This nut roast recipe consists of a combination of sweet versus savoury. I'm talking about mixed nuts, cranberries, red lentils, oats for structure, herbs, spices and lots more goodness. Perfect to form part of a main meal for special occasions like thanksgiving, Christmas and it's free from gluten and vegan friendly!
½cupvegetable stock(125ml) see notes for the recipe
Dry ingredients
2cupsmixed nuts(262g)
1cupold fashioned jumbo rolled oats(86g) (gluten free if sensitive to trace)
1¼cupred lentils(214g) cooked
½cupdried cranberries(60g)
2tablespoonground flaxseed(24g)
2tablespoonmixed herbs(24g) I used a combination of parsley, sage, coriander, oregano and thyme.
1teaspoonpaprika(5g)
¼teaspoonchilli powder(1.5g) optional
½teaspoonblack pepper(2.5g)
1teaspoonpink salt(5g)
½cupvegan cheese(60g) grated
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350f/180c and line a standard-sized loaf tin with parchment paper so it sticks out over the sides like 4 flaps and set aside.
Sauteed ingredients
Heat a medium sized frying pan/skillet with olive oil on medium heat.
Proceed to saute the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
Stir in the carrot, tomato puree, soy(a) sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes then pour in the vegetable stock.
Continue to cook while stirring for a further 2-3 minutes then leave to cool down completely and set aside.
Food processing
Add the oats and mixed nuts to a food processor fitted with an S blade.
Proceed to pulverize the oats and nuts into a coarse consistency. Don't make the texture fine it's okay to have some chunky pieces (very important).
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the red lentils, dried cranberries, vegan cheese, flaxseed, mixed herbs, paprika, black pepper, chilli and pink salt and set aside.
Pour the cooled sauteed ingredients into the food processor along with the bowl consisting of red lentils, dried cranberries, vegan cheese, flaxseed, mixed herbs, paprika, black pepper, chilli and pink salt and set aside.
Pulse the mixture a few times to form a soft, slightly sticky mixture (it shouldn't be too wet nor too dry).
Transfer the contents into the loaf pan then firmly press the mixture into the lined loaf pan, using the back of a spoon to flatten.
Bake in the oven for roughly 45 minutes.
Check the nut roast 15 minutes into the cooking time, the nut roast should taken on some colour by now, cover with a piece of aluminium foil and leave to bake, covered, for a further 30-35 minutes.
Once cooked, leave to cool in the loaf pan for 10-15 minutes before using the flaps of parchment paper to lift out the nut roast from the tin onto a cooling rack.
Leave the loaf to sit and completely cool down for at least 2 hours or even longer as the longer it sits the more firm it becomes making it easier to slice.
Notes
Please refer to the FAQ section in the body of the post, this covers many of your questions about the nut roast.
Once cooked, keep your nut roast refrigerated for up to 4 days.
For best results, I do recommending slicing the nut roast when it is cold and not warm.
Definitely use a food processor to pulse the oats/nuts, I pressed the "pulse button" several times until everything started to break down, remember we don't want it to be too fine (small pea sized chunks are perfect).
Be sure to use old fashioned rolled oats (gluten free if you are sensitive to trace elements), the jumbo kind. Don't use instant or small ones or they will pulverise to a fine consistency (we need texture for this recipe!!).
Use a sharp bread knife for cutting your nut roast as this will lessen the chance of the loaf crumbling.
When slicing the nut loaf, do it slowly and don't be so heavy handed as this will cause the nut roast to fall apart.
I have found that covering the nut roast while baking prevents it from drying out which eliminates cracks from forming, so keep it covered after the first 15 minutes of baking as per instructions.
Before transferring the contents into the loaf pan, do a taste test, and adjust seasoning levels if you need to do so.