Lentil & sweet potato nut roast

Although I call this a nut roast, I tried to cut down on the proportion of nuts as compared to traditional nut roasts, firstly because of the high calorie content of nuts and also because nuts aren't as easy to find in Mauritius and can be very expensive. This is a very decadent and moreish vegetarian dish, so much so that I made 2 batches of this within a period of two days! I wanted it to be very rustic and chunky, if you want a more refined a smooth nut roast, then just chopped everything up very finely.

I made slight changes to the second batch given what I had in the fridge, but both worked just as good, so I would really recommend you play around with this to your liking. Changes to the second batch are as follows: courgette slices instead of mushrooms, no cheese, more grated carrot, some oregano.

Also, my friend Moritz has just started his own blog (yay!). His will focus on traditional Italian food and if you are looking for a simple yet delicious Christmas cookie biscuit, definitely try his butter cookies, here is the link.

LENTIL & SWEET POTATO NUT ROAST

• 150 g split red lentils, wash and cook for a couple of minutes until just cooked (not too soft!)
• 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
• Half a large onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
• 200 g of hard boiled sweet potato, cut into cubes
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• A few mushrooms, sliced, I only had 4 large ones left, you could use more and cut down on the sweet potato
• 1 heaped tsp crushed garlic
• 2 heaped tsp mustard
• 50 g oats
• 50 g nut of choice, I used broken walnuts
• Handful of grated light cheese; optional
• Seasonings of choice:  I used paprika, salt & pepper

1. Cook the red lentils until just cooked through (not let it get mushy) and set aside.
2. In a large pan, heat up some oil and fry the cumin seeds until fragrant, add in the onion and celery and fry for 2-3 minutes until onion pieces are translucent.
3. Add in the mushroom (or courgette), fry for about 2 minutes and add in the sweet potato chunks. Add in the grated carrots, garlic, mustard and seasonings and stir around until well incorporated. The carrots don't really need to cook for long as they will do so in the oven.
4. Remove from the heat and add in 50 g of oats, lentils, cheese (if using) and 50 g of nuts. Give the mixture a good stir, taste and add more seasonings if necessary.
5. Pour the mixture into a well greased or lined baking tray, flatten down with the back of a spoon and bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. I left mine in the oven when it was off, just to crisp up in the residual heat as the oven cooled.

To serve, I would have this instead of meat, so for instance as part of an English roast with potatoes, veggies and all the trimmings. I also had this for brunch after a great night out, I made a non- vegetarian savoury stack of goodness with thinly pan fried slices of nut roast, bacon, avocado, spinach and topped with a dippy egg, YUM!

Another recent obsession of mine is my tuna and sweet potato burgers, they seem to get tastier every time I make them! I find them so useful to have in the fridge, and if you are trying to be on a low carb diet, two tuna burgers stuffed with the filling of your choice makes such an awesome snack!

Xx

Print PDF