Chestnut & cashew nut roast

Nut roast was traditionally the only food ever made as the vegetarian alternative and so it got a bit of a bad reputation. Unfairly in my opinion, especially for this particular recipe. It really is very tasty. If not all eaten straight away it can be sliced into portions and frozen. If freezing, portion out the sauce proportionately and freeze that too.

I have to admit that chopping everything is a bit of a faff but I really do think it is worth it.

Ingredients (8 servings)

Method

• Heat the oil in a fairly large pan, add the onion and fry for approx 5 mins until softened and just lightly browned.
• Stir in the carrots & celery and fry for a few more mins, stirring well
• Remove from the heat and add everything except for 2 tbsp of cashews and 1 tbsp parsley. Mix well.
• Place everything into a lined loaf tin. Press down flat and then sprinkle on the reserved cashews and parsley
• Bake for 1 hour on 170C. You may need to loosely cover the top part way through to stop the top burning.
• While the roast is cooking, make the sauce: heat the oil in a pan and add the mushrooms and garlic. Fry for a few minutes until softened.
• Stir in the sherry and bubble briefly. Add the cream, season and bring to the boil. You can have the sauce as it is or blend, as we do, using a hand blender.
• I find it’s best to let the roast rest for a little while before cutting it otherwise it can fall apart. Also, to get fairly even slices, I cut in half and then cut each half into four slices.