Spiced carrot nut roast: Vegan MoFo

Last week we had a glorious week of spring sunshine followed by a cold wet weekend.  So we are back to nut roast weather which is not a bad thing (except if you have washing to hang on the line).  This nut roast I have to share today was actually made a few weeks back at the end of winter when the weather was bleak. 

I baked it at night because it was so cold that my overnight sourdough bread dough was not ready to bake in the morning.  I had to wait til 5.30 to bake it.  Which put me behind.  But I had a family lunch with my sister visiting from ireland the next day and I love having nut roast instead of roast meat when my mum makes a roast dinner.  So I made it once I had settled Sylvia into bed.

As I baked in the child-free calm of the evening I reflected on why nut roasts were so popular decades ago.  Back then I think there was more of a frugal approach to cooking than today.  It is very satisfying to make a nut roast and bring out all the bits and pieces hanging around like ends of bread in the freezer that are blitzed into breadcrumbs, the old mushrooms clinging valiantly to the paper bag, the carrots that are looking tired, and on and on.

It was slightly more sweet and spicy with cinnamon than I had expected.  In the recipe below I have halved the cinnamon and nutmeg.  However more disappointing was that it crumbled badly when sliced to go with the roast dinner.  My family was generous and told me it was like stuff (which is high praise among us) but Sylvia was not having a good day so it took me a while to take a few deep breaths and relax.  I was able to enjoy the nut roast more over the new few days when I had it in home made sourdough bread rolls for lunch.  Once cold it sliced much better with only a little crumbling..

More vegan nut roasts on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Basic vegan nut roast
Carrot and smoked cheese nut roast
Festive layered nut roast with tomato and herbs 
Sweet potato and poppy seed nut roast with strawberry glaze
Welsh nutroast with laverbread, leeks and cheese 

Spiced Carrot Nut Roast
Adapted from Thinly Spread
Serves 4-8

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
50g mushroom, finely chopped
350g carrots, cooked and mashed roughly
225g cashew nuts, ground (not too fine)
140g dried wholewheat breadcrumbs
60ml water
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp  tahini (or a nut butter)
1 tbsp light miso
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp stock powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 nutmeg, finely grated
freshly ground black pepper

Fry onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft (10-15 minutes while you prepare other ingredients).  Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until mushrooms soft.  Mix with other ingredients and scrape into a greased and lined loaf tin.

Bake 180 C for 1 hour covered with foil then uncover and bake 10-15 minutes.  Cool at least 10 min before turning out.  (I think I let mine cool in the tin.)  Best served when warm rather than piping hot out of the oven.  Even better sliced up cold with salad or for a sandwich.

On the Stereo:
Tooth and Nail: Billy Bragg

This post is part of the Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo) in September 2018.  Go to my Vegan MoFo list for more of my 2018 Vegan MoFo posts.