Last Updated on 12 December 2008 by gerry

Credit for this recipe goes to Nature’s Gate wholefood shop in Edinburgh, sadly now no longer in existence. This “Festive Roast” is so easy to make, turns out so well and has a very pleasant taste and texture that it has been the centrepiece of my Christmas day dinner for the last goodness knows how many years. (I say it is easy to make, but I suppose that is assuming you have access to a food processor to make the breadcrumbs, pulverise the cashew nuts and mix the tofu and stock together!)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 100g (4oz) breadcrumbs (roughly 4 slices of wholemeal bread)
• 200g (8oz) cashew nuts (ground)
• 250g (10oz) plain tofu
• 0.5 tsp dried rosemary
• 0.5 tsp dried thyme
• 0.5 tsp vecon or equivalent stock paste
• 140ml (0.25 pint) hot water
• 200g (8oz) mushrooms chopped
• oil or vegan marg. to grease a 2lb loaf tin

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/Gas mark 4. (This dish can be prepared the day before consuming and refrigerated, in which case you won’t need to preheat the oven…)
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and genlty fry onion and garlic until soft (not brown)
3. Make breadcrumbs, grind cashews and mix together in a large bowl
4. Add to this the onion and garlic (and any oil remaining in the pan) and the herbs
5. Dissolve vecon (or equivalent stock cube/paste) in hot water and put into a blender/food processor with the tofu. Blend until creamy then add to the bowl and mix well.
6. Heat remaining oil and sauté chopped mushrooms until soft
7. Grease 2lb loaf tin and add half the mushrooms in a layer, then add half the nut mixture
8. Add the rest of the mushrooms as a middle layer and top with the rest of the nut mixture
9. Seal the top of the tin with a piece of foil
10. Bake for 1 hour and then allow to stand for 10 minutes
11. Ease round edges with a knife and turn out onto dish or wooden board. (In my experience this roast usually turns out and holds together well.)
12. Eat hot or cold.
13. As an alternative you could mix the mushrooms into the mixture and make the layer out of something more colourful, e.g. carrots, peas or sweetcorn. It also looks good if you put the first layer of mushrooms in a design on the base of the tin. (For instance spell YULE in backwards writing with mushrooms…)