Hairy Bikers Nut Roast

Hairy Bikers nut roast is a festive loaf of mixed nuts, chestnuts, spinach and grated parsnip, served with a creamy sherry mushroom gravy. And the British Classics recipe takes about 1 hour 50 minutes, while a slice with gravy is about 340 calories when cut into 8.

In British Classics it is the roast that lets you “show your veggie mates you love them”, built on grains, nuts and chestnuts. But the nut roast on BBC Good Food leans on red lentils and mature Cheddar instead.

Smooth the mixture level but don’t pack it tightly, the key warning in their method, though BBC Good Food presses its loaf down. And the greaseproof paper stays on for the whole bake, so you judge it by a piping hot middle rather than a firm top.

Hairy Bikers Nut Roast

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time:1 hour 20 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time:1 hour 50 minutesServings:8 servingsCalories:340 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Most of the work happens before the oven: wilting spinach, plumping cranberries and softening the vegetables. Then the gravy comes together on the hob while the loaf bakes.

Ingredients

For the nut roast

• 300g spinach
• 50g dried cranberries
• 50ml oloroso sherry
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 15g butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 200g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 large parsnip, coarsely grated (about 250g)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 thyme sprig
• zest of 1 lemon
• 150g cooked freekeh or spelt grains
• 100g mixed nuts, chopped
• 100g cooked chestnuts, crumbled
• 25g fresh breadcrumbs
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 25g butter, for dotting
• sea salt and black pepper

For the mushroom gravy

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 15g butter
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• a few thyme leaves
• 100ml oloroso sherry
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 50ml single cream

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Instructions

1. Wilt the spinach: Wash the spinach in plenty of water and put it in a saucepan over a gentle heat, stirring a couple of times until it wilts. Then drain it well in a sieve, leave it to cool and chop it roughly.
2. Plump the cranberries: Put the cranberries in a small pan, cover them with the 50ml of sherry and bring to the boil. Then take the pan off the heat and leave them until they plump up and absorb most of the sherry.
3. Soften the vegetables: Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and add the onion and mushrooms. Then cook them over a medium heat until the mushroom liquid has gone and the onion is soft. Next add the parsnip and cook until it shrinks and the onion starts to caramelise.
4. Add the aromatics: Add the garlic, sage, thyme and lemon zest and cook for a couple more minutes. Then take the pan off the heat and let it cool slightly.
5. Heat the oven: Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C, 180°C fan, Gas 6 and line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper.
6. Mix the roast: Put the freekeh or spelt in a large bowl with the nuts, chestnuts, breadcrumbs, spinach, cooked vegetables and eggs. Then season well and mix thoroughly.
7. Bake: Spoon the mixture into the tin, dot the butter over the top and smooth it down without packing it tightly. Then cover with greaseproof paper and bake for about an hour, until piping hot.
8. Make the gravy: While it bakes, heat the oil and butter in a pan and cook the shallot until it caramelises at the edges. Then add the mushrooms for 5 minutes, followed by the garlic and thyme with some seasoning for a couple of minutes more.
9. Finish the gravy: Turn up the heat, pour in the 100ml of sherry and let it bubble until almost gone, then add the stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, and stir in the cream just before serving.
10. Serve: Slice the nut roast and serve it with the gravy, with the sherry-soaked cranberries spooned alongside.

FAQs

Why don’t the sherry cranberries go into the loaf?

They are a garnish, because neither the book nor the BBC method ever mixes them into the loaf. And the BBC intro serves the roast with sherry-soaked cranberries, while British Classics also points to their cranberry sauce, so offer both.

For the rest of the plate, their red cabbage from the same book braises slowly in cider. And their cauliflower cheese is the other side I’d put on the table, baked golden on top.

Is this the Hairy Bikers nut roast with wild mushroom gravy?

No, that is a different recipe of theirs, which Red magazine prints as serving 4 to 6 after one hour in the oven. And it uses Gruyère, sundried tomatoes and cashews, with a gravy of wild mushrooms and soy sauce.

This one is the bigger festive loaf, with parsnip, chestnuts and freekeh, and a chestnut mushroom gravy made with sherry and finished with single cream.

Is it vegan?

No, it is vegetarian, and BBC Food tags it that way, but 3 eggs hold the loaf together and butter goes in too. And the gravy finishes with single cream, while they give no vegan swaps, so I won’t guess at one.

For a vegetarian Christmas menu, their parsnip and apple soup from the same book makes a good starter, as long as you use vegetable stock.

Can I freeze it?

Yes, since they say in British Classics that it freezes well, though they don’t say how. So I follow BBC Food’s advice for Justine Pattison’s nut roast, slicing it once completely cold and wrapping each slice separately. Then the slices keep in a freezer bag for up to 3 months, and you thaw them overnight in the fridge.

To reheat, cover the slices with foil and warm them in a medium oven for 20 to 30 minutes. And the Vegetarian Society freezes its nut loaf unbaked in the lined tin, though their recipe has no eggs, unlike this one.

What is freekeh, and do I cook it first?

It is a roasted green wheat grain, and spelt grains work in its place, as both versions say. And the recipe asks for 150g already cooked, though neither version says how, so follow the packet instructions.