Pumpkin Nut Roast with Mushroom Gravy
Recipe
Pumpkin… I love absolutely everything about pumpkins, including the way its name sounds! You can make so many things out of a pumpkin such as soups, risottos, desserts and now even lattés. From the nutritional point of view, it has plenty of fibre, which makes you fuller for longer, but on the other hand it is a low-calorie superstar as it has 90% water content. Plus it’s cheap and delicious.
And now let’s add nuts to the equation and we have a match made in heaven. The texture of this Pumpkin Nut Roast is just perfect and adds the comforting crunchiness to your plate.
This recipe might seem quite laborious but fear not, that’s not the case. The only lengthy time in the process of making it is baking it.
This wonderful loaf works well served with Roasted Pepper Hummus or Mushroom Gravy.
Tip: If you get a huge pumpkin (or squash) you might want to roast it all but for this recipe you will need only half of it (or even less, depending on how big your pumpkin is). Once roasted, you can keep it in an air-tight container in the fridge for a couple of days while you work out what to do with the rest.
Equipment: Loaf/cake tin, roasting tray, baking paper, frying pan, blender, tin foil
Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 50 min
Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Nut Roast
- 400g pumpkin (or butternut squash / Blue Hubbard squash)
- 100g walnuts
- 100g pumpkin seeds
- 50g hazelnuts
- 50g cashews
- 8 tbsp. flaxseed
- 3 tbsp. coconut oil
- 80g prunes
- 3 onions
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
- 1 tsp. grated ginger
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 2 tsp. oregano
- 2 tsp. dried thyme
- ½ tsp. chilli flakes
- 1 medium size carrot (peeled if not organic)
- 1 medium size apple, peeled
- ½ tsp. salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the Mushroom Gravy
- 250g Chestnut Mushrooms
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 2 onions, peeled & chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled & pressed
- 2 tbsp. rosemary
- 1 tbsp. thyme
- 1 tbsp. marjoram
- 1 tbsp. vegetable bouillon
- 3 tbsp. Tamari or light soya sauce
- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp. corn-starch
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
Pumpkin Nut Roast
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut it into 2-inch squares. Using a silicon brush paint the baking tray (lined with baking paper, easier to clean afterwards) with rapeseed oil. Toss the pumpkin on top and using the brush coat with the oil. Roast in the oven for 20 min, or, until golden.
2. Turn down the oven to 160°C. Lay out the roasting tray with the baking paper. Spread the nuts & seeds and place them in the oven for 12 minutes. (Be careful: depending on the power of your oven it might take less than 12 minutes!) Check if golden, and if not, roast them for another couple of minutes. Once ready, take them out and set aside to cool.
3. Place the flaxseed in the blender and blitz until it resembles flour. Put aside.
4. Finely chop the onions and carrots. Grate the apple. Chop the prunes into quarters, place them in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them. Set aside.
5. Melt coconut oil in a frying pan and add the onions. Fry on a high heat stirring constantly for about 2 minutes, until golden. Turn down the heat, add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add all the spices and, constantly stirring, fry for another minute.
6. Add the carrot, apple and drained prunes and sauté for about 5 min. Add salt & plenty of ground black pepper and stir well.
7. Once cool, place the nuts & seeds in a blender and blitz making sure to leave some texture. Move them into a big mixing bowl. Add the flaxseed, pumpkin, onion-spice mixture. Stir until well-combined (I use my hands for this) and then move the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Make sure it’s smooth on top.
8. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes with tin foil on top and then for another 20-30 minutes without; or until the edges are slightly brown. Cool it in the tin for about 10 minutes and then gently take it out and place onto a wooden chopping board. Cool for another 20-30 minutes before serving.
Mushroom Gravy
1. Melt coconut oil in a frying pan and add the onions. Fry on a high heat stirring constantly for about 2 minutes, until golden. Turn down the heat, add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add all the spices and, constantly stirring, fry for another minute.
2. Unless organic, wash the mushrooms and slice them lengthways. Add to the frying pan. Fry on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the vegetable bouillon; add 500ml filter water, Tamari, nutritional yeast, corn starch and simmer, occasionally stirring until the consistency thickens.
3. Using an immersion blender blitz making sure to keep some texture in the gravy (unless you like a baby food consistency). Add salt & black pepper to taste.