed nuts or just what I have and I often use dried tarragon in place of fresh.  I know Nadine  Abesur would be good to share the recipe, but here's the link that will also take you to her website.  To see step by step instructions for the Pull Apart Wreath, I followed this photograph. 

I have been enjoying participating in Food 'N' Flix, so I am joining in this month again.  The movie chosen this month is Kampus.  I watched it last year.  I originally wanted to make the wicked gingerbread man character in the movie, but with time running out I changed my mind.  Then I spotted the big bowl of Brussels sprouts on the table during the Dinner fight scene, but again I changed my mind making this Christmas Pull Apart Wreath.   My inspiration comes from the opening scene of Krampus you first see a wreath, before the camera slowly scans down to the Black Friday chaotic madness in the supermarket.  I am sharing this Chestnut Mushroom Wreath with Food 'N' Flix hosted by Heather at All Roads Lead To The Kitchen.  

I am also sharing this with  am sharing this post with  Harvest Monday hosted by Dave over Our Happy Acres as the herbs, the bay leaves and rosemary are from my garden, not much else is growing.  Its also an opportunity for me to say Thank you to Dave for hosting and to those who have visited my blog through Harvest Monday - Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year Monday Harvesters!  I hope to participate a bit more regularly come 2017. 

Smoked Paprika Mushroom Loaf with Coconut 'Bacon'

The weather in Wales is so strange at the moment.  For the past two days its been heavily foggy, only to clear and then smack us in the face with a mini heatwave.  It does make a change from the rain though, so I better not complain.  

I made this Golden Mushroom Loaf a couple of weeks back at the weekend when D brought home a lot of mushrooms.  It is golden partly from being baked, but also from the addition of smoked paprika.  I garnished the mushroom loaf with homemade smoky coconut flakes aka 'coconut 'bacon'.  

We enjoyed this Mushroom Loaf as a Nut Roast with one meal, the others with a side of salad.

It was tasty.  It was firm and crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside, but not a claggy soft. It made a nice change from the occasional mock 'meat' sausages we pick up for  during the working week for easy meals.  

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.  

Ruby Red Chard Mushroom Nut Wellington

My most favourite of favourites Nut Mushroom Wellington by far has to be from Nadine Abensur from her cookbook The Cranks Bible.  When I was a student I would often make it and slice it in individual pieces and freeze it, so when I had friends over or too tired to make something, I would go to the freezer and bake it in the oven served with steamed veg and gravy.  

It's been a few years now since I've made a nut roast, and I mean one covered in puff pastry aka a Mushroom Nut Wellington, so that had to be addressed.  And with the sun disappearing on us again and it all going nippy again, a vegan nut roast with all the trimming was to be on the menu.  

I was going to put a handful of shredded kale to the mushroom and nuts, but decided to throw in a handful of homegrown red chard, spotted amongst all the weeds in the garden.  

A couple of weeks back I made some progress weeding and digging the garden.  We were fortunate to have the nephews over bribed by the appeal of a home-made veggie burger with spicy wedges.  They helped their uncle dismantling the pergola and I did the digging, but the work in the garden came to a halt when both myself and D came down with some kind of bug.  Its not even halfway through the year and I have been poorly twice this year.  Feeling much better now, I am back in the kitchen and back to blogging. 

Beetroot Brazil Nut Roast

The  last curly kale polenta wedges were consumed yesterday morning for breakfast. So in the next few days a slice or two of this Beetroot Brazil Nut Roast will grace our plates.  

Its been a long while since I've made nut roast, well when I think of it - it was last year around Christmas time, still that is a while ago.  With the season changing, well it makes sense for a vegetarian who wants more texture and bite on the plate.

Celery and pecan cakes

The savoury kind of cake.

I was curious to try this combination. After all how often does long, green and crunchy celery play the starring role of a dish. It either serves as a base to a stew or as part of a crudite platter. I wanted to give the celery a little more respect and taste it as an vegetable in its own right.

However, when I began to read the recipe and saw that I had to ground a load of good pecan nuts, I began squirming. I’d rather eat the pecan nuts as is; or in a 'pecan and maple cake', but to crush them to dust, just seemed wrong. I did it anyway as I was curious and I would only have wondered about the combination.
As expected the pecan nuttiness flavour came through, however it was not alone. There was a light hint of celery in the background too. The texture was similar to that of a light nut loaf or an old fashion vegetarian nut-burger.

These celery and pecan cakes alone may not excite you, but stuff them in between a bun, with some rocket and smothered in home-made red tomato and celery chutney, these cakes became astounding. The original recipe suggests serving these with mashed potato and a celery and Stilton sauce. I am sure that will be good, but I already have plans on eating some with home-made potato wedges.
Celery and pecan cakes
Makes 8
Ingredients
200g pecans, ground
8 whole pecans
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 onion, finely processed
½ head of celery, finely processed
200g fresh brown breadcrumbs
200g potatoes, mashed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat oil in a pan, add onions and celery and sauté gently until cooked. Take of the heat. Mix together the ground pecans, celery mix, breadcrumbs, potatoes and seasoning. Shape into 8 cakes. Use reserved pecans to decorate. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. When ready to eat, bake on a lightly greased tray at gas mark 6 for 20 minutes. Adapted from The Stones Cookbook.

