Festive veggieness

I have long waxed lyrical about my nut roast recipe, and just recently (it being a traditional time of year) lots of people have been asking me for it. I can't remember who you all are but I know some of you will be reading this. So here goes: the perfect vegetarian option when most people are eating turkey. Or, as will apparently be the case chez nous this year, goose.

Ingredients
1 tbsp or so olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely sliced
8 oz chopped mixed nuts (can be bought ready chopped in bags but these are mostly peanut and for special occasions I use hazelnuts, almonds and brazil nuts and bash in a tea towel with a hammer)
3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped (use real tomatoes not tinned - peel after first covering with boiling water for 10 mins)
6 oz fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs (rye bread works just as well)
salt & pepper
1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs
Up to 1 teaspoon chilli powder or large pinch of dried red chilli flakes
2 eggs, beaten

What to do
Preheat oven to 220C, gas mark 7, 425 F
Oil a 1lb loaf tin (this is quite a small one, but if you've only got a big one it will work ok too) and line the base with oiled greaseproof paper. (V important, or you'll never get it out of the tin in one piece).

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and sweat the onion and celery for 10 mins or so until soft but not brown. Turn off the heat. Add the nuts, tomatoes, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, herbs and chilli. Mix really well then beat in the eggs. It should be soft but hold its shape: if too dry add more egg, if too wet add more breadcrumbs. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary (it tastes blander after cooking so if in doubt add a bit more. This goes for everything except the chilli, which tastes hotter after cooking).

Pack the mixture firmly into the loaf tin, cover with oiled aluminium foil and bake for 60-80 minutes. Remove foil, run a knife round the sides of the tin, place a plate on top and flip over. It should slide out, be slightly crumbly but with firm edges and can be sliced neatly.

Serve with roast potatoes, gravy and lots and lots of vegetables. And then see if people still think nut roast is boring and retro. I've never found anyone, carnivore or otherwise, who doesn't like it. Well, apart from the kid with the nut allergy.

joella

PS Recipe adapted from the Hamlyn All Colour Vegetarian Cookbook, published October 1988 and still (unlike most 1980s vegetarian cookbooks) worth having.