Main Dishes
Holiday Cashew Nut Roast
With a taste that reminds us of a delightful nut-based holiday stuffing, this is a fine addition to a festive buffet. Thanks to Robin Lane, co-founder of the annual London Vegan Festival, for this recipe.
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1/2 pound cashew pieces
4 ounces of brown rice
6 ounces of rye toast crumbs--including caraway seeds, or a dash of celery seed.
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large, ripe tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons brewer’s yeast
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Dash of lemon (preferably freshly squeezed)
Dash of ground pepper
Preparation:
Cook rice until tender; grind cashews. (This can easily be done by hand by carefully running a rolling pin or jar over bagged nuts.)
Chop onion and garlic finely and heat in oil until they are slightly brown; chop and add one of the tomatoes; simmer until soft.
Combine all of the above ingredients and press into two 9-by-5-by-2 1/2 -inch loaf pans or glass round pie baking dishes. Slice second tomato and use to decorate top of roasts (adding a small dab of vegan margarine to each tomato slice if desired).
Bake for 30 minutes or more at 350 degrees F.
Baked Aubergine
Here’s how to enjoy Cashew Nut Roast the next day (if there is any left).
Slice large eggplant in half lengthwise from stem to base and carve out hollows in each half. Rub olive oil over the halves, inside and out.
Stuff with the extra Cashew Nut Roast. Place in glass pie plate and top off generously with a simple tomato sauce, and dashes of red wine on each side. Sprinkle bread crumbs liberally over the top.
Bake at 400 degrees F until the sauce begins to brown slightly at the edge of the pie plate, and the eggplant feels soft when a knife is inserted.
Saffron and Olive Risotto
Printed with permission of Jeff Goodwin
Jeff Goodwin—who shared this delicious dish at an event hosted by From A to Vegan and the Bucks County Vegan Supper Club—describes this as a vegan variant of Risotto Milanese, with olives replacing the cheese.
Ingredients:
5 cups vegetable bouillon
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 - 1/2 minced onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 tsp crushed saffron threads
2/3 - 1 cup of chopped Kalamata, black Sicilian, or similarly strong tasting
olives
Preparation:
Bring broth to simmer in one pot. In a separate pot or casserole:
Sauté onion in olive oil until softened and clear. Stir in Arborio rice until
thoroughly coated with oil and hot (about 2 minutes). Stir in 1/2 cup white
wine and saffron. Begin adding broth to rice about 1/3-1/2 cup at a time. With each addition, stir until the broth has been absorbed by the rice. Continue for 15-20 minutes until all the broth has been absorbed and the rice has softened.
Add olives to mixture and continue stirring while mixture begins to thicken. Add pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.