Vegan No-Lamb Roast with a Herb Crust (ve)
If you’ve been following me for a while you know how much I love a seasonal celebration. For me, it gives meaning to the everyday and ensures we’re not letting life pass us by but, instead, choosing to live more mindfully enjoying every second of our existence.
Even though I don’t identify with a single religion, I always celebrate Easter as a way of welcoming spring, renewal and new opportunities. Because of the way I eat, there’s rarely a festive celebration I can follow without some form of adjustment. So I’ve been creating my own traditions, my own way of marking special occasions.
If you’re not getting behind roasted lamb and chocolate eggs this year, here are some ways you can celebrate Easter in a meaningful way:
buy or pick meadow flowers
look for signs of Spring on a walk to inspire a watercolour painting
bake your own healthy bread for a special Bank Holiday brunch
make your own herbal infusion or iced tea
celebrate BEING together – we’ve had to put a hold on face-to-face connections for too long so, if you can, spend time with the ones you love
For those celebrating Easter, Spring or simply trying to make the most out of the long weekend I have the perfect recipe for you. This vegan roast is filled with fresh, herby flavours you’d traditionally find in a roasted lamb but packaged as a healthier and kinder alternative that doesn’t harm other beings or our health.
Even though I like to create healthier plant-based alternatives, I do so in full awareness of the importance of maintaining a similar or superior nutritional profile. For ethical reasons, you can choose to replace the lamb with carrots for example. Whilst this is a healthier and cruelty-free alternative, it surely doesn’t provide you with the same nutrients. So I packed this roast with tofu, brown rice flour and almonds which, together, contain more protein than the meat itself! You’ll also find jackfruit for texture and fresh herbs for flavour.
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4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
250g jackfruit in water, drained
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp smoked paprika
1tsp dried parsley
1/2tsp cumin
300g firm tofu
100g ground almonds
70g brown rice flour
1tbsp vegan pesto rosso (I use the one from Sacla)
2 slices of rye bread
2 garlic cloves
16 thyme sprigs
2 rosemary sprigs
2tbsp fresh mint leaves
a handful of wild garlic leaves (optional, you can leave it out if it’s not in season or not easily accessible where you live)
salt and pepper, to taste
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Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Dice the onion. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and sautée the onion on low heat for 7 minutes. Keep it moving so it doesn’t burn. Add the drained jackfruit together with the garlic powder, smoked paprika, dried parsley, cumin, salt and pepper. Turn up the heat and sautée for 5 minutes or until the jackfruit is evenly coated in the spices.
To a food processor cup add the tofu, ground almonds, brown rice flour, pesto rosso, salt and pepper. Blend until you have a paste.
Mix the tofu paste into the jackfruit and transfer this mixture to the lined loaf tin.
For the herb crust, start by toasting the rye bread slices. Break the toasted bread into smaller pieces. Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Pick the thyme leaves. Pick the rosemary leaves and chop them together with the mint and wild garlic (if using).
Add the toasted bread and herbs to a food processor together with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Blitz until you have a breadcrumb-like texture.
Top the roast with this mixture and cover with aluminium foil. Take to the over, covered for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for a further 25 minutes but keep an eye out so the crust doesn’t burn.
Remove from the oven and leave to stand. I found that leaving the roast to stand for 30min – 1 hour.
When you’re ready, slice into 2cm slices and serve. *I love it with roasted potatoes and shallots, boiled peas and green beans with a mustard dressing and roasted carrots. Sprinkle with a few extra mint leaves.