Brown Rice-Mushroom Savoury Swirls

This is another adapted recipe from Deborah Madisons Vegetarian Suppers. Deborah states that the recipe was originally a nutloaf recipe, but she tampered with it to create burgers. I did of course make some burgers this morning for breakfast, but last night I also took the decision to use some of the filling for these savoury swirls.
I used to make these savoury swirls with Nadine Abensurs delicious Mushroom Wellington. Anyone who has Nadine Abensurs book with this recipe, will know that this recipe is a generous one, making two - not one nutroast. In the past I have made two nut roasts, and one actually went to waste as I never got round to defrosting and cooking with it. Then I came across a nifty little idea to make it last, make individual portions in the form of these Savoury Swirls.

I rolled out the dough, then generously pasted it with the filling, and then gently rolled it so that is looked like one of those sweet roly poly desserts. I cut them into individuals pieces and froze them with parchment paper between so that they didn’t stick. There you have a quick meal. Out of the freezer into the oven at Gas mark 6 for 20 – 30 minutes until golden and puffed. They really worked well.

So this is what I decided to do with this recipe, except of course I cheated a bit and used ready rolled puff pastry. These savoury swirls are part of our meal this evening. Hope the nephews like it. I know I will.

Brown Rice-Mushroom Savoury Swirls
Makes 12

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil or sunflower oil
1 large onion, minced
1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves
2 pinches of dried thyme
200g - 250g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
½ cup cashews, roughly chopped
½ cup walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce to taste
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup cooked brown rice
½ cup, cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs
Method
Heat the oil in wide pan. Add the onion, crumble in the herbs and cook over high heat, stirring frequently until the onion is golden in places and starting to soften. Add the mushrooms and nuts and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms have released and then absorbed their juices, after several minutes, stir in the tamari and seasoning. Transfer the mixture to your food processor, add the rice, cheese, egg and bread crumbs and pulse so that the mixture resembles minced meat. To cook, coat a wide non-stick pan with oil. Scoop out ½ cup measures, then add it to the pan and press down with a spatula so that the patties are about ½ inch thick. Fry over medium heat until brown, then flip over and cook the other side until golden. Recipe adapted from Deborah Madisons Vegetarian Suppers.

PS forgive me with the American cups and gram measurements. I'm all over the place with them, especially when it comes to converting them to one or the other.

Do Nut Be (me)an Aubergine

Sorry, I know the title is bad, really bad in fact - but you'll understand why and perhaps forgive me.

This dish actually began as a nut and bean roast. It has flavour, texture and bite, so a small, but fair portion would be plentiful. Well I had made enough to feed a kabbadi team, except there was only D and me, so I had to think of other ways to use this 'nut and bean roast' recipe and that is when I realised how versatile it was.

Once you have made the mixture, you could wrap the cooked mixture in puff pastry and cook until golden like the Mushroom en Croûte. For more flavour and moistness, you could even top each with cranberry sauce; caramelized onions or a goats cheese before covering in puff pastry.
Or you can make these delightful stuffed aubergines ….

Serves two.
1 large aubergine, cut in half. Scoop the flesh out carefully like a boat, trying not to damage the aubergine skins as it will be holding the filling. Put aside. Now chop the aubergine flesh. In a large pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil, add the minced aubergine pieces and cook until they become soft, then add two servings of the nuts and bean loaf (recipe below), and stir it thoroughly for a few minutes. Turn off and allow to cool, before evenly distributing the filling into the two aubergine halves. Put on a tray that is lightly coated with olive oil and bake for 30 - 40 minutes on gas mark 4 until the Aubergine skins have softened. Feta cheese optional. Serve with warm home-made tomato sauce or a dollop of soured cream.

If you keep this as a plain nut and bean roast, I would recommend serving it with some mushroom gravy or a good brand, as it is a tad on the dry side.
A2K versatile Nut and Bean Roast
Makes 1 loaf/Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients
225g mung beans
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, finely chopped
220g ground Brazil nuts or mixed nuts
50g sunflower seeds
1 tablespoons of thyme
2 tablespoons of parsley
100g fresh wholemeal breadcrumb
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Soak the beans for a couple of hours. Then cook the beans in plenty of water with the bay leaf and onion for 40 minutes or so until they are soft. Drain them. Remove bay leaf. Mash the beans with the onion. Then mix all the nuts, breadcrumbs, the herbs and seasoning. Spoon the mixture into a baking tine until well compact. Smooth the surface. Heat the oven to Gas mark 6. Bake for 45 minutes if in a loaf tin or less if in a flan dish.