Vegan Christmas Nut Roast and Salad

I know.  I know.  It is not Christmas!  But I am holding a Neb at Nut Roast II event.  I am holding the event to encourage others to make nut roasts because I love them.  But I am also holding it as an excuse to try out nut roasts.  On the weekend, I finally got around to experimenting with a favourite nut roast.  I make this nut roast every Christmas, hence the title of this post, but have wondered about making it vegan for some time.

The idea came from Cindy of Where's the Beef?  I am not a huge fan of faux meat like Cindy, but I will unreservedly claim that she has the best ever Vegetarian Sausage Rolls.   She is also a whizz at converting at making her recipes vegan and gluten free.  So it was no surprise to see Cindy veganise her sausage rolls.  What surprised me was how simple she made it.  Her Vegan Sausage Rolls merely have silken tofu instead of eggs and cottage cheese.  Since my Christmas nut roast uses cottage cheese and eggs, I thought I could give it the same treatment.

My Christmas Nut Roast goes by the name of Cheese and Walnut Nutloaf.  It is a deliberately simple recipe that will not compete with the wonderful festive side dishes.  It has so little in the way of seasoning, that I was concerned that maybe the eggs and cottage cheese gave some of the flavour.  I added a little nutritional yeast flakes but I am not sure that it was needed.  The tofu worked well.  If there was any room for improvement in this version, it was quite soft and I wondered if I should have used a little less tofu.

I often love roast veg with a nut roast but on the weekend I had also decided I wanted to make the Energising Protein Power Salad that I saw Ange make on Oh She Glows recently.  It was a serendipitous choice.  In fact, the green and red of the vegetables would make a great festive accompaniment.

It's the first time I have ever used buckwheat groats in a salad and I am in love.  They were so soft and full of flavour but didn't dry out the way that rice does.  It was such a good salad that I went back for a third helping.  Admittedly the two extra helpings were quite small but the salad was so moreish.  It was packed with interesting flavours and textures.  Crunchy, soft, sharp, sweet.

I made a few changes from Ange's (which was adapted from a quinoa salad on Have Cake Will Travel).  I didn't have wheat berries so I used rice.  I used less lemon juice, more cider vinegar and still had to add a little maple syrup because it needed a little sweetening.  The biggest change I made came from not reading the recipe.  I have a bad habit of reading ingredients lists more than I read methods.  So I turned my nose up at the onion because I didn't have one and I hate raw onion in salads, except spring onion.  Later I read that it was to be fried and most of the salad was cooked on the frypan.  Oops! 

Lastly I had some beetroot and orange chutney on the nut roast.  It was a wonderful meal.  Perfect for Christmas.  Great at any time of year.  You still have until 5 May to send me a nut roast.  For more information about the event read the announcement and the rules.

I also want to send the nut roast to a couple of events.  This fortnight the Cookbook Challenge theme is  Celebration.  I had thought of a few ideas but struggled to find time for any and am now behind.  You can see what others have made on the Cookbook Challenge community page.

I am also interested in Claire of Chez Cayenne's event called House Favourites: Vegan.  The event encourages bloggers to post vegan recipes we have made at least three times, the premise being to encourage posting old favourites.  I have had this blog long enough to have posted many of my favourite recipes, though not all.  So I wanted to take this opportunity to send this vegan nut roast Claire's way.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Butterscotch Bounty from Ricki
This time two years ago: Tupperware, Arran and Tomato Soup
This time three years ago: Posh chocolate orange biscuits

Vegan 'Cheese' and Walnut Nutloaf
adapted from Sarah Brown’s Vegetarian Cookery
Serves 4

• 200-250g silken tofu (I used 250g but might use a bit less next time)
• 50g (2 oz) walnuts, ground
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 cup (125g or 4 oz) dry breadcrumbs (I used 4 slices of wholemeal chia bread)
• 8 black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Spoon into prepared loaf tin (I use 13 x 22cm loaf tin and line bottom with paper except if using silicone pan.) Smooth the top down with the back of a spoon. Bake in moderate oven for approximately 50-60 or more minutes until golden brown and springy to touch. Serve slices hot or cold.

Energising buckwheat salad
adapted from Oh She Glows
serves 4-6

• 1 cup uncooked buckwheat groats (or grain like quinoa)
• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
• 400g tin of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 large red capsicum, finely chopped
• 100g green beans, chopped
• 1 large stalk of celery, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries (I used 1/2 cup but a few more would be good)

Dressing:

• 75ml fresh lemon juice
• 50ml apple cider vinegar (optional)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• few shakes of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Cook rice and buckwheat in separate saucepans using your normal method, the instructions on the packet or as I did.  I cooked the rice in boiling water for 30 minutes and drained it.  I rinsed the buckwheat and cooked it in 2 cups of water until all the water was absorbed.

Chop vegetables.  Cook the green beans for 3 minutes in boiling water and then refresh in cold water.  Mix vegetables in a large bowl with beans and cooked grains.

Mix all the ingredients either by shaking in a jar or lightly whisking in a large jug.  Pour into the bowl of grains etc.  Serve at room temperature or lightly warmed.  Lasted for a few days in my fridge.

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