by Si King & Dave Myers from The Hairy Bikers’ Veggie Feasts (Seven Dials) Photography: Andrew Hayes-Watkins
A tray bake like this is a great way to enjoy lots of lovely root veg. This one is topped with some delicious little sage and onion balls and a sticky flavoursome sauce. The three component parts make a complete satisfying meal.
Serves 4
Ingredients
300g/10½oz carrots, left whole if slender enough, or cut lengthways
300g/10½oz celeriac, peeled and cut into wedges
300g/10½oz beetroots, cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, cut into wedges
few sprigs thyme
400g can of cannellini beans, drained
salt and black pepper
Sage and onion balls
1 tbsp olive oil
15g/½oz butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried sage, crumbled
Zest of 1 lemon
150g/5½oz breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
For the sauce
150ml/5fl oz cider
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp redcurrant or apple or herb jelly
1 tsp Marmite
150ml/5fl oz vegetable stock, heated
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Arrange the carrots, beetroots and celeriac in a large roasting tin and drizzle with a tablespoon of the oil. Season with salt and pepper, then roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Toss the onion wedges in the remaining oil and season with salt, then add the onions and thyme to the tin and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
Meanwhile make the sage and onion balls. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan, add the chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add the sage and lemon zest, then remove the frying pan from the heat. Tip the mixture into a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, then season well and stir in the egg until evenly mixed. Form the mixture into eight balls.
Whisk the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
Remove the roasting tin from the oven and sprinkle the beans over the veg. Pour over the sauce. Arrange the balls on top, then roast for another 15–20 minutes until the balls are cooked through and browned and the sauce has reduced – it should be syrupy and should have formed a sticky glaze on the top of the vegetables.
Serve with something green, perhaps a large bowl of peas.
Recipe Tip
To make vegan sage and onion balls, replace the butter with another tablespoon of olive oil. Save the liquid (aquafaba) from the cannellini beans and use about 3 tablespoons in place of the egg to bind the mixture together.
