Roast Dinner Vegetarian Nut Loaf
This delicious nutty, cheesy loaf loaded with vegetables and seeds is what I serve for Emma when we have a roast chicken dinner.
Ingredients
- 80g mixed nuts – I used pecans, hazelnuts and almonds
- 10g mixed seeds – I used pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds
- 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped, 125g prepared weight
- 1 medium carrot, trimmed and roughly chopped, 100g prepared weight
- 1 stick of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped, 50g prepared weight
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped, 8g prepared weight
- 80g mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
- 5g fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 100g/ roughly 2 slices bread, cut/ripped into rough cubes (Any bread works, white or brown)
- 100g cheddar cheese, roughly chopped
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
Instructions
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Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
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Preheat oven to Fan Oven 180°C/200°C/400°F/Gas 6
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Add the nuts to a dry pan and cook on a medium heat for around 5 minutes until lightly browned.
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Add the seeds and cook for a further minute. Tip out of the pan into a bowl to cool and prevent further cooking.
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Blitz the onion, carrot and celery in a food processor until chopped into small chunks. Alternatively chop by hand.
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Heat the olive oil over a moderate heat and add the chopped onion, carrot and celery. Cook for 5 minutes until softened and lightly caramelised.
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Meanwhile blitz the mushrooms, garlic and sage until finely chopped. (Alternatively chop by hand.)
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Add to the pan and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes until all the moisture has come out of the mushrooms and cooked away and all the vegetables are soft.
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As these cook, cut or rip the bread into cubes/pieces and blitz until you have fine breadcrumbs. Tip out of the processor. (Alternatively rub by hand.)
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Next add the nuts and seeds to the food processor and pulse until chopped. I do not do this too finely as I like the texture that comes from some larger pieces. Tip out of the processor. (Alternatively chop by hand.)
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Cut the cheese into rough cubes, add to the food processor and pulse until in small pieces. (Alternatively grate the cheese.)
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After all the vegetables in the pan are cooked, take it off the heat and add the breadcrumbs, nuts, seeds, cheese, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
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Finally add the beaten egg and thoroughly mix.
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Transfer to a tin lined with baking parchment. Level the surface making sure you press down well on all the ingredients so that they stick together.
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Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes until the surface is a little crispy. Transfer to a chopping board to slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- chopping board and knife
- food processor
- large frying pan
- 2lb loaf =tin lined with baking parchment
- (grater, if necessary)
Size of tin:
NB I make this in a 2lb loaf tin. This means the loaf is about 1 – 1 1/2 inches thick. Emma likes this ratio of crispy topping with the softer bit underneath. If you want less crispy and more of the softer loaf, cook in a 1lb loaf tin.
Make in advance:
Your nut loaf can be made in advance. When your mixture is completed and in the loaf tin, cover with foil and refrigerate. If cooking directly from the fridge, cook for 35 minutes with the foil on and then for a further 15 minutes without the foil.