Monday 13 October 2014

Green Gourmet Giraffes Tomato Nut Loaf with Buckwheat & Seeds (vegan & gluten-free)

Rocket & Roses Kitchen Play List:

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band ~ One Foot On The Path
Imelda May ~ Johnny Got A Boom Boom
Gin Wigmore ~ Dying Day
Evanescene ~ Erase This
Paolo Nutini ~ Candy
Blake Shelton ~ Home
Tina Dico ~ True North
The Fratellis ~ For The Girl
Dead Sara ~ We Are What You Say
Thunder ~ Don't Wait Up
Lissie ~ Worried About
Nickelback ~ Burn It To The Ground
Thunder ~ Lethal Combination
Jim Reeves ~ Welcome To My World

I recently purchased a punnet of Rainbow potatoes. Basically that means a selection of white and red skinned and a few purple skinned potatoes, roughly the size of regular new potatoes. The cooking suggestion that came with the punnet suggested oven roasting them so who am I to ignore that? lol. I wanted to serve them on the side of a good nut roast with a pile of steamed green veggies. But when it came to making a nut roast I was frustrated by the hundreds of recipes I have in my files and cookbooks as they were all very gluten based. So I admit I gave up on the idea for a few days....

I picked it up again a week later. Whilst cruising Pinterest I found today's recipe posted via Ricki Heller. Johanna from the Green Gourmet Giraffe blog had been a guest host on Ricki's site. I admit I had never heard of Johanna's blog before that day and having spent some time on there, I know I will be going back again. Her site is crammed with great veggie recipes that can easily be veganised. I found the list of ingredients for this loaf intriguing as I am an avid fan of buckwheat in all it's forms and I loved the selection of veggies and flavourings....and it was gluten-free. 

It's not hard work to make this loaf...the hardest being the grating of the carrot in my opinion. (Hate grating carrots...or anything really..lol) The cooking of the buckwheat groats is the longest part but it's not a chore and they smell really good as they bubble away. You get the full on wholesome feeling when you are making this loaf. I chose to place a layer of cherry plum tomato halves along the bottom of the loaf tin purely as a decorative edge. I allowed the full baking time and by the end of it the loaf was golden brown and firm to the touch.

The results were on the whole a great flavoured roast and it the flavours worked perfectly with the roasted rainbow potato and streamed green veggie sides. I made it for myself and Ann and we both had the same reaction to it. Firstly we enjoyed the flavours of the hemp seeds but felt the crunch of them was a little off putting so next time I make this I will crush them a little in a mortar first. A small issue to be adapted. However, the bigger issue was the texture of the loaf overall. It stayed together fantastically in the tin and turned out really well onto my serving plate. But once I sliced into it to serve at the table it pretty much shattered. Great flavour but the texture needs something....I'm thinking of adding some flax eggs next time or a mashed cooked vegetable like carrot, sweet potato or parsnip but the latter would effect the great flavourings of this loaf. When I make it again and it will be soon, I shall update this post with my experiments. 


Green Gourmet Giraffes Tomato Nut Loaf with Buckwheat & Seeds...served on my Denby loaf plate!

Green Gourmet Giraffe Tomato Nut Loaf with Buckwheat & Seeds   Makes 1 2lb loaf
(Recipe from the Green Gourmet Giraffe)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
125g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp chia seeds 
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
1 cup of cooked buckwheat groats

Pre-heat oven to 350'F/180'C/GM 4. Grease and line a med loaf pan 8" x 4" or 20 x 10 cms. 

Heat the olive oil in a large fry pan over a medium heat. Fry onions for about 5 minutes or until translucent and starting to soften. Add garlic and carrot and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes for a minute or two until they start to soften. Remove from heat. 

Add almonds, seeds, spices and salt into the fry pan. Stir well. Finally add the buckwheat groats and stir in. Spoon into prepared tin and bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crispy on top. 

Rest from 10 minutes before turning out of the pan and slicing. 

Enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your week has started well...

~Red~ 

NB: I take no credit for this recipe whatsoever. It is the hard work and creation of Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe and hers alone. I do send out thanks to Johanna and Ricki for sharing the recipe. Namaste ~R~