Barbara's Christmas roast with red wine plum sauce

Barbara's Christmas roast with red wine and plum sauce is made from grains. Plums, red wine, apple and cinnamon give it a Christmassy character.

Spelt and green spelt: Spelt is closely related to wheat. Unlike wheat, the spelt grain is firmly attached to the husks. This makes spelt more robust and less susceptible to pests. However, processing requires an additional step - the so-called tanning process.

Green spelt is spelt harvested 2 to 3 weeks before it is ripe. This tradition of harvesting spelt green comes from the need for nutrient-rich staple foods for field work in summer. Green spelt, however, cannot be stored and is kilned or dried. Unlike spelt, green spelt is no longer suitable for baking because the gluten protein changes during kilning. Green spelt groats are made from spelt intended for green spelt, which is then ground after kilning. Like wheat, spelt and green spelt contain gluten, which can cause health problems for people with celiac disease (gluten intolerance). In terms of the vitamin and mineral content, there are only minimal differences compared to wheat, which are unlikely to have an impact on today's usual eating habits. However, the silica content of spelt is significantly higher than that of wheat.

Shiitake mushrooms: The shiitake mushroom has the taste quality umami. It is the second most cultivated edible mushroom in the world, can be eaten raw and tastes best fresh. It can be eaten not only fried, baked or steamed, but also raw.

Wholegrain rice: Wholegrain rice is the rice fruit consisting of the endosperm, germ and surrounding silver skin that remains after the husks have been removed. Since a large proportion of the vitamins are stored in the outer shell, the proportion of vitamins, trace elements, protein and fiber is higher than in normal rice products. On the other hand, the arsenic content can also be increased, since the rice plant absorbs the mutagenic semi-metal from the soil through its roots and stores it in the outer layers and the germ itself. The latter also explains why arsenic cannot be completely removed even by washing well.

Hazelnuts: The hazelnuts that are commercially available are usually the fruits of the Lambert hazel ( Corylus maxima), although the name hazelnut is also used for the fruits of the common hazel ( Corylus avellana). The hazelnut has a high fat content (over 60%), 75% of which consists of the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid. This is also clearly evident in hazelnut oil, which, along with olive oil, has one of the highest oleic acid contents.

Plums: The plum ( Prunus domestica) belongs to the large rose family (Rosaceae). There are several subspecies, which are classified by their external appearance such as skin color (Carl von Linné) or their stone shape. The best-known subspecies in German-speaking countries include mirabelle and damson. The latter differs from the plum in its smaller, tapered shape and flesh that is easy to separate from the stone. Since the damson contains less water than the plum, it loses its shape less quickly due to heat and is good for baking.

Reduce salt and oil: We have deliberately used extra low-salt vegetable stock to keep the salt content as low as possible without compromising on taste. Since salt requirements vary from person to person, it is best for you to decide for yourself. We have also reduced the amount of oil by half. A good read on this topic is the book " Salt. Sugar, Fat ".
Vegetable oil is specified as the oil. We chose refined rapeseed oil because it has a good ratio of omega-6 (LA) to omega-3 fatty acids (ALA). For comparison, olive oil has a LA:ALA ratio of 11-12:1, whereas the ratio of the two fatty acids in rapeseed oil is just over 3:1.
Cold-pressed rapeseed oil is not suitable in this case, as cold-pressed oils can only be heated slightly, in the case of cold-pressed rapeseed oil up to a maximum of 120 °C, as otherwise harmful substances are created. See the following link ( cold-pressed rapeseed oil). But refined rapeseed oil should also be heated up to a maximum of 180 °C. Under no circumstances should it start to smoke, although decomposition will begin before that.

Herb variations: We used fresh marjoram, thyme and parsley. But you can also use dried herbs and others, such as herbs de Provence.

Simplified sauce variant: As a simple variant of the sauce, the author recommends the following: Puree red wine (amount according to taste) with prunes/plum jam/apple slices and heat briefly - done!

Vegetable stock instead of broth: A delicious and low-salt alternative is to replace broth with vegetable stock. Stock is a highly boiled, concentrated, salt-free, and therefore unfinished cooking ingredient. Depending on the concentration, it is a very intense flavor carrier, which is why we cannot say how much stock you need to replace the broth. Feel free to experiment a little yourself. You can also make your own vegetable stock. The following link takes you to our recipe: Vegan vegetable stock