A Vegan, Gluten Free Christmas!

Okay so in the true spirit of this blog me and Jess have got together and made an epic christmas dinner that's suitable for just about anyone! And not too unhealthy either!

We're going to be making a cashew and parsnip nut roast, roast potatoes (what christmas dinner would be complete without), roasted carrots, onions and more parsnips, an adapted recipe for roasted butternut squash, steamed vegetables, grilled courgettes and a red wine and basil sauce. We will explain the cooking all together as we did it, so the timings should be roughly right.

For the Cashew and Parsnip Nut Roast:

150g Cashews
3 large Parsnips
1 medium Onion
3 cloves Garlic
1 gluten-free ciabatta roll/bread roll/2 slices gf bread (/normal bread if you're not gf)
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
150 ml Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Thyme
1 tbsp Seaweed Flakes
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Mixed Herbs
1 tbsp Cornflour
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 medium Chestnut Mushrooms
Handful of french Basil Leaves

For the Butternut Squashed (yes this is an adaptation of a Jamie Oliver recipe, but we like terrible puns so the name is sticking):

1/2 Butternut Squash
2 large cloves Garlic
1 medium Green Chili
Handful (50g?) of Peanuts (or cashews or walnuts or pine nuts or anything really)
1 tsp Sake
1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Olive Oil

For the Roasted Potatoes:

400g Potatoes
1 tbsp Olive Oil

For the Roasted Vegetables:

1/2 an Onion
3 Carrots
2 Parsnips
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Sprinkling of Brown Sugar (optional)

For the Steamed Vegetables:

1/2 pack (200g?) Dwarf Beans
1 pack Asparagus (this was on special offer in Sainsbury's, but anything you like steamed such as broccoli or cauliflower will do)

For the Grilled Courgettes:

1 large Courgette
1 large clove Garlic

For the Red Wine and Basil Sauce:

1/2 Red Onion
1 tsp Olive Oil (really don't go over on this, you need a tiny amount to soften the onion and any more will just sit on the top of the sauce and look scummy)
1/4 cup Red Wine
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce (optional, I think it helps to bring the flavours of the meal together)
1 large handful Basil Leaves
200 ml Stock
1 tbsp Cornflour
Salt and Pepper to taste

There's quite a lot going on with this roast (as usual for roasts) so allow plenty of time! It took us just over an hour and a half and we've made it a couple of times. However if you're short on time I'll list the cooking times for everything below and you can cut things out as you like to reduce the time.

Nut Roast - Prep: 30 mins; Cook: 45 mins
Butternut Squashed - Prep: 5 mins; Cook: 30 mins
Roasted Potatoes - Prep: 15 mins; Cook: 30 mins - 1 hour
Roasted Vegetables - Prep: 5 mins; Cook: 30 mins
Steamed Vegetables - Prep: 5 mins; Cook: 10 mins
Grilled Courgettes- Prep: 10 mins; Cook: 5 mins
Red Wine and Basil Sauce: Prep: 10 mins; Cook: 10-20 mins

As you can see there's a pretty logical order to go by as things take shorter amounts of time to cook. We will list recipes separately for ease of reading, but point out parts in the recipes where you will want to start other parts of the roast dinner.

Method:

For the Nut Roast -

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius
Start off by chopping the parsnips up nice and small (so they cook quick) and then boilin them in salted water until soft
Drain, but reserve the water to use for the stock (it just adds a nice extra level of flavour)
Mash the parsnips (add a little bit of water back if you need too) until smooth-ish
Either grind the nuts in a nut grinder if you are lucky enough to own one, or cover them with a teatowel and whack/roll with a rolling pin until as broken up as you can be bothered to do (you can't really go too far) and add to the parsnips
Make the bread roll into breadcrumbs and add into the pan
Add the stock to the pan and leave to absorb for 10-15 minutes
At this point start on the roast potatoes
When the potatoes are boiling, chop up the onion finely and fry in half the oil until brown around the edges and soft, add to the pan (I would usually add all the oil and just fry the mushrooms in the same pan without adding any more)
Add the spices, cornflour, soy sauce, garlic and salt and pepper to the pan
Mix the pan thoroughly
Chop up the mushrooms roughly and fry in the rest of the oil
Layer half the nut roast in a baking dish, top with the mushrooms and the basil leaves
Add the rest of the nut roast and press down lightly so the top is a smooth layer
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until golden on top, and until there is no more liquid bubbling around the edges

For the Roast Potatoes -

Peel the potatoes
Boil in salted water for 15 minutes
Toss in the oil and place in a pan and put in the oven to roast

For the Roast Vegetables -

Peel and top and tail the carrots and parsnips
Cut lengthways and then into sticks
Chop the onion into large chunks
Toss in the oil, sprinkle sugar on top and place in the oven to roast as well

For the Butternut Squashed -

Peel and chop the butternut squash
Place in a small ovenproof dish
Finely chop the garlic and chili
Add the nuts you are using
Add in the sake, soy sauce and oil and toss everything to mix and coat
Place in the oven to roast

