Easy Christmas Nut Roast
Prep Time
45min
Total Time
1 hr and 45 mins
Servings:
6
Dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, egg-free
Allergens: nuts, sesame, celery, soy (opt.)
Plant-based, vegan, vegetarian
Equipment: small bowl, large bowl, roasting tin, frying pan, saucepan, 23cm (9″) loaf tin, baking parchment, foil
Recipe Introduction:
Are you looking for the perfect nut roast this Christmas? Then look no further!
This easy Christmas nut roast combines festive flavours such as cranberries, chestnuts and pistachios with pumpkin and a little middle-eastern flair.
It is plant-based as well as being grain and gluten-free so is ideal for those with food sensitivities and intolerance.
This dish requires a little time to chop all the ingredients but it is straightforward to make, easy to follow and well worth the effort, especially for Christmas.
I used pumpkin and fresh cranberries but butternut squash and frozen cranberries work just as well.
Why not make this ahead of time to reduce the stress on the big day? You can even freeze it and just take it out the day before roasting. It freezes well cooked as well if you manage to save any for leftovers.
For some tips on how to keep the stress down and the diet on track check out my Healthy Christmas Diet Smarts and Stress Busters Blog.
The secret of UMAMI:
The umami taste has been appreciated for thousands of years but has only recently been recognised as “the fifth taste” behind sweet, salt, sour and bitter. We identify these different tastes via taste receptors that cover our tongues and other regions of the mouth.
Umami is a Japanese word that can be translated to mean “pleasant savoury taste” but I much prefer using “essence of deliciousness”.
The sensation of umami is triggered by the presence of certain amino acids in our food. Umami has a rich savoury flavour and can be found in foods such as fermented fish sauces, soy sauces, shitake mushrooms, kombu seaweed, bonito flakes, aged meats and cheeses, nutritional yeast, marmite, green tea, ripe tomatoes, spinach and meat and bone broths.
In fact, the scientific discovery of glutamate, the primary amino acid responsible for the ‘Umami’ taste sensation led to the commercial production of the flavour enhancer MSG.
All the trimmings:
This easy Christmas nut roast has a deep and rich flavour that you should let dominate the plate. Pair it with a selection of simple vegetables.
Root vegetables:
At Christmas, a roasted root medley would complement this well. Parsnips are my favourite root vegetable and I love crispy roast potatoes. If you add some Jerusalem artichokes to the medley you’ll be adding some valuable prebiotics that your microbiome will thank you for.
Colourful Veg:
Brussel sprouts are a must at Christmas but let’s not boil them to death this year. You can step up your Brussel game by pan-frying them in a little butter and finishing with some honey, balsamic and a good grind of pepper and salt.
Bright colours not only look good on a plate but all those phytonutrients that give fruits and vegetables their vibrant colour are really beneficial to our health too. I chose some rainbow carrots here.
Gravy:
The finishing touch would be a nice vegetable gravy. There are many great ready-made vegan gravies out there or you can keep it grain-free by making your own with homemade stock or your favourite vegetable stock cube. Thicken with yuca flour, tapioca or a little xantham gum and season well.
Easy Christmas Nut Roast Recipe
Recipe Ingredients:
2 tbs flaxseed, ground (See Recipe tip 1)
400 grams of pumpkin or butternut squash, deseeded and cut into 1″ cubes
3tbs olive oil plus a little extra
2 tbs coriander seed, ground
2tbs cumin seeds, ground
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
250g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2tbs miso paste (see Recipe tip 2)
200g cranberries, fresh or frozen
4tbs light muscovado sugar
200g pistachio nuts, shelled and roughly chopped (save a few for presentation)
100g chestnuts, cooked and finely chopped
4tbs sesame seeds, ground (See Recipe tip 3)
Zest of one lemon
1 tsp dried oregano
½ small bunch of parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Method:
Step 1:
Mix the ground flaxseed with 5tbs of water and put it to one side.
Oil a 23cm (9″) loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
Step 2:
Heat the oven to 200C / 390F. Toss pumpkin or squash in a bowl with 1tbs of olive oil, cumin and coriander. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until tender (but not mushy).
Step 3:
Heat remaining olive oil in a frying pan and add the onion, celery and mushroom. Saute on low-medium heat for 10 minutes or until softened. Stir through the garlic and miso paste.
Step 4:
Add the cranberries and sugar to a small saucepan and cook for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the cranberries are softening. Spoon into the base of the loaf tin and set aside for a moment.
Step 5:
In a large bowl add the pistachios, chestnuts, sesame seeds, lemon zest, oregano, parsley, flaxseed mixture, fried vegetables and the roasted pumpkin or squash. Season with salt and pepper and mix until well incorporated. Spoon into the loaf tin on top of the cranberries and press down firmly.
Step 6:
Cover loaf tin with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 25 minutes.
Step 7:
Leave to rest for 15 minutes (see recipe tip 4) before inverting onto a serving dish. Carefully remove the parchment paper.
Step 8:
If you are looking to impress friends and family, sprinkle with the extra pistachios and make your nut roast a table centrepiece.
Recipe Tips:
1. Flaxseed (or linseed) is used in place of egg to bind the ingredients together. When mixed with water flaxseed turns gel-like. Chia seeds can also be used in the same way.
Flaxseed is high in Omega-3 oils that if stored incorrectly can go rancid. Ensure that you store ground flaxseed in an airtight container.
2. Miso paste is a fermented bean product that originates from Japan. Miso adds a salty, umami flavour to dishes.
Most supermarkets offer miso paste in the oriental section but I prefer live, unpasteurised miso. I use and recommend Na’Vi Organics products. They may cost more but the taste is well worth the investment and they last much longer. Being a live product they contain active microbes that will benefit your gut microbiome.
If you don’t have miso you can add 2tbs of soy sauce, tamari or Braggs amino acids. As this is a non-Asian dish, even marmite will work.
3. I use ground sesame seeds in place of flour to create a grain-free recipe. Almond flour and yuca or tapioca flour work just as well.
Gluten-free flour is also an alternative if you are OK eating grains.
4. Leaving the nut roast to rest before turning it out helps the ingredients to bind together into a firm loaf that holds its form. If you don’t leave the loaf to stand you may find it breaks apart easily.
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