Mary Berry’s Nut Roast
Mary Berry’s aubergine five-nut roast recipe is a reall winner for vegetarians. It’s so easy to make and tastes delicious too – you can prepare it in advance or the day before you want to serve it so you’ve got plenty of time to focus on the sides. This recipe serves 8 people and will take around 1hr and 20 mins to make.
Mary Berry's Nut Roast
Ingredients
- 1 medium aubergine
- Olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 40 g 1.5oz butter
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 175 g 6oz shelled mixed nuts (such as Brazils, pine nuts, blanched whole almonds), chopped in the processor, but not too finely
- 50 g 2oz shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
- 100 g 4oz fresh white breadcrumbs
- Grated rind and juice of half a lemon
- 100 g 4oz mature Cheddar, grated
- 100 g 4oz frozen chestnuts, thawed and roughly chopped
- 2 eggs beaten
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley to serve
You'll also need
- 900 g 2lb loaf tin, 19 x 17 x 9cm (6½ x 3½ x 3½in) base
Instructions
- Preheat the grill, and oven to 200ºC/Fan 180ºC/Gas 6.
- Line a loaf tin with foil and oil lightly.
- Slice the aubergine thinly, lengthways. Arrange on a large oiled baking tray in a single layer, brush or drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook under the hot grill for 5-7 mins each side until the aubergine has softened and is beginning to turn golden. The aubergine will cook to a deep brown once in the oven, so don't worry about getting too much colour at this stage. Once you have turned the aubergine slices over, do keep a close eye on them as the second side will colour more quickly than the first side. Allow to cool slightly.
- Use the aubergines to line across the base and sides of the prepared loaf tin, all slices going in the same direction.
- Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the onion, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, untill soft, about 10 mins. Spoon into a large bowl and leave to cool.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl with plenty of seasoning, and stir well to mix.
- Spoon into the loaf tin, pressing the mixture down firmly. Fold the ends of aubergine over the top of the filling and cover the tin with the foil.
- Cook in the preheated oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Turn out on to a serving plate, remove the tin and garnish with sprigs of flat-leaf parsley.
- Slice thickly to serve.
Notes
This nut roast can be made up to two days ahead and can be frozen for up to a month. To reheat, put the nut roast on a baking tray and cover with foil. Reheat at 180oC/Fan 160oC/Gas 4, for 50 mins to an hour, until piping hot.
