maple street co-op

Recipes
From "Maple Street Co-op News", Oct/Nov 2006

Veggie Nut Loaf: A Feast for the Senses
by Sue Verstraten

This dish is one I created at the old Food Gallery when I was tiring of the usual pasta and filo pastries. It became popular with vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. It looks inviting with the layers of orange and green, and your taste buds are also satisfied with the nutty, sweet and savoury flavours.

Served hot or cold, this is good enough to be part of a Christmas dinner or a great picnic. To save time, the food processor is your friend but grating and chopping are fine. Use organic ingredients wherever possible.

Ingredients – veggie/nut layer
500 g sweet potato, grated
500 g carrots, grated
3 large onions, chopped finely
500 g raw nuts (my choice: 200 g raw cashews, 200 g
raw brazil nuts, 100 g raw macadamias)
1 egg, beaten
dry stock powder (add a little, say, 2 tspns and taste
before adding any more
salt and cracked pepper
1 tspn ground cumin
1 tspn turmeric
3 large tbspns butter

Method
Set oven at 180°C. Line a bread tin with baking paper (I use this for ease of removal later on); grease and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

In a large pot that can hold all the mix, sauté onions with butter, turmeric and cumin and fry gently until transparent. Remove the equivalent of one onion and set aside. Add grated sweet potato and carrot then sauté, adding salt and pepper to taste, until mix becomes tender. Leave in pot and let cool.

Process nuts until chopped very finely, almost becoming a paste, then stop. Add to carrot mix. Stir well to combine. When cool enough so as not to cook the egg, add one beaten egg.

Next comes the herb stuffing layer.

Ingredients – herb stuffing layer
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (use day-old bread; I like
spelt, but use whatever you have)
sautéed onion (as set aside, above)
1/4 cup fresh mixed herbs – parsley, marjoram, thyme or
any combination
1 egg, beaten
salt and cracked pepper
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tspn finely grated lemon rind
parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Method
Mix all ingredients together. If mixture feels a little dry, add milk or lemon juice or water just to bind it, not to make it wet. Next, into your lined bread tin place half veggie/nut mix and press down. Then add the stuffing layer and press down. Continue layering and then press down all layers to create one whole roast. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top with some dry breadcrumbs if desired.

Bake in oven for approximately 50 minutes on 180°C. When roast is cooked, let it sit for about 10 minutes before cutting. Use a sharp knife to cut approx. 1-cm-thick slices. Two slices is quite filling. Serve with chutney or a simple sauce and salad.

Sit down and enjoy!

[From "Maple Street Co-op News", October/November 2006; published by The Maple Street Co-operative Society Ltd, 37 Maple Street, Maleny, Qld 4552, Australia, tel (07) 5494 2088, email maplest.co-op@serv.net.au,
website http://www.maplestreetco-op.com.au]