For the Sauce -

Chop the onion lengthways and then fry in the oil until soft
Add the red wine and boil briefly over a high heat
Add the basil and soy sauce and stir
Stir in the stock and bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer
Mix the cornflour with a couple of tablespoons of water and then stir in quickly to the sauce
Stir CONSTANTLY until the sauce thickens (really really do watch this the entire time, cornflour thickens so quickly that it you leave it it will cook and burn at the bottom and not at the top and be lumpy and generally gross)
Reduce further if you prefer a thicker sauce or leave as it is
Season and leave until you are ready to serve

For the Grilled Courgettes -

Preheat a George Foreman or other panini maker/grill, or your oven grill or griddle pan if you're using
Slice the courgette longways
Cut the garlic in half longways and then rub over the courgette on both sides
Grill until browned on both sides, flipping half way through if necessary

We added the garlic to the grill for an extra flavour boost

For the Steamed Vegetables -

This will probably be the last thing you do as they don't take long
Top and tail the dwarf beans, place in a steaming pan or tray if you own one, or if you're a poor student like us then a colander above a pan of boiling water (protip!)
Cut off the bottom inch of the asparagus and add to the steamer

When everything is fully cooked/roasted, plate up, add the sauce and enjoy!

We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as us. Nutritional Information to follow. We also made a batch of Black Bean Brownies for afters which go extremely well!

And a happy christmas from a very full Jess and Tom x

Try not to do a Tom and throw the sauce everywhere, it helps to have it on the plate.

Butternut Squash Thai Red Curry

Tom tonight,

Jess is off being drunk somewhere (I have the texts to prove it) and my housemate Lucy is leaving tomorrow to get herself her own place so were making a big curry for her last meal. This is the first time I've made a red curry, and because I am cheap I have bought a curry paste rather than making my own. It's probably not too hard to make your own but this is easy and I think it still tastes awesome. I'm making this with Thai sticky rice and pan-fried red cabbage. The vegetables used in this can be changed for others if you like but I like the colour combinations these bring - originally I was going to add the red cabbage but I saw online someone suggested doing this and honestly it turned out incredibly tasty so will definitely make this a regular part of my cooking. I also baked chicken breasts in the curry paste for Lucy as a non-vegan. Also added peanut butter for an extra flavour as I'm liking adding peanut butter to asian dishes and butternut squash and peanut butter are a match made in heaven.

This recipe makes enough for about 5 portions of curry and rice.

Ingredients:

For the Curry:

1 Butternut Squash
1 large Onion
1 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
4 cloves Garlic
1 small Chili
2 inch of fresh Ginger
6 large closed cup Mushrooms
1/2 a Courgette
1 Red Pepper
1/2 pack of Dwarf Beans
1 dessertspoon Peanut Butter
1/2 can Tomatoes
1 litre Boiling Water
1 1/2 tsp Bouillon
1 inch block of Creamed Coconut
3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Chicken:

1 Chicken Breast
1 tbsp Red Thai Curry Paste

For the Rice:
1/2 a pack of Thai Fragrant Rice
A sprinkle of Seaweed Flakes (my secret ingredient for everything)
Cold Water

Method:

First peel the butternut squash, drizzle with a little bit of oil and pinch of salt flakes and roast in a hot oven until cooked and browned.
Next put the rice on, cover with a centimetre of water and add a sprinkle of nori flakes if you have them, a sprinkle of jasmine leaves  also adds a great flavour if you have them.
Put on a high heat until bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan, then turn down to a low heat and put the lid on.
Leave until all the water has been absorbed, then fluff up and leave with the lid on to steam for a few mintues. While this cooks start the curry
Chop up the onion and fry in oil in a saucepan until soft.
Once soft, add the garlic, chili, ginger and curry paste, fry for a few minutes.
Chop up the mushrooms, courgette, pepper and dwarf beans and add to the saucepan, mix thoroughly and cook until soft.
Add the peanut butter and mix well, it helps to put the peanut butter to the bottom so it heats up and then it's easier to stir in.
Add the tomatoes and mix again.
Add boiling water until the vegetables are covered by about a centimetre of water and just a bit thinner than you want it to be.
Next add the stock and creamed coconut (you can make each of these separately if you want to but i didn't think it was necessary and this seemed easier to get the right consistency.
By this time the butternut squash should be nicely roasted, add this to the curry. At this point I rubbed the chicken with the paste and put in the oven to bake (reuse oven tray, save washing up, done).
Mix all of this together and bring to the boil.
Simmer until the correct consistency (as you like it).
At this point I quickly fried the cabbage (link) if you want to make that as a side.
Serve and enjoy.

Really pleased with how this came out, the curry paste I used wasn't fantastic but I imagine you could get nicer ones without too much effort, and if i find a decent recipe to make one I will definitely post it later. This could be very easily adapted to make it how you like, spinach might make a nice addition to this! As always, let us know your own versions at twocooksoneblog@gmail.com.

Nutritional Info:


                      Calories   Carbs     Fat     Protein     Sodium     Sugar
          Total:     885         113       40         24          3481         42
Per Serving:       177          23        8           5            696          8


And 1 cup of rice adds around 240 calories, and 101 from the cabbage (worth it!) giving 512 for the meal in total! (not including chicken)

Ignore the cabbage, originally this post included that recipe.

I apologise for the steam, it was a very, very, very, very cold day.

The vegan version

And with the baked chicken.