Description
Made with mixed nuts, vegetables and mushrooms, this vegan and paleo-friendly nut roast is a delicious and satiating alternative to meat mains for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Sunday family dinner or any other time you want a hearty plant-based dish.
Ingredients
Egg-replacement
2 tablespoons flaxseed
5 tablespoons water
For the vegetable mix
1 medium leek, pale green and white parts, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 medium celery sticks, diced
250 g mushrooms, diced (10 medium mushrooms)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
A pinch of pepper
1 clove garlic, diced
For the nut mix
150 g mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds)
1/4 cup dried cranberries (35 g) or 4 dried apricots, diced
1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
2 tablespoons wheat-free Tamari sauce or coconut aminos
To finish the mixture
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1/4 cup cassava flour
1/4 cup almond meal
Garnishes (optional)
1–2 tablespoons BBQ sauce or tomato sauce (optional)
Toasted almond flakes
Pumpkin seeds
Extra dried fruit and mint
Instructions
- Combine flaxseed with water in a small bowl, stir and set aside for 10-15 minutes. It will expand and thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 200 C / 395 F.
- To prepare the vegetable mix, make sure to dice everything very finely to get the best texture of the loaf. You can use a food processor or chop by hand.
- Cook the veggies. Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add chopped leeks, carrots, celery and mushrooms together with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until softend, reduced in size and turned golden brown.
- Right at the end, add paprika, dried thyme cinnamon and pepper and stir through. Add garlic, if using.
- Make the nut mix. Place the nut mix ingredients into a food processor. Whiz together until the nuts are ground up into small pieces, like crumbs but not too fine as we still want some crunch and texture.
- Transfer the nut mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked vegetables and sprinkle with bicarb soda, cassava flour and almond meal. Add the flaxseed mix. Mix well, making sure everything is well incorporated. It should feel like a very thick, course mixture you can mold in your hands.
- Prepare a loaf tin. I used a 25-cm/ 9″ long loaf tin but you can use a shorter one (the final nut roast will be taller), a round tin (more like a cake) or you can even shape it by hand to bake without a tin. Brush the middle of a large piece of parchment paper with a little oil.
- Place the paper inside the tin and transfer the nut roast mixture inside. Press it down using your fingers. Make sure it’s compact and firm throughout. Either fold the overlapping parchment paper over the top or wrap the tin with foil and pop in the 200 C / 395 F oven, middle shelf for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil (unfold the paper or cut it off) and place the nut loaf back in the oven for 20 more minutes for the top to brown.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let the tin cool down for a few minutes. Either lift the edges of the paper to remove the loaf or turn the tin upside down onto a cutting board/platter. Serve the loaf brushed lightly with barbecue or tomato sauce and sprinkled with extra garnishes like nuts, seeds and dried fruit.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 slices
- Calories: 455
- Sugar: 12.9 g
- Sodium: 708.9 mg
- Fat: 36.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.1 g
- Fiber: 7.9 g
- Protein: 12.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
