Well, it wouldn’t be a vegan Christmas without a nut roast! Roasted in a wreath tin and topped with my cranberry sauce, it’s the perfect Christmas centerpiece.
Sage wisdom
To fry sage leaves for garnish, leave the saucepan on the heat after cooking the nut roast mixture in it. Add a couple tablespoons more of oil if there’s none left in the pan. Throw in the sage leaves and cook for 2 minutes, until crisp. Transfer the sage leaves from the pan onto a couple of sheets of paper towel to soak up any excess oil.
Festive Nut Roast Wreath
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 leek, finely chopped
- 7 oz butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 small eggplant, cut into small cubes
- 2 oz vacuum-packed chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped, plus extra whole leaves for garnish
- Sea salt and pepper
- 1 orange, zest and juice
- 1 cup mixed nuts (Brazil nuts, pistachios, walnuts, etc.)
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzos)
- 1/2 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp white miso paste
- 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp Marmite
- Cranberry topping
- 6 Tbsp Cranberry & Orange Sauce (recipe here)
- Optional garnishes
- Fried sage leaves (see “Sage wisdom”)
- Shelled pistachios
- Dried oranges
- Fresh rosemary
Nutrition
Per serving:
- calories469
- protein13g
- fat24g
- carbs59g
- sugar26g
- fiber12g
- sodium332mg
Directions
01
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease nonstick 10 inch cake ring mold/tin. (Line with parchment paper if itu2019s not nonstick.)
02
Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat and sauteu0301 onion, celery, garlic, leek, squash, eggplant and chestnuts for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add spices, herbs, some seasoning and orange zest. Turn heat down and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every now and then. You want all flavors to marry together and vegetables to soften slightly.
03
While vegetables are cooking, blitz nuts in blender until they are a crumb-like consistency. Add chickpeas and pulse a couple times just to break down slightly. Tip mixture into saucepan and add breadcrumbs, cranberries, apricots and sun-dried tomatoes, stirring well.
04
Add orange juice, vinegar, miso paste, nutritional yeast and Marmite and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, then turn off heat.
05
Spoon Cranberry & Orange Sauce into tin and spread out evenly, then carefully spread nut roast mixture on top. Press mix into tin as much as you can. Once youu2019ve filled the tin, cover with foil and roast in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. After roasting, allow to cool slightly before turning out of tin. Serve topped with garnishes of choice.
Gaz Oakley
Gaz Oakley has been cooking since he was tall enough to reach the kitchen counter. A former professional chef, he went vegan in 2015 and founded Avant-Garde Vegan in 2016.
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