Jamie Oliver’s nut roast from his Christmas Cookbook is the ultimate vegetarian recipe to serve this Christmas. A good old faithful, nut roast has become the cliché for veggie Christmas dinners these days. So, I decided to celebrate that and share my most scrumptious take on this vegetarian classic, for all field roast chorizo you out there who love and adore it. Scrunch up a wet sheet of greaseproof paper, then use it to line all sides of an oiled 1.
5 litre loaf tin, leaving a bit of overhang at the ends to help you lift out your nut roast later. Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions, drain, tip into a mixing bowl and leave to cool. Meanwhile, wash and deseed the squash, peel the onions, trim the celery and chop it all into 2cm chunks. Place in a large roasting tray, crumble in the chestnuts, strip in the rosemary, add the paprika, oregano, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of oil, then toss well. Roast for 40 minutes, roughly chopping the mushrooms and adding for the last 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and tip everything into the quinoa bowl. Finely grate in half the lemon zest, add the breadcrumbs, then chop and add the apricots and nuts.
Crack in the eggs and mixwell, then transfer to the lined loaf tin, piling it up high. Roast for 45 minutes, or until golden and gnarly. With 30 minutes to go, make the sauce. On the hob, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a roasting tray on a medium heat. Leaving them joined at the stalk, halve the chillies lengthways, then add to the tray with the cinnamon for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, peel and slice the garlic. Scoop the chillies and cinnamon out of the tray and put aside, then add the garlic, strip in most of the thyme leaves and cook for 5 minutes.