Vegetable Nut Roast

Vegetable nut roast

When I was trying to come up with a nut roast recipe, this was the other on my shortlist. It has a much higher nut content than the cheese and tomato version. This also makes it more crumbly, but also gives it more of a crunch, and a definite nuttiness!

Recipe for vegetable nut roast
600g mixed nuts: peanuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts
100g mixed seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds
225g tin of green lentils
1 medium aubergine
2 sticks celery
1 medium carrot
1 medium courgette
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
100g brown bread crumbs
1 egg
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tablespoons mango chutney
50g cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

First, put half the nuts in a blender and whizz until they are in fine, 1mm chunks, then whizz the other half until they are a little finer and put into a large mixing bowl.

Finely chop the onions and garlic, then gently fry them in a large frying pan. Chop the aubergine into 1cm cubes and add to the pan with the herbs, spices and seasoning and cook until soft.

Meanwhile grate the carrots, celery and courgette and then add to the pan and cook together for about 10 minutes.

Stir in the soy sauce, mango chutney and egg and then add the drained lentils, nuts and breadcrumbs and mix it all together evenly. Then transfer it all to a large silicon loaf tin, top with the grated cheese and cook at 190°C for 45 minutes.

When it’s cooked, let it cool for a couple of minutes, then carefully turn out onto a chopping board, where it can be sliced to serve.

Tips:
– If all the grating and chopping is a pain, you can cheat by chopping it in a food blender – it saves load of time. The end result will be smaller pieces than if you had grated it, but that really doesn’t matter in the finished nut roast.

– If you or any of your diners think nut roast as a main course is not manly enough, it can also be served as a delicious side dish with pork or chicken, or any other meal you fancy putting it with (this made it much more palatable for Mr Rice).

– This nut roast freezes really well. Just cut the slices to the size you want, then wrap carefully and tightly in cling film. Re-heat it in the microwave with some extra grated cheese instead of cheese on toast!

© Katheryn Rice 2007