Vegetarian mains
Nut roast
Our version of the classic. Ideal for a vegan or veggie Christmas dinner, or a roast at any time of year (although you may want to switch the festive cranberries out for something less showy). It pairs well with our ultimate veggie gravy recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 celery, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 100g mushrooms, finely diced
- 200g sweet potato, cut into a 1cm dice
- 200ml vegetable stock
- 120g cooked chickpeas
- 60g walnuts
- 60g almonds
- 60g hazelnuts
- 200g cooked red lentils
- 2 tbsp brown rice miso
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 30g dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 100g baby spinach
- nutmeg, to taste
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and a pinch of salt. Fry them gently for 10 minutes, until starting to soften.
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Step 2
Add the sweet potato and stock. Cook for a further 10 -15 minutes, until the sweet potato has softened and most of the stock has disappeared. If it looks like the pan is drying out too much before the potato cooks, add a dash of water to help it along.
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Step 3
While the sweet potato is cooking, put the cooked chickpeas in a food processor, along with the nuts. Pulse them together until coarsely chopped. Tip them into a mixing bowl, along with the cooked lentils, miso, soy, and dried cranberries.
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Step 4
When the sweet potato has cooked, stir in the garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Cook for a final 2 minutes before throwing in the spinach. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the spinach until it has just wilted.
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Step 5
Tip everything in the saucepan into the mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Season with a good grind of black pepper, a light grating of nutmeg, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix well with your hands. Taste and tweak the seasoning with more salt, pepper, nutmeg, and lemon to your liking.
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Step 6
Transfer to a snug-fitting oven dish or loaf tin. Press it gently into the dish and furrow the top with a fork. Bake at 190˚C/Gas 5 for 25 minutes, until piping hot and nicely coloured on the surface.