I, like many of us, grew up with the Sunday Roast. Each week come rain or shine my Mum would make a Sunday Roast and we would sit down as a family to eat together. Eating together is so important, my Mum very rarely let us eat on our laps, or in front of the TV. Food was a time to get the family together, to sit around a table and talk. At the time, I didn’t know any different, but now I am so grateful for that family time, all those meals spent together.
However, I never looked forward to Sunday Roasts… I dreaded the call to the table and dreaded the inevitable plate of meat and veg. My Mum was an amazing cook, and I hasten to add the meat whatever she had prepared was lovely… to a meat eater. But I was a veggie in the making!!!
I didn’t become vegetarian until I was twenty-one, my family had a very traditional ‘meat and two veg’ approach to food and we didn’t tend to experiment too much, and any discussion of vegetarianism was often met with disapproval and speeches about how you would be ill constantly. It wasn’t until I started University and moved out that I realised I could eat whatever I wanted and that certainly wasn’t meat anymore.
So now ten years later, I have gone from a little girl who hated meat but ate it anyway, to a pescatarian, to a vegetarian and now a vegan. I couldn’t be happier (and healthier- Dad!) But, I still love the traditions my Mum taught me, and over the years have had to reinvent the Sunday Roast to suit a veggie lifestyle! My husband and I are only five or so months into our vegan journey, and so our traditional Sunday Roast has had to evolve once more…
The Evolution of the Roast Dinner:
Meat-Veggie-Vegan
The key to a good roast is different for everyone, we all have our favourite element! I look no further than, perfect crispy roast potatoes, supported by a wonderful array of fresh vegetables. Veggie stuffing is never a bad idea, and don’t underestimate the importance of a rich gravy.
The roast meat alternative is where your creativity can really shine, with so many options shop bought or made at home. (I will definitely return to this in a future blog post!)
To evolve our roast, we have had to lose the Yorkshire puddings (until I figure out the vegan equivalent) and we have had to be a bit more careful about our accompanying meat alternative, but a roast is an easy, crowd pleasing dish for any budding vegan.
I also used to honey roast carrots and parsnips, my Husband was sad to lose those but I have been working on a cranberry-cinnamon roast combo which I think will be just as delicious.
Cinnamon Roasted Carrots and Cranberries
Ingredients:
7 large carrots (chopped)
200g of cranberries
1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200C, line baking tray with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine chopped carrots, cranberries, and water. Toss to moisten carrots and cranberries.
3. Sprinkle on sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and stir to coat evenly.
4. Bake for 40 minutes.
Give it a try and never be afraid to evolve an old family favourite or typically meat dish. I love discovering something new in something old and as we continue our vegan journey I will be looking to evolve many more dishes.
love EmGem x