Chickpea Roast

Recipe adapted from one found on livejournal. This makes a nice alternative to a more traditional nut roast. It's moist enough that you don't need gravy, and it's actually tasty and worth eating in its own right, not just as a tired meat substitute. The original recipe had you wrap the whole thing in a sheet of puff pastry before baking it; you can do that if you like, but it's just as tasty without the pastry.

Serves 3 with side dishes

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 100g (4oz) mushrooms, chopped or sliced
• 50g (2oz) green beans, chopped
• 75g (3oz) nuts (I like almonds and pine nuts)
• 75g (3oz) fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 x 400g (14oz) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp sherry
• 1 tsp Marmite, dissolved in 1–2 Tbsp hot water
• splash of vegetable stock concentrate (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp dried chives
• ½ Tbsp dried parsley

Gently cook the onion, mushrooms, and green beans in a dry pan over medium heat in their own juices for about 10 minutes or until the onions have at least begun to soften. (Liquid will start to come out of the mushrooms before the mixture starts to stick and burn; if it doesn't, turn the heat down or add a splash of water.)

Meanwhile, whizz the nuts, breadcrumbs, and chickpeas in the food processor (or use a stick blender). You may need to add the sherry and Marmite/hot water mixture if the blender seems to be having trouble; otherwise, just mix them in afterwards.

When the previous two steps are complete, combine the vegetable mixture with the nut/breadcrumb/chickpea mixture, add the garlic, chives, and parsley, and mix well. You may need to use your hands to get it all evenly combined (in which case remember to let it cool down a bit first).

Lightly oil a baking tray, then mould the mixture into a loaf-shaped mound on top of it.

Roast in the oven at 200°C (400°F) for 25–30 minutes, or until a thin, light brown crust has formed.

• You can use most kinds of mushrooms in this; button, chestnut, and portobello all work well.
• You can use leftover steamed or boiled green beans if you like — if you do, then you don't need to sauté them with the onions and mushrooms, just mix them in with the rest of the ingredients.
• If you don't have a hand blender or food processor, then mash the chickpeas instead, and use pre-ground nuts. Almonds are probably the easiest nut to get pre-ground.
• The sherry can be replaced with white wine or even water if necessary, but I do think it's worth using it if you can.
• You can use finely-chopped fresh chives and/or parsley instead of dried; just double the quantities (measured after chopping).

Kake's (Vegan) Cookery Site - http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/
This page added 17 August 2007 - comments and questions to Kake L Pugh (kake@earth.li).