Layered Vegan Nut Roast

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 1 hour
• total time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

500 g butternut squash (peeled and deseeded, cut into bite sized chunks)

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

10 fresh sage leaves

1 small red onion (peeled and diced)

salt and pepper to taste

400 g frozen whole leaf spinach (defrosted and thoroughly drained)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 tsp vegan red wine

1 tsp vegan butter

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

salt and pepper to taste

400 g cooked beetroot

150 g ground almonds

salt and pepper to taste

800 g mixed nuts (I used 200g each of walnuts, Brazils, cashews and almonds)

400 g onion (peeled and chopped)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tbsp Marmite

2 tbsp vegan red wine

1 tbsp soy sauce

a generous grinding of fresh black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp tahini

100 g breadcrumbs

Directions

To Make The Squash Layer

Preheat oven to 200C/350F

Toss the squash chunks in 1 tbsp of the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Lay in a single layer on a baking tray. Scatter with the sage leaves and roast for 30 mins or until soft and beginning to brown.

Meanwhile fry the chopped onion in 1/2 tbsp olive oil for about 5 minutes until soft and beginning to brown.

Blend or mash the cooked squash to a lumpy puree and stir in the cooked onions. Leave to cool.

To Make The Spinach Layer

Press the defrosted spinach in a fine mesh sieve to remove as much water as possible.

Heat the butter gently in a saucepan, add the garlic and drained spinach and cook gently for 2 minutes.

Add the wine, nutmeg, cloves, a pinch of salt and a some freshly ground black pepper and cook for a further minute until the liquid has evaporated. Leave to cool.

To Make the Beetroot Layer

Blend or mash the cooked beetroot to a lumpy puree. Stir in the ground almonds and add salt and pepper to taste.

To Make the Nut Layer

Fry the chopped onion in 2 tbsp of olive oil until soft.

Pulse the nuts in a food processor until finely chopped but not ground to a powder.

Place nuts and cooked onion into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

The nut mixture should hold together when you squeeze a bit in your hand. If it doesn't, add a little more tahini and soy sauce until it does.

To Assemble and Cook The Layered Nut Roast

Preheat oven to 150C/300F

Grease and line a 24cm/10 inch spring form cake tin.

Divide the nut mixture into 4 equal parts.

Add 1/4 of the nut mixture to the base of the tin and press into place.

Add the squash mixture and spread to cover the nut layer.

Add the next 1/4 of the nut mixture and press into place to cover the squash.

Add the spinach and spread to cover the nut layer.

Add the next 1/4 of the nut mixture and press into place to cover the spinach layer.

Add the beetroot mixture and spread to cover the nut mixture.

Add the final 1/4 of the nut mixture and press into place.

Cover with a circle of baking parchment.

Roast in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove the paper circle after 30 minutes to allow the top to brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before unclipping, removing the baking parchment and revealing your creation!

Serve, hot, cold or at room temperature.

Nutrition

• Calories: 919 kcal
• Total Fat: 69 g
• Saturated Fat: 9 g
• Sodium: 516 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 60 g
• Dietary Fiber: 17 g
• Total Sugars: 9 g
• Protein: 28 g