If my cheese and onion plait wasn't your thing, here's another vegetarian Christmas dinner idea - carrot and cashew nut roast!
A reader emailed me the other day (hello Faye!) and asked if I had a nut roast recipe, and it was only then that I realised that I had never, ever made a nut roast before. I've eaten it millions of times on Sundays in pubs (usually with lashings of gravy and plenty of roast potatoes), but had never made it myself. Since nut roast is such a great vegetarian go-to meal at this time of year, I thought I should make one straight away!
Instead of using loads of breadcrumbs to fill out my nut roast, I made sure it was crammed with plenty of nuts (cashew nuts, walnuts and pine nuts), as well as some carrots and leek, and even some cannellini beans. All killer, no filler! Plus, it has the added advantage that it ended up entirely gluten free. I used eggs to bind it all together, so I'm afraid it's not vegan, but you could always experiment with flax eggs or another egg alternative if you need your nut roast to be vegan.
I left my nut roast quite chunky, but if you prefer a finer texture then just chop everything up a bit more - the flavours will be the same!
The two of us obviously couldn't get through a whole nut roast in one go, so we had the leftovers the next day, and it reheated really well in the oven. Any loose nuts might get a bit too crunchy, but the bulk of the nut roast tasted just the same the next day. If you're cooking this for your Christmas dinner, it would probably be totally fine to cook it in advance and reheat it on a moderate heat before serving. Or if you're serving this for a less fancy occasion (i.e. to eat in your pyjamas on the sofa), it would probably reheat just fine in the microwave too.
Don't forget the gravy!
Carrot and cashew nut roast
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 medium leek halved lengthwise then sliced
- 1 large carrot grated
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 150 g cashew nuts coarsely chopped
- 50 g walnuts coarsely chopped
- 50 g pine nuts
- 400 g tin cannellini beans 240g when drained, drained
- 3 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1tsp dried, chopped
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- Spray oil for greasing loaf tin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and add the sliced leek, grated carrot and minced garlic. Cook over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes, until everything is soft and fragrant.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and add the three types of nuts, the cannellini beans, and the thyme. Season generously. Add the eggs, and mix thoroughly until everything is well coated.
- Line a loaf tin with baking paper or foil, and grease very thoroughly. Transfer the nut mixture to the loaf tin, and press it down into the corners of the tin. Smooth out the top.
- Bake for around 1 hour, or until the nut loaf is firm and golden brown.
- Carefully turn over the loaf tin, and remove the loaf. Peel off the paper / foil, and serve.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
If you have any cashews left over, they go great in stir fries! Try my pineapple and cashew stir fry:
Deirdre Henry says
4th January 2015. Just bade farewell to the last of our visitors. Your Nut Roast was eaten with great compliments from everyone who ate it.
also made the garlicky Quinoa bowls for the vegan daughter, she loved it and went home with the remains and also the Lentil Spicy soup. So a great day was had by all and again many thanks for all the wonderful recipies.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Deirdre, I'm so pleased you all enjoyed it :) And the quinoa bowls!! Happy new year :)
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet says
I've never had a nut roast before but with cashews it looks rather lush.
Mary Campbell says
This roast looks delicious, Becca!
I am making this for our New Year's Eve dinner for the one vegetarian in the company - the carnivores are being well catered for, so I suspect I am going to be having leftovers. I'm wondering if I might be able to freeze any leftovers?
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Mary, hope you enjoy it! :) I've not tried freezing this so I can't say for sure - I'd personally try to eat it up over a few days, but if you do have leftovers, you don't lose anything by trying to freeze it! :)
Mary Campbell says
Thanks, Becca! If I do freeze it, I'll let you know how I get on :)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Mary, I'll be interested to hear how well it works! :)
Mary Campbell says
Well, Becca, we've had our New Year's Eve dinner, and I have to say that there is really not enough nut roast left to think about freezing! The roast was delicious!! Even very generous servings of Wagyu steak did not deter most of the carnivores from having a taste. And the general consensus was, it was a big hit. Thank you so much for the recipe. And may I wish you and yours a very happy New Year and health and happiness in 2015 xx
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Yay I'm so glad you all liked it Mary! :) happy new year!
Donna Reale says
Thanks for this great recipe. I made this for my daughter and her boyfriend for Christmas so they wouldn't have to eat seitan or tofurky yet again, but I modified it some, made it more like a meatloaf in texture (per my daughter's request) and foolishly had already used the leeks on another dish the day before so it was a little dry but with cream of mushroom soup/gravy, it was delicious and a great side dish for the meat eaters in the family too. Next time we will add mushrooms for more moisture and remember not to use the leeks ahead of time!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Glad you enjoyed it Donna, it definitely needs a bit of gravy, but I always have gravy on my roast dinners anyway :D
Chris says
This looks great - reckon I could make the mixture a couple of days before and then just add the eggs before roasting on Christmas day though?
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I don't see why not! I think doing it the day before would probably be better than a few days before, so it stays nice and fresh :)