Valli’s Kitchen Diary (Part 3) - Roast vegetable & chickpea loaf with cucumber raita

Roast vegetable & chickpea loaf with cucumber raita

Roast vegetable & chickpea loaf with cucumber raita

Serves 6-8

·         1kg mixed root vegetables (we used parsnip, carrot and potato)

·         1 tbs olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

·         1 onion, finely chopped

·         3 tsp ras el hanout

·         1/2 tsp ground chilli

·         3 slices sourdough (crusts removed)

·         1/2 cup (75g) toasted cashews

·         400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

·         1/2 cup chopped coriander

·         2 eggs, lightly beaten

·         1 cup (280g) natural yoghurt

·         1 Lebanese cucumber, seeds removed, finely chopped

·         1 tbs finely shredded mint leaves

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 1L (4 cup) loaf pan with baking paper, leaving 5cm overhanging the sides. Cut the root vegetables into equal 2cm pieces, drizzle with oil, season and place on a baking paper-lined baking tray. Cover loosely with foil and roast for 15-20minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbs oil in a frypan over medium heat, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the spices, stirring to combine, then remove fromheat. Whiz the bread and cashews in a food processor until just combined. Add the chickpeas and pulse to coarsely chop. Combine the cooked vegetables, onion and nut mixtures, coriander and egg in a bowl, season and stir to combine. Spoon into loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until golden. Set aside for 10 minutes.

To make the raita, combine yoghurt, cucumber and mint in a bowl and season with salt. Chill for 30 minutes.

Turn the loaf out of the pan, slice and serve with the cucumber raita.