Vegan Nut Roast

This nut roast is the perfect plant-based alternative to a meat roast and it’s definitely not a boring one. Packed with nuts, vegetables and herbs it is incredibly nutritious and flavourful with great texture and moisture. Topped with a layer of dried cranberries it will likely steal any other main’s show.

Let me know if you have tried this recipe and share your feedback and pictures with me.

Ingredients

• 230 g mixed nuts (e.g. almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans)

• 120 g cooked and peeled chestnuts

• 300 g champions

• 60 g dried cranberries

• 1 large onion

• 1.5 celery sticks

• 1 large (or 2 small) carrots

• 1 leek

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 brioche bun

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• 4 tbsp almond or oat milk

• 50 g fresh parsley

• 3 tbsp freshly chopped thyme

• 1.5 tbsp freshly chopped rosemary

• olive oil & butter

• salt & pepper

Method

1. Finely chop 1 large onion, 4 garlic cloves, 50 g parsley, 1 leek and 1.5 celery sticks, 1 large carrot and 300 g mushrooms.

2. Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and add mushrooms, 30 g parsley, a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes on medium-high heat until the mushrooms are soft and the liquid has evaporated. Transfer mushrooms to a large mixing bowl.

3. In the same pan, heat up a lug of olive oil and gently fry onion, garlic, leek, celery and carrots for 8 minutes until softened. Move vegetables to the same bowl as the mushrooms.

4. Add 300 g mixed nuts to a food processor. Grate them finely but not until they turn into powder as you want to keep the bite. If you don’t have a food processor, chop the nuts as finely as possible with a knife. Move to mixing bowl, too.

5. Cut 120 g cooked and peeled chestnuts into small pieces.

6. Cut 1 brioche bun into cubes and soak in 4 tbsp milk alternative.

7. Add chopped chestnuts and brioche cubes to mixing bowl.

8. Crumble 1 vegetable cube over roast mix and add remaining 20 g parsley, 3 tbsp thyme, 1.5 tbsp rosemary and mix all well together.

9. Add salt & pepper to taste.

10. Lay the inside of a large loaf tin with baking paper, covering the base and the sides. Spray or brush with olive oil. Spread 60 g dried cranberries on base and gently spoon the nut roast mix into the loaf and press it down with a spoon. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 200 °C. Take foil off and bake another 20 minutes on the second oven rack from the bottom until nicely browned.

11. Place serving dish on top, turn it upside down and gently take the tin off. Serve hot with gravy and your favourite trimmings.

Enjoy!