This delicious vegetarian cashew and mushroom roast features in my meal plans from time to time and is always a hit. It is from Sarah Brown’s classic veggie cookery book, Vegetarian Kitchen
You could make your cashew and mushroom roast gluten free very easily by whizzing up the ends of a gluten free loaf for the breadcrumbs. Leave out the egg and fry your mushrooms in oil to make it vegan. I am sure it will bind pretty well without it.
Layered Cashew and Mushroom Roast
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8oz (225g) cashew nuts
4 oz (110g) fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
3 med parsnips, cooked and mashed
1tsp rosemary
1tsp thyme
1 tsp yeast extract, dissolved in 1/4 pint boiling water
Seasoning
1 0z (25g) butter
8 oz (225g) mushrooms
Method
Heat the oven to 180C. Fry the onion and garlic in the oil gently until soft. Grind the cashew nuts (I just whizz them in my food processor), then mix with the breadcrumbs. Add the beaten egg, then stir in the mashed parsnips, herbs and onion. Mix well and then add the yeast extract dissolved in the hot water. Season with some salt and pepper.
Melt the butter or oil and saute the chopped mushrooms. Grease and line a 2lb (900g) and press in half of the nut mixture. Cover with the mushrooms and then top with the rest of the nut mix. Press down, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. I like to remove the foil for the last 10 minutes to slightly brown the top. Leave it in the tin for another 10 minutes to cool before turning it out and slicing.
We enjoy this with all the usual Sunday roast trimmings and some veggie gravy.
I wish I knew what had happened to Sarah Brown. She has some other books available but nothing very recent. I keep saying it is high time there was another vegetarian TV series, so maybe she will come back?
Check out my other favourite recipes here.
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This sounds really good – thank you.
This sounds lovely, Jane. One question – three parsnips? These have a strong, somwhat sweet, flavour. Do they not ‘take over’ and are rather prominent from all the other ingredients? I’ve always found I’ve had to rein back on parsnips in most recipes, but this sounds so delicious I feel like trying it!
Margaret P
They make it slightly sweet but don’t over power it at all. It’s really tasty!
Ooh thanks, I’ll give it a go when my family have recovered a bit!
The 95% vegetarian meals since 2 left for uni is proving a bit much for some of those stomachs more used to burgers and chips!!! 😀
Sarah Brown is still around https://twitter.com/SarahBrownUK?lang=en
Arilx
Think that is a different Sarah Brown. She is married to Gordon Brown.
Thank you for this, Jane. It has been difficult finding a nut roast which I can use. Cashews are the easiest nuts for me to eat, as I can, unfortunately, react unfavourably to most. And I am allergic to tomatoes. Which are in most nut roasts. But – there are none, here. Yay!
Let me know if you enjoy it