Last September, the Spanish-Welsh artist Rafael Pérez Evans dumped about 29 tonnes of carrots on the doorstep of Goldsmiths university as an art piece called Grounding. The installation kickstarted local conversations about waste, including a protest that involved cooking with the carrots and, seeing as the university is just down the road from me, I wandered down to see the work and claim a few carrots for myself.
Old and wonky or bendy carrots make great carrot cake. I’ve adapted today’s recipe, which was created by my friend and fellow chef Richard Makin, AKA the School Night Vegan, to include wholefoods and notably wonky carrots. Richard’s motto is “Anything you can cook, I can cook vegan”, and he’s not wrong – you’d never guess that his scrumptious recipes are vegan. He says: “I’ve never had a bouncier sponge than when using psyllium husks. It’s so high in fibre and a true wonder ingredient.”
Originally published in Guardian Feast on Sat 27 Mar 2021.