Nut Roast Cake with All the Trimmings
This nut roast recipe comes to us from the cookbook You Can Cook This! by Max La Manna, whose low-waste, plant-based approach to cooking has won over millions of fans on social media in the UK, US and beyond. It's a crowd-pleaser of a recipe for vegans and non-vegans alike, and it makes for excellent leftovers, especially in a sandwich. Serve alongside roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, gravy and cranberry sauce.
Serves 8
The finished nut roast, uncut (left); nut roast plated with sides (right).
Ingredients
500g carrots, preferably heritage, halved lengthways and cut into 5–7cm batons
2 sweet potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
30g butter or vegan butter
200g mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cumin
A few sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp flaxseed or chia seeds
100g mixed nuts, toasted
200g packet of quick-cook mixed grains
1 x 400g tin brown lentils, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp Marmite
3 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
3 tbsp fresh sage, roughly chopped
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
100g breadcrumbs
Salt and black pepper
2 sweet potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
30g butter or vegan butter
200g mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cumin
A few sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp flaxseed or chia seeds
100g mixed nuts, toasted
200g packet of quick-cook mixed grains
1 x 400g tin brown lentils, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp Marmite
3 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
3 tbsp fresh sage, roughly chopped
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
100g breadcrumbs
Salt and black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220˚C/200˚C fan.
- On a baking tray, rub the carrots and sweet potatoes with a little of the olive oil and some salt. Cook in the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until very soft.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over a high heat. Once hot, add the sliced mushrooms and a big pinch of salt and a crack of black pepper. Fry for 5–7 minutes until all the liquid has been released from the mushrooms and they’re soft and golden. Add the garlic and spices, cook for 1 minute, stir in the thyme, then tip into a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix the flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water and set aside until it turns into a jelly-like consistency.
- Put half the toasted nuts in a food processor or blender along with half of the mixed grains, half of the lentils, a splash of water and the Marmite, and blitz into a paste. Roughly chop the remaining nuts and add them to the mushrooms, along with the remaining grains and lentils.
- When the sweet potato is cooked, add 1½ potatoes to the blender and blitz again. Roughly chop the remaining half a potato, and add to the mushrooms.
- Reduce the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grab a large springform cake tin, about 23cm diameter. Line the base with a circle of baking parchment. Lay the carrots, cut side down, on the base of the tin. (I like to lie them in alternating directions to ensure as few gaps as possible).
- Combine the flaxseed mixture and the chopped herbs with the mushrooms, then add the blender mixture, along with the nutritional yeast and breadcrumbs. Stir everything together; the mixture should be thick. Tip into the cake tin, being careful not to move the carrots too much. Tap the base of the tin on a flat surface to make sure everything is pressed into the tin.
- Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and cook for a further 20–25 minutes, until evenly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little, then turn out onto a plate. Peel back the baking parchment to reveal the amazing carrot surface. Slice and serve with all the roast dinner trimmings.
BK Tips
- Don't forget to toast the nuts! You can do so by adding nuts to a frying pan until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan often to ensure they are not burning
- Don't have nutritional yeast? Swap for Parmesan cheese, miso paste, or soy sauce. Miso paste and soy sauce are also good substitutes for Marmite.
Photo Credit: Lizzie Mayson
