When those ideas (of food) pop into your head in the middle of the night and you wish you wrote a quick note to remind yourself, you are always grateful to remember them when bleary eyed and yawning first thing in the morning.
The idea I had recently, was concerning the mega swede that had been in the latest Abel & Cole delivery. Since I previously had made cauliflower steaks, I figured surely the same could be created from the humble, albeit jumbo, swede that was residing in the vegetable draw.
A quick google later and a mashing of recipe ideas and flavour combinations I had discovered from various sites, I mainly focused on the Otto Lenghi Curry Crusted Swede Steaks recipe and we weren’t disappointed. A great middle eastern flavour mix.
We also tested this first-time-cooking on non-vegan house guests, which was an extra pressure and we had just hoped that our instincts were right and it would work.
So you need to prepare in advance both to marinate those swede steaks a little, to increase flavour, but also because those chunky steaks need a long old time in the oven. We did spot recipes that had a pre-boil or caramelisation in a frying pan first, but we really wanted the ease of no fuss and just being able to whack in the oven and not worry about it.
The only difficulty in the preparation was the actually cutting of the steaks, working out the size and managing to find a decent knife to get through the mega swede! Apart from that, a simple throw on everything to marinade – I put the ingredients both under and over the cut steaks in a foiled lined oven tray and covered with foil till I was ready to roast. It could just as easily be left to marinate in a bag or bowl and then transferred to an oven dish.
An hour and a half later the steaks were roasted but this is definitely very dependent on the thickness of your steaks. Having done once (at around 1cm), I would cut thicker next time as I think that would be a better way to serve and taste great, so might need longer in the oven.
When it comes to quantities for the marinade ingredients I go on my own judgement relating to the size of the steaks. Around the 1-2 tsp of the stronger seasonings and 1-2 tbsp of the sugar and wet ingredients, is a rough guide.
There’s lot of options for what to serve alongside – from a good crispy roast potato selection and other vegetables. to a zingy salad sweetened with pomegranate or other fruit, or a lovely flavoursome grain, lentil or rice mix.
I choose to serve with a selection of different vegetable sides and a grains mix. Butternut squash and parsnips were roasted in onion, cumin, tumeric, salt, pepper and chia seeds, fresh salad tossed with balsamic dressing and a homemade vegan coleslaw made with Heinz vegan salad cream and mayonnaise, with a little pepper.
ROUGH RECIPE FOR SWEDE STEAKS
INGREDIENTS
A swede (or more, according to amount of guests)
(I got four good sized steaks out of my swede with two small extra pieces, but this will vary depending on the size of your swede)
(Marinade Ingredients)
Finely chopped garlic
Cayenne Pepper
Tumeric
Caster Sugar
Lime juice
Olive oil
Salt
METHOD
Throw all those marinade ingredients in a bag, bowl or dish. Ensure your steaks are well coated. Leave for however long you have, move into a foiled lined oven tray, cover with foil and then pop in a pre-heated oven (around 150 – 180 degrees) and leave for approx 1.5 hours depending on thickness. You can test the steaks at around an hour to see hwo soft they are getting. Just like cooking any root vegetable, you want a nice soft texture. At the end you can finish of under the grill for a short time to crisp up the top but I found that happened in my oven anyway.
I served with mixed seeds sprinkled over the top for texture and flavour. I used sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
It’s a great dish and handy to be able to prep in advance. A super healthy alternative as the ‘meat’ part of a meal. Swede is packed with vitamin C, E, K and B6, as well as being a good source of manganese, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, carotene and fibre. Not only is it high in vitamin C but also, more importantly, it’s high beta-carotene content helps the body absorb the vitamin more effectively,
THE LOCAL VEGAN 