I started making this back in the naughties so I could cook a roast dinner for the fabulous Jimbino Vegan when he came to hang out one Sunday. I was vegetarian through the 90's and had the horrible experience of being served a lot of grey, dry, breadcrumb-and-egg based but roasts that tasted a lot like cardboard. This is the opposite - colour and flavour in abundance, perfect for a celebratory winter meal.
Sweet potato binds the whole thing, the leeks add some savoury flavour and along with the pumpkin seeds a pop of green, cranberries cut through the sweetness and look like rubies. Other than that it's pretty flexi what you put in in terms of fruits and nuts. If it's not xmas, I don't add the cranberries normally - works fine that way too!
Thanks Catherine for the nudge to write it down and share it x.
INGREDIENTS
- Cranberries - fresh ideally for maximum pop of flavour and colour
- Oil of choice - I use coconut for this normally
- Leeks - 1 large (or 2 small)
- Dried fruit - about a cup of
- Raisins / mixed peel or other dried fruit, I’m using apricots this year
- All the nuts - couple of cups
- Thyme
- Pumpkin seeds (if you like)
- Cinnamon (optional)
- Orange zest (optional)
METHOD
- Bake the sweet potatoes whole til soft, then squish out the innards when they are cool enough to handle. I often bung them in when I'm cooking something else, they can be put in the fridge or even frozen.
- Finely slice and gently fry the leek a little in some oil to soften
- Chop up some/all the nuts depending on your texture preference. I don’t have a food processor so I hit them a bit with a can. Perfect for seasonal stress-reduction. Rrrraaargh!
- Chop any fruit if it’s bigger like apricots or dates
- Prep your flavours, zest orange if you’re using it (recommended if using dried cranberries)
Mix it all up and put into a lightly oiled loaf tin. If you wanted to attempt to take it out, you might want to line the inside with greaseproof paper. You can fridge or freeze at this point if preferred. Cook at 180 for about 25 mins (though my oven is temperamental) .
I'm going to bosh it in an air fryer next time I make it and will report back on results and timings.
image of my messy lockdown xmas table
SERVE
With whatever you normally have - roasted spuds, spouts or other greens, red cabbage and all that good stuff.
Emilie x
PS Let me know if you make it and what flavour combinations work for you.