Wild Mushroom and Nut Roast

I wasn’t intending on sharing this meal as a recipe post as it was my own Christmas dinner and an experiment of sorts.  You see, It was my very first ever attempt at a nut roast and while I concede that I could have done a few things differently, I thought it came out rather well.  So I plated it up, quickly snapped a couple of photos and here you have my Wild Mushroom and Nut Roast with Jamie Oliver’s vegan gravy (minus the Marmite).  Does anyone really like that stuff?  I served it up with freshly steamed green beans and homemade mashed potatoes.  I make mine very simply, with vegan margarine, almond milk and seasoned with salt and pepper.

But let’s take a step back to where this idea all began.  Chestnuts.  My local grocery store had a huge basket of whole, fresh chestnuts on display and I couldn’t resist.  Had I ever even seen a chestnut before?  Nope.  But it looked fun, so I bought a pound of them.  I immediately got on YouTube seeking a way to roast these (not over an open fire).

There are many varying opinions on the best way to roast these, but I decided the one that made sense to me was to soak for 2 hours in water, drain, and score with a very sharp serrated knife.  This sounds easier than it is and quite frankly, was where the romance of roasting at home began to fade for me. I also found that there was a fine line between perfectly roasted chestnuts and well, chestnuts that were either not cooked enough or cooked too much.  Grrrr…  The ones that peeled, peeled perfectly!  And can I just mention how rough this was on my fingers?  In the end, I wished I had just purchased the ready to eat chestnuts.  Live and learn.

While I must admit, purchasing vacuum-packed or jarred ready-to-eat chestnuts is not nearly as nostalgic and/or romantic a notion as roasting your own, I highly recommend this option.  At least you won’t burn your fingertips trying to peel them 😉  If you can’t find them in your local or specialty grocery store, I found many to choose from on Amazon.

My recipe for this nut roast very closely resembles a chestnut mushroom stuffing.  You can certainly get creative and use your favorite ingredients here.  Onion, celery, leek, mushrooms, chestnuts, walnuts, a little white wine, vegetable broth and of course, seasoned cubes of bread.  I save the last few slices of loafs, cube them up and freeze until I need them.  Once at room temperature, just place in the oven on low heat to dry them out.  I used a flax meal mixture as a binder which also adds to that nutty flavor.

If you try this Wild Mushroom and Nut Roast, any variation of it, or have a favorite of your own, let me know in the comments below.  I am definitely going to keep working on perfecting this recipe.  You can also snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @theveglife1  I always love seeing your creations 🙂

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3 from 5 votes

Wild Mushroom and Nut Roast

Author Veg Life Staff

Ingredients

• FOR THE GRAVY - There is a link to Jamie Oliver's recipe in the recipe post. I omitted the Marmite and reserved the vegetables after straining to add to my nut roast.
• *
• FOR THE NUT ROAST:
• 1 Tbl Vegan Margarine
• 1 Stalk of Celery finely chopped
• 1/2 Leek finely chopped
• 1/2 Onion finely chopped
• 1/2 C Roasted Chestnuts finely chopped
• 1/4 C Walnuts finely chopped
• 8 oz . of Wild Mushrooms or Baby Bella Mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Pepper
• Rosemary Sage and/Thyme to taste
• 1/4 C White Wine
• 1 C Vegetable Broth plus more as needed
• 1 Tbl Ground Flax plus 3 Tbl Water allow to sit for 15 minutes
• 2 C Dried Bread Cut into 1/2" cubes

Instructions

• Prepare the vegan gravy (link to Jamie's recipe in the post).
• In a large saute pan, melt the vegan margarine and add the onion, celery and leek. Add the herbs. Saute until almost tender.
• I also added the reserved vegetables left over from straining the gravy.
• Add the white wine and cook until the alcohol burns off.
• Add the mushrooms and saute for a few minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in chestnuts and walnuts.
• In a large bowl, add the breadcrumbs and transfer the nut mixture as well.
• Add the flax meal mixture.
• I like to heat the broth and slowly add to the bread cubes just until moistened. Do not add too much or this roast will not set, nor will it slice.
• Evenly distribute the mixture among mini loaf pans or muffin cups that have been prepped with cooking spray and press to compact.
• Bake for 20-40 minutes depending on the size of the pans.
• Allow to cool in the pans for at least 5 minutes before removing. Much like a traditional meatloaf, these firm up as they cool slightly.
• Top with the vegan gravy and serve with mashed potatoes and a vegetable, such as freshly steamed green beans.