The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2021-12-12)

The Sunday Times Magazine • 45

Irina Linovich’s

recipes will help you

bring comfort and joy

to guests who want

to liberate the turkeys

this Christmas

D

espite the howls of

protest it still elicits

from some people,

veganism has gained an

unstoppable momentum over the

past couple of years. It means that

many of us, no matter how much

meat, fish and dairy we may

consume, know someone for

whom such things are strictly off

the menu. So what to do if they’re

coming to dinner over Christmas?

Anyone who cooks can probably

rustle up a few vegan dishes almost

by default, but what’s good for a

kitchen supper doesn’t always cut

it at this time of year. That

chickpea casserole just doesn’t

quite scream “celebration”, does it?

It’s something 36-year-old

restaurateur Irina Linovich has

given plenty of thought to. As a

former Vogue executive, aesthetics

have always been important to

her, and when she became vegan

three years ago, she felt strongly

that plant-based dishes should be

as visually enticing as meat dishes.

“When Michelin-starred chefs

use animal products that aren’t

very attractive, they use flowers,

colourful vegetables and herbs to

make the plate look pretty. So why

can’t those same things be the

hero of the dish?” she asks.

At Holy Carrot, the vegan

restaurant she launched this year

in Knightsbridge, the food is

healthy, nutritionally balanced and

visually appealing. “I take all the

customs and traditions of Italian,

French and British cuisines and

reproduce it with vegan produce,”

she says. So a a lemon tart gets its

richness from coconut milk

instead of eggs, for example, and

risotto is made with grated

parsnip instead of rice. It shows

how easy it is to recreate anything

if you use a bit of imagination.

Visit holycarrot.co.uk

Parsnip risotto

Parsnips are an essential part of

Christmas, and here I’ve used

them to replace the rice in an

update on risotto. It’s so light it

leaves you full of energy to party.

SERVES

4 people

INGREDIENTS

For the risotto

600g parsnips, peeled and chopped

100ml vegetable stock

50ml white wine (optional)

250ml soya cream

1 tsp truffle oil

4 tsp nutritional yeast

For the garnish

80g soya butter

3 tbsp red miso paste

200g king oyster mushrooms,

cut into small cubes

Dill and

tarragon oil



20g tarragon, leaves

only, roughly chopped

20g dill, fronds only,

roughly chopped

100ml sunflower oil



Put all the ingredients

in a food processor

and whizz together at

high speed for 3 min.

Strain through a

triple-lined cheesecloth

or fine sieve into a jug.

Any leftover oil can be

kept in the fridge for

10 days, but bring it up

to room temperature

before using.

6 radishes, thinly sliced

Dill and tarragon oil (see left)

01 Put the parsnips in a food

processor and pulse until they

look like rice.

02 Put the stock, wine (if using)

and parsnip rice in a large

saucepan and cook over a

medium heat for 3 min, stirring

occasionally.

03 Stir in the cream and truffle

oil and cook for a further 3 min.

Add the yeast and cook for a final

3 min, stirring until smooth.

04 Meanwhile make the garnish.

Mix the soya butter and red miso

together in a bowl, then cook in

a large frying pan set over a

medium to high heat. When soft,

add the mushrooms and cook for

3 min, until golden.

05 To serve, put a couple of

spoons of risotto in warmed

bowls and top with the

mushrooms, followed by the

radish, so that the risotto is

entirely covered. Finish with

a drizzle of the dill and tarragon

oil around the edge of the risotto.

1

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