Tuesday 22 November 2011

SOS Vegan Parsnip and Bacon Cake with Mustard Cream

It seemed a brilliant idea at the time.  I decided to veganise a recipe full of bacon and cream.  Mine would use coconut bacon and cashew cream.  The cake would be gorgeous wedges drizzled with the cream.  The cream was good but the bacon was too chunky and the cake fell apart after the oven turned itself off.  Not an unqualified success but we enjoyed dinner, nevertheless.

Frying the onion and bacon together was fine.  It looked right.  The cream was one of my better renditions of a cashew cream.  It works better in a blender than in a dodgy old food processor and I am learning to give it lots of time to thicken into a smooth cream.  I usually line my cake tins with some baking paper but decided it wasn't needed with this savoury cake.  Big mistake. 

This is how it looked when I took it out of the oven:


This is how it looked when I turned it out of the tin and reshaped it:


This is how it looked once it crisped on top and I flipped it (what a disaster!):

Yet you can see below that it looked more respectable once I had served the cakes with cream, nutty fries, asparagus and beetroot.  Next time I would season the parsnip cakes more, chop the coconut bacon finely, and cook it on a flat tray in smaller portions.  What I liked about it was the soft mild flavour of the parsnips with the smoky facon and the creamy mustard sauce.  A great combination of flavours and textures.

It is not actually parsnip season here but I was inspired by Ricki and Kim's SOS Kitchen event.  This month's theme is Parsnips.  To celebrate the theme, I am sharing some parsnip recipes I have loved and ones I would love to make:

Parsnip recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Parsnip recipes elsewhere in the blogosphere:

Parsnip and Facon Cake with Mustard Cream
Adapted from UKTV
serve 3-4

3 parsnips (about 400g), peeled and chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup coconut bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
seasoning
1 tbsp coconut oil
finely chopped spring onion, to garnish

Mustard Cream:

1/3 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp soy milk (optional)
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp ground chillis
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Firstly pour boiling water over cashews in a small bowl and leave to soak while you prepare recipe (I think mine were soaking 1 hour).

Simmer parsnips for about 20 minutes or until very soft.  While parsnips are cooking, fry onions for a few minutes until golden brown.  Add garlic and coconut bacon and stir about a minute.  Add coconut oil and stir until melted.  Remove from the heat.  When parsnips are cooked, drain and mash with a pinch of salt.  Add onion and bacon mixture.  Check seasoning.

The recipe said to flatten into a greased 20cm cake tin.  Next time I will either flatten and shape into a circle on a greased baking tray (and flip in quarters) or line the bottom of the cake tin with baking paper.  Cook at 180 C (350 F) until crispy on top.  (My oven went out so I ended up crisping mine under the grill.)  Turn out onto a plate or chopping board and cut into wedges to serve.  Serve wit mustard cream.

To make mustard cream: drain cashews and then blend all ingredients in a blender for about 3 minutes or until thickened and smooth.  Check seasoning.

On the Stereo:
Just enough education to perform: Stereophonics

11 comments:

  1. Coconut bacon...now THAT is something I really need to try! Plus I LOVE parsnips!

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  2. What a great use of your coconut bacon! The creamy mustard sauce sounds really yummy, I love mustard.

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  3. these look super delicious YUM nice work johanna! especially with the coconut bacon!

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  4. I think you saved these so well that they ended up looking just fine on the plate! Clearly a labour intensive, and perhaps slightly stressful :), meal though - but as you say a wonderful combination of flavours and textures. I am very impressed.

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  5. They still look good even if they didn't turn out quite like you wanted! :) I really must give coconut bacon a go!

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  6. Hahahahahaha,...coconut bacon! I prefer real bacon in these lovely home -made savoury cakes! They looks crumptious! :)

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  7. I never cease to be amazed when I visit your blog! For it is always filled with such creative dishes!

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  8. This sounds pretty good to me! Once served up, no-one would ever know that it was determined to fall apart.

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  9. This sounds so interesting, I love mustard in things and really really want to try some of this coconut bacon (I'm hoping to find some flakes at my health store on the weekend). It's so frustrating when things fall apart after going to so much effort but you still made it look scrumptious. :)

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  10. Thanks Joanne - yes I thought facon and parsnip were a good pairing!

    Thanks Ashely - the mustard sauce was something I would love to repeat - great on a sandwich with leftover parsnip cake and tomato - we also used it as a dipping sauce for tofu nuggets

    Thanks Carla - just the sort of work I enjoy :-)

    Thanks Kari - too often I set out on recipes that are more complicated than I expect but always happy to sit down and eat

    Thanks Lorraine - yes a bit different but good - esp when the parsnip cake was very crispy from being under the grill

    Thanks Sophie - real bacon is just not for me but would be interested to hear if you try this recipe with it

    Thanks Lisa - love being creative on the blog but still have nights like tonight when it was just a jar of tomato sauce and some pasta Sigh!

    Thanks Cakelaw - it was still a bit fragile when served but I was very stern with it when taking photos :-)

    Thanks Mel - good luck with funding the flakes - after they were a bit chunky in this meal I wonder how they would go with the shredded coconut though maybe it would burn too quickly - it is frustrating when things fall apart when I had such high hopes but at least dinner tasted good

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  11. A surfeit of parsnip goodness! I absolutely adore the look of those cakes with the cream on top. Such a great recipe! I think you're right, it would likely work better (ie stay cohesive) if you baked as individual cakes. I'm sure it was delectable either way. Yum. Thanks for submitting to the SOS this month, too. :)

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