Old fashioned vegan spiced carrot & capsicum sausages. Yummy !
Hi !
I’ve been doing sausages using the OptiCook burger recipe for a little while now, but thought I would do another variety, namely carrot and capsicum. I’m a bit sick of the flavours of the burger ones and I’ve used my last batch from the freezer. They worked out really well, especially after ironing out a few kinks on the second test cook.
This recipe is easy but a little time consuming, not too bad, but perhaps one for when you have a few hours spare and your patience hat on, especially when first cooking them. And definitely don’t cook these when you are hungry !
Please have a look at the step-by-step pictures below as this will give a good overview of the processes and you will see the recipe unfold in all its glory. Please don’t be disheartened if yours do fall apart first time, you get better with time, and they will still taste the same ! You can also do this mix as burgers or patties, as it is easier and they are also freezable.
Add or replace any of the herbs and spices. Another idea I had was to make a chilli & coriander or Italian style varieties, as long as you keep to the basic mix it will work out.
Hope you enjoy these, as I did ! They are pictured here with my Creamy garlic cauliflower mash and Grain-free brown onion & herb gravy.
Enjoy !Joni
- 1 medium cauliflower, trimed and roughly chopped
- 1 brown onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 red capsicum, chopped
- 1/2 lemon, rind of, grated
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp chopped parsley
- 1 tbs dried sage
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tbs dried thyme
- 2 tbs Good Choice BBQ sauce
- 1 tbs Worchestershire sauce (gluten-free)
- Olive oil spray
- *You need clingwrap for this recipe
- Preheat oven to 210oC (fan bake).
- Cook the cauliflower in 1 cup water for at least 20 mins until nice and soft and falling apart.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor blitz the raw onion, carrot & red capsicum until finely chopped and set aside on paper towel to drain.
- Drain the cauliflower well in a colander. Get a large tea towel and tip it into the middle of it. Let the mix cool for a short time and then with kitchen gloves on, grab all four corners and wring the mix out over the sink until much of the water has come out. Try and get as much water out at possible. This is a very important step.
- In the same saucepan you used to cook the cauliflower, add the onion, carrot, capsicum, the wrung cauliflower and the lemon rind, nutmeg, parsley, sage, sauces, black pepper & thyme. Heat the saucepan on medium high. Cook the mixture with the lid off the evaporate any moisture that remains. This takes approximately 10-15 mins. Stir often as it can get dry and stick to the bottom.
- Next, blitz the mixture. DO NOT make it into a paste consistency, be careful, and blitz it roughly until you have smooth parts and leave some chunky parts. See pic. Place in fridge to cool uncovered while you get the cling wrap ready.
- On a clean bench place a piece of cling wrap approx. 20 cm x 20 cm. Place half a cup of the sausage mixture in the middle of the cling wrap and fashion into a log shape. Roll this up in the cling wrap. Twist both end to form a "bon-bon" cylinder shape. With the flat palm of your hand roll the cylinder of the sausage mix until a neat cylinder/sausage shape forms. Do not go beyond 12 cm in length or else they could break in half once cooked.
- Carefully place the sausages on a tray sprayed with oil. Spray the tops of the sausages with oil & season. Place in heated oven, set timer for 10 mins. Check and carefully turn to ensure all sides are cooked. Keep cooking and check every 10 mins to see if they are ready and add a light spray of oil to crisp them up on the outside each check. Approx. oven cooking time is 30 mins in total.
- Remove the Worcestershire sauce if you are vegetarian or vegan.
- This recipe is unsuitable to use in a fry pan or a BBQ as they may fall apart.
- You can substitute other vegetables for the carrot and/or capsicum but you need to use the cauliflower for them to hold together.
- Please refer to detailed pictures in the blog post when you are cooking these for the first time to ensure you have the texture and technique right.
