Recipe: Nut Roast & Mushroom Gravy

As promised in my "Have a very veggie christmas" post, here is the amazing recipe (best ever ever!!") recipe that we use every christmas for nut roast and mushroom gravy. Now, I wish my family could say that this recipe was hush hush, an heirloom, passed down for generations... yeah but nope! This recipe actually derives from Green World Cookbook written by Rachel Demuth. So, entitled Christmas roast, here we go...

Christmas Roast

Quick List of Ingredients (serves 6)

• 100g green lentils

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil

• 500ml stock made with 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon

• 1 large red onion, finely sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder

• ½ teaspoon chilli powder

• ½ teaspoon ginger powder

• 2 carrots, grated (200g)

• 2 courgettes, grated (200g)

• 100gms medium oatmeal

• 100g chopped cashews

• 50g sunflower seeds, toasted

• 50g pumpkin seeds, toasted

• 50g sesame seeds, toasted

• 2 tablespoons tamari

• 1 tablespoon tomato puree

• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped

• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C, Gas 4.

2. Wash the green lentils, put them in a small saucepan with the stock and bay leaves, bring to the boil & simmer until the lentils are tender. Drain, remove the bay leaves and set aside.

3. To toast the seeds, mix them all together on a baking sheet and place under the grill on the lowest rung, as far away from the heat as possible. Toast them until they just begin to tan, stir them and toast again. Be very careful not to let them burn, as this will ruin the flavour of the roast.

4. Fry the onion in the sunflower oil until translucent, add the garlic and spices, and stir-fry quickly.

5. Add the carrots & courgettes and stir-fry for 5 minutes.

6. Now add the cooked lentils, oatmeal, cashews, two thirds of the toasted seeds, tamari, tomato puree and parsley.

7. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

8. Grease a large loaf tin and line with baking parchment.

9. Sprinkle the remaining seeds into the tin and then spoon on the roast mixture, press down, cover with top with baking parchment.

10. Bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven for 45minutes or until firm.

11. Remove the baking parchment from the top and bake for a further 10 minutes.

12. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on to a serving dish.

Porcini and Oyster Mushroom Gravy

Quick List of Ingredients:

*10g dried porcini mushrooms

*1 small onion dinely sliced

*1 tbsp olive oil

*2 garlic cloves

*150ml of red wine

*75ml red grape juice

*1tsp apple juice concentrate

1tsp bouillon with 500ml of boiling water

*a sprig of rosemary

*100g oyster mushrooms

*1 tbsp olive oil

*1 tbsp tamari

*1 tsp cornflour

*salt and black pepper

Method

1. Rehydrate the dried porcini mushrooms by covering with boiling water and leaving for 30 minutes.

2. Fry the onion in half the olive oil until just beginning to turn brown. Add the garlic and quickly stir-fry. Add the red wine, red grape juice, apple juice concentrate, stock and rosemary and simmer gently for 30 minutes or until reduced by a third.

3. Fry the oyster mushrooms in the olive oil, tamari and plenty of black pepper. Add the cooked oyster mushrooms, the re-hydrated porcini mushrooms plus the soaking liquid to the gravy. Strain the soaking liquid through a tea strainer, as dried mushrooms are oftne gritty.

4. Mix the conrflour with a little cold water to a smooth paste and add this to the gravy. Simmer gently until reduced to the desired consistency. Remove the rosemary sprig before serving and season to taste.

Trust me, make these and you won't be making anything different again for a long long time... yum yum yum (do you get the feeling I can't wait for Christmas??!!)

If you want to enjoy more of Rachel and Demuth's recipes, head over to her blog here where an e-version of her cookbooks are also available.

#Recipe #vegetarian #easycooking