Here we are folks! Yet another belated Christmas-themed recipe coming your way!
(Yeah I know, I’m slow…)
So, without further ado – Nut Roast! This Nut Roast recipe has been made specifically vegan and gluten-free (and a whole bunch of other-things free) to accommodate a range of picky diets like mine who are looking for something tasty for Christmas Day.
Or for Thanksgiving. Or Sunday. Or whatever day you damn well feel like it.
For this recipe I used a mix of hazelnuts, almonds and pecans. But just about any type of nut would do the trick. You’ll also see I’ve got my classic thyme, cumin and coriander combo going again. I can’t seem to get enough of these seasonings (haha, obviously!), but I think they work really well in this recipe to give the Nut Roast a lot of well-rounded flavour.
And if you’re going down this road then I definitely recommend making a batch of homemade Mushroom Sauce to go with it.
The two were made for each other!
Nut Roast
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (chopped finely)
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 cup portobello mushrooms (chopped finely)
- 1 can brown lentils (drained and rinsed)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
- 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 small handful fresh thyme
- 3/4 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs *check to see if contains soy, if applicable
- 1 cup ground nuts
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- 1 flax-egg (pre-prepared)
- sprinkle sunflower or pumpkin seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Prepare and grease a loaf tin of about 20cm x 10cm (approximately).
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and ground nuts.
- In a large frying pan, heat 3 tbsp of olive oil on a medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onion and crushed garlic with a pinch of salt. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Then add the finely chopped mushrooms and the drained and rinsed lentils. Sauté for about 5 mins or so until the mushrooms are cooked, then add the spices and the seasoning (including herbs and thyme). Continue to cook for a further 3 minutes until all the flavours come together.
- Pick out the sprigs of thyme. Then add the frying pan mixture to the bowl of breadcrumbs and nuts. Mix together fairly thoroughly. Add the vegetable stock, and stir in well until the mixture starts to come together (use this time to also make sure the ground nuts and breadcrumbs are evenly combined).
- Add in the prepared flax egg and combine evenly. The mixture should start to have a doughy consistency. Put into the greased loaf tin and press down until level.*If you like, you can add some sunflower or pumpkin seeds on top for decoration.
- Put the loaf tin into the oven for an hour to bake.
- Once out of the oven, allow to cool for about 10 mins before cutting up into slices or squares. Try serving with our homemade Mushroom Sauce!