When I compare eating a traditional roast to a nut roast, the nut roast is at least as filling. The only difference is that instead of feeling stuffed with meat all evening, you’re just pleasantly satisfied. The flavor is absolutely fantastic and I believe that nut roast can convince even a staunch vegetarian skeptic that there are good alternatives to meat.
Serve with boiled potatoes, broccoli and porcini mushroom sauce.
Ingredients
- 200 g mixed nuts; walnuts, cashews and almonds
- 25 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 100 g red lentils
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 250 g eggplant (about half or one small)
- 250 g green zucchini (about half or one small)
- 100 g cremini or button mushrooms
- Oil for frying
- 1 tbsp Indian red curry paste
- 5 dried apricots
- 2 tbsp chickpea flour (or wheat flour)
- 5 Brussels sprouts
- 6 sheets frozen puff pastry
Instructions
Measure out the nuts and soak them. They need to soak for at least two hours. Do the same with the porcini mushrooms. They don't need to soak as long, but it doesn't hurt.
Rinse the red lentils and bring to a boil. Once the water boils, let them cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender (taste!). When fully cooked, drain the water and let cool in a large bowl.
Chop the onion, carrot, celery, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic. Heat a frying pan over medium to high heat. Add olive oil or rapeseed oil to the pan and fry the curry paste until it loosens up a bit. PS; if you can't find Indian red curry paste, you can use your own spice mix with Indian spices or simply use dry curry powder (about 1 tbsp). Add the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms. Fry until they start to look glossy. Transfer to a large plate to cool.
If you're using frozen puff pastry, this is a good time to take it out of the freezer... Now also preheat the oven to 200°C convection.
Add more oil to the pan and fry the eggplant and zucchini together with the garlic until tender (about 10 minutes). Pour the onion, carrot and celery mixture into the large bowl with the lentils and let the zucchini and eggplant cool on the plate.
Remove the outer leaves from the Brussels sprouts and cut off the brown part of the stem. Boil for two minutes and transfer the Brussels sprouts to ice-cold water.
Drain the water from the nuts. Use a food processor with rotating blades at the bottom or a good immersion blender to process the nuts into a smooth mixture. Chop the apricots finely. Everything should now be mixed together in the bowl. Use your hands and adjust with chickpea flour (you may need more than 2 tbsp). The dough should be cohesive enough to be shaped.
Knead the puff pastry sheets into a ball. Lightly flour a surface with wheat flour and sprinkle wheat flour lightly on both sides of the dough. Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out a rectangle. Transfer to a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill the center of the rectangle with the mixture and stuff the Brussels sprouts in the middle of the mixture. Fold the dough over the mixture so there are no holes, and try to get evenly thin dough around the filling. Turn the dough so the "seam side" faces up. Brush or rub a little rapeseed oil on top and place in the middle of the oven for 50 minutes on convection.
While the roast is in the oven, peel potatoes and put them on to boil about 30 minutes before the roast is done. Prepare broccoli for cooking, make sauce and set the table. Now you're ready for Sunday roast!