Chestnut and chickpea roast

I don’t think I will ever tire of seeing my name in print when I have recipes featured in magazines. It’s pretty damn exciting.

This month, I have six vegetarian Christmas recipes published in Superfood magazine (which I was also featured in earlier this year), and they’ve very kindly allowed me to republish one of them here – chestnut and chickpea roast! If you want to see the other five recipes (including rosemary roasted potato stacks and red lentil gravy), you’ll have to grab a copy of the magazine – but for now, hopefully this chestnut and chickpea roast will do.

Luckily, it’s a pretty awesome recipe. It would make a great Christmas main course (yes, I am well and truly talking about Christmas now, sorry but I’m totally not sorry), or even a Thanksgiving main for anyone who’s super disorganised and hasn’t yet decided what they’re making (get yourself together!).

The mixture is easy to prepare – it’s just some cooked veggies, chestnuts and chickpeas all mixed together, with some oats and a couple of eggs to bind. I also added a small handful of grated cheese, which helps to keep everything nice and moist and adds a really nice flavour. It’s quite a versatile recipe – you could add some chopped nuts or dried cranberries to make it taste even more festive, and you can swap the veggies depending on what you like / have in the fridge.

I cooked my chickpea roast in a spring-form cake tin, which makes it really easy to pop out and cut into slices. A normal loaf tin would work just fine too, or a rectangular tin if you’d prefer to cut it into squares. It’s brilliant served with roast potatoes and all the usual Christmas veggies – and don’t forget the gravy!

If you can’t find Superfood magazine in the shops, you can always buy a copy online to see my other five recipes (plus lots of other awesome stuff!).

Print

Chestnut and chickpea roast

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, grated
• 200 g mushrooms, finely diced
• 1 medium courgette (zucchini), grated
• 180 g cooked chestnuts (~ 1 cup)
• 400 g tin chickpeas, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 50 g oats (~ 1/3 cup)
• 60 g grated cheddar cheese (~ 2/3 cup)
• 2 eggs
• Oil spray

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and add the diced red onion. Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes, then add the minced garlic and grated carrot. Cook for a further 3 - 4 minutes. Finally, add the diced mushrooms and grated courgette, and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft and any excess liquid has cooked off. When cooked, set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.
• Add the cooked chestnuts and drained chickpeas to a food processor, and blitz until coarsely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl, and season generously. Add the cooled vegetables, oats and grated cheese, and mix to combine. Add the eggs, and mix well.
• Thoroughly spray an 8 inch springform cake tin with oil, then add the chickpea roast mixture, and press it firmly into the corners, smoothing the top.
• Bake at 190°C (170°C fan / Gas Mark 5) for around 1 hour 15 mins, or until the centre is firm and the crust is golden. Remove from the tin, and cut into slices to serve.

Course: Main meal

Author: Becca Heyes

Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose.

Here’s another favourite option for your vegetarian Christmas dinner – cheesy carrot nut roast. So so good!