Vegetarian Christmas Roast!

[gruntygiggles]

Yum yum, made the below roast last night as a tester for cooking a Christmas meal alongside the usual for a vegetarian. Dan and I did cheat a bit last night as we had it with roast duck and redcurrant gravy, but it was really tasty and filling on it's own and we both said that you wouldn't miss the meat.

So, recipe below for those that may want it. This will serve 3-4 for a christmas dinner.


4 large baking potatoes
1 Celeriac, cut into 1 inch square chunks
2 meduim Sweet Potatoes, cut into 1 inch square chunks
1 large Onion, chopped finely
10-12 Chustnut Mushrooms, halved or quartered
5-6 chestnuts, sliced
1 large sprig fresh sage (a good handfull)
50ml Veg stock (1/2 teaspoon vegetable bouillon or 1/4 stock cube & 50mls hot water)
25ml White Wine Vinegar
1 Egg yolk
50g Plain flour
Salt & pepper
50g Butter (or use veg oil for vegans)
1/2 tbsp Veg oil
Stale Ciabatta loaf

Bake the potatoes until soft through and allow to cool completely.
In a large pan, heat half the butter and 1/2 tbsp oil. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat until just softened. When the onions are softened, finely chop the sage leaves, discarding the stalks and add to the onions along with the Celeriac and Sweet Potato. Cook uncovered for 2 minutes, then add the white wine vinegar and stock, stir through and cover with a tight fitting lid. The heat should be on medium to low so that the vegetables steam inside the pan without browning. After 8-10 minutes the vegetables should be soft and cooked through, with a little texture still in them. When you get to this stage, remove from the heat and empty out into a bowl. Put the pan back on the heat and turn it up to high. Throw in the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute, turning a couple of times. You don't want to cook the mushrooms, just take the raw edge off them. Add the mushrooms, along with the sliced chestnuts to the rest of the vegetables and allow it all to cool.

Using a food procesor or blender and bowl, break the stale ciabatta into small chunks and blitz in batches until you have a good 1-3 cups of breadcrumbs. You don't want to over blitz them, just enough to end up with no large pieces of bread and to the point where it looks a little rougher than normal breadcrumbs. Lay the breadcrumbs out on a large plate or work surface.

Scoop the soft potato out of the skins and add to the bowl of vegetables. Stir in with the flour and season with salt and pepper, tasting until you have seasoned it to your liking. I used about 1/2 tsp rock salt and almost as much pepper. It can take a lot of seasoning, so don't hold back. When you are happy with the taste, add the egg yolk, get your hands in and make sure the egg and flour are well worked through. You should be able to bring it together in your hands like a dough. If it is too wet or loose, add a little more flour.

Turn the mix out onto a clean and dry work surface. Don't flour the surface as you need the breadcrumbs to stick well to the potato.
Bring it together in your hands in individual logs as these will be easier to handle than one large roll. Each log should be about 4 inches long, 3 inches high and 3 inches wide. Lay the breadcrumbs on the work surface behind the logs and roll the logs over them, making sure the logs are completely covered, squeezing them a little so the breadcrumbs stick in.

Put a roasting tim big enough to fit the log on the hob with a little oil and butter over a meduim to high heat and let it come up to temperature.

Very carefully and using a large knife (I find this easiest as you can slide it under and lift, supporting with your free hand) and place them gently into the pan. Leave them for a good minute or two without turning or moving them until you can see that the bottoms have browned well. When this has happened, turn them carefully with the help of some turners or spatulas until they are browned on all sides. To brown the ends, just tip the pan a little and spoon some oil and butter over to baste them.

You can leave them like this and pop them in the fridge to cook later, or put them straight into the oven at gas 3 (150c) for about 20 minutes.

Take them out of the oven, carefully transfer to a chopping board and the best way to cut it is to use a bread knife as the outside will be nice and crisp but the inside soft, so a carving knife will squash it. You can slice into 3 sections to serve or, if it is easier, just serve the whole thing.

For my guest (if you can call him that) he'll be having everything else the same as the rest of us, but his roast potatoes will be done in groundnut oil (it can get much hotter than veg oil) and his gravy will be made by putting some redcurrant jelly into the emty roasting pan with a little beg stock and fresh thyme just to deglaze the pan and make a nice gravy.


If you try it, I hope you enjoy, but to be honest, I will be doing this again for us as I don't care that it's a vegetarian thing.....it's just lovely.

[CheGuevara]

Sounds alright for lesbian food (got no meat in it)

Vegetarian Christmas lunch ?? ...........

Any vegitarians turn up to mine, and they'll be getting the vegetarian option .....

a plate of brussel sprouts ......

[Littlepeahead]

Sounds lovely. I just bought a £70 fillet steak though for 6 of us, and the veggie coming round wants a pizza.

[Spiderman]

Sounds yummy GG, people who never eaten good veggie food dont understand just how nice it can be.

Originally Posted by Littlepeahead

Sounds lovely. I just bought a £70 fillet steak though for 6 of us, and the veggie coming round wants a pizza.

I wanna see a pic of how big this steak is

[gruntygiggles]

Originally Posted by Littlepeahead

Sounds lovely. I just bought a £70 fillet steak though for 6 of us, and the veggie coming round wants a pizza.

Have you got the whole centre fillet or does it have the chateaubriand on it still?

If it still has the chateaubriand, cut it off and keep it for you and your OH as it is simply the most amazing roast if you seal in a pan, roast for 25 mins and rest for 25 mins. Have done it for my dad and Stretchie and each time I've cooked it, you can literally cut it with a spoon.

Mmmmm, I haven't had a whole beef fillet to play with for ages, you lucky girl!

Sounds like Christmas at yours is going to be amazing!

[Spiderman]

Originally Posted by gruntygiggles

Mmmmm, I haven't had a whole beef fillet to play with for ages, you lucky girl!

Must ... resist.... smutty misquote opportunity

[Littlepeahead]

Well I'm not sure what I'm getting yet as I was supposed to collect it today but got snowed in. I basically told the head chef at Lord's what I was making and he sourced the meat from me from our supplier, then the other chef is going to prepare it ready to go into the pastry that I am making. But he said there will be some bits trimmed off which I can use in something else.

I'm lucky, we have a great bunch of chefs at Lord's and because I take an interest in what they do, take photos of them, do the PR for our catering operation etc. they get me to try the new cheeses, pies etc. and were happy to sort out the fillet for my crimbo lunch.

I'm doing baked Alaska for pudding just because I don't like Christmas pudding and it's a bit of fun.

[Spiderman]

LPH...i think my invite to crimbo lunch has been delayed in the post as i still aint got it. Or that bloody posty is on the theive again.
Cos i know you wouldn't make me miss out on this

[timwilky]

Originally Posted by gruntygiggles

Have you got the whole centre fillet or does it have the chateaubriand on it still?

If it still has the chateaubriand, cut it off and keep it for you and your OH as it is simply the most amazing roast if you seal in a pan, roast for 25 mins and rest for 25 mins. Have done it for my dad and Stretchie and each time I've cooked it, you can literally cut it with a spoon.

Mmmmm, I haven't had a whole beef fillet to play with for ages, you lucky girl!

Sounds like Christmas at yours is going to be amazing!

I love Chateaubriand, but have a wife who likes her steak burned (philistine I know, takes it horns out, wipe its **** and slap it on the plate). We are on goose for chrimbo at my bros. I intend to put it under the brush this weekend.

As for veggies, you can't eat them, and they can't eat with you. Feed them to the pigs.