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Tastiest Nut Roast Ever

The Bigs: Mighty Main Meals

Credit: Penny Shadbolt


Credit: Penny Shadbolt
Credit: Penny Shadbolt

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed

2 tablespoons of water

300g. or approximately 1 1/2 cups of butternut squash – peeled, seeds removed and sliced into 2-centimeter slices

150g. carrot, or approximately 2/3 cup – diced for boiling

4 cloves of garlic - very finely chopped

1 stick of celery – very finely chopped

1 tablespoon of olive/rapeseed oil

180g. or approximately 1 cup of cooked chestnuts (vacuum pack type)

200g. or approximately 1 cup of butter beans (jar/tinned)

180g. nuts/seeds: I use 60g blanched almonds, 40g pecans, 40g brazil nuts, 20g walnuts, 20g pumpkin seeds (but feel free to choose other ratios)

170g. or approximately 1 cup of vegan breadcrumbs (ideally made from slightly dry/old bread)

30g. or approximately 1/4 cup of dried cranberries (plus a few extra to decorate)

60ml. or approximately 1/4 cup of vegetable stock

1 tablespoon dried sage or two tablespoons of fresh sage if you prefer

2 teaspoons dried thyme

Zest of 1 satsuma or zest of ½ an orange.

Salt and pepper


Instructions

  1. Grease the 2lb. (13" x 4" x 4") loaf tin and line it with parchment. Bring the parchment higher at the sides so they are tabs to help lift out the cooked loaf.

  2. Start by peeling and halving the butternut squash. Remove the seeds, slice them, and roast them in the oven at 180 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes until soft and nicely roasted but not too dark. This step can be done before using the rest of the method.

  3. Mix (1) tablespoon of ground flaxseed with (2) tablespoons of water. Leave it to go until it turns gloopy. This replaces the need for eggs as a binder.

  4. Gently boil the carrot until soft. Drain, then add it to the roasted squash. Using a potato masher, chop/crush the butter beans into the mixture and mash them well.

  5. Heat the oil and sweat the celery for 10 minutes. Once soft, add the garlic and fry with the celery until any liquid evaporates.

  6. Stir the squash and carrot mash into the garlic and celery mix. Add the stock and cook until it is absorbed or evaporates. Remove from the heat and set aside while you do the next few steps.

  7. In a food processor (or using a knife), pulse the bread into reasonably fine breadcrumbs. Put these into a large bowl.

  8. Either by hand or in a food processor, chop or pulse the nuts and pumpkin seeds until fairly finely chopped but not too much – keep some texture. Add the cooked chestnuts and chop or pulse a few more times but again, not too much. Add the cranberries. You may want to chop the cranberries a little so they spread out into the nut loaf.

  9. Now, put the herbs and seasonings into the breadcrumb mix.

    Put the chopped nuts, seeds, and chestnut mixture into the breadcrumbs. Add the squash and carrot mash mixture. Add the flaxseed gloop. Stir everything together really well and squash it down into the loaf tin.

  10. Leave the loaf in the fridge for a good few hours or, even better, overnight.

  11. Preheat the oven to 180Celsius/350 Fahrenheit

  12. While the oven heats up, remove the loaf from the fridge. Place some nuts/seeds/cranberries on top of the loaf as decoration. Cover the loaf with foil and then bake for 60 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

  13. Once baked, remove the loaf from the oven (keeping the foil on) and let it stand for 30 minutes before lifting it out. Slice and serve with lots of rapeseed oil-roasted potatoes, seasonal vegetables of your choice, and vegetable gravy. Cook the spinach until it is wilted, then remove it from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Special Notes:

  • It is nice to have a few extra nuts to decorate the loaf.

  • You can use lemon zest instead of orange too.

 

Compassionate Fun Fact!


Paulie Walnuts is nuts over nuts!

We're Walnuts for Walnuts
We're Walnuts for Walnuts


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2 Comments


calbert. @pigsinmaine
Jan 15

Wow! I have never even heard of a loaf like this! I am definitely going to make this!

Like

I am so excited to try this!!!

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