CHICKPEA AND MILLET NUT ROAST

Chickpea and Millet Nut Roast image

There is nothing more traditional for a vegetarian than a nut roast! It is perfect on Sunday with vegetables, crispy roast potatoes and onion gravy. Of course, at Christmas, when the carnivores are tucking into their turkey, every self-respecting vegetarian or vegan is sitting down to their nut roast with trimmings. I know there are plenty of nut roast recipes out there, but I thought I would develop my own anyway. All the ingredients in this recipe are readily available and it is easy to make.

Provided by Tim Barker

Categories Nuts

Time 50m

Yield 1 1 loaf, 4-6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 20

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Ingredients

100 g millet (200ml water)
400 g chickpeas (or dried chickpeas)
1 teaspoon marmite or 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 vegetable stock cube
75 g roasted sunflower seeds (without shells)
75 g non-salted peanuts (roughly ground)
25 g dried chopped cranberries (optional)
2 garlic cloves
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley (or dried parsley)
1 teaspoon freshly chopped basil (or dried)
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 pinch chili powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon wine vinegar
50 g breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons warm water
salt and pepper

Steps:

Put the millet to a saucepan and add the 200ml of water and vegetable stock cube. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, stir occasionally to prevent the millet sticking to the pan. When all the water is absorbed it is ready. (The cooked millet should be a mushy consistency, which will help the nut roast bind together) Leave the millet on the side for a few moments to cool.
Dry roast the sunflower seeds. Heat a non-stick pan without any oil on a medium heat. Add the sunflower seeds and heat until they start to go brown.
Dry roast the fennel seeds in a pan without oil until they start to go brown. Then grind in a pestle and mortar.
Grind the peanuts in a pestle and mortar. However, they do not need to be ground too finely, just roughly.
Mash the chickpeas in a large bowl and add all the ingredients together (including the millet) and mix well. Add the breadcrumbs last followed by the 3 tbsp of warm water. Mix with your hands so that the mixture binds together to form a dough.
Press into a loaf tin (or any square or rectangular baking tin you have) Bake in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes at 180C/35F Gas mark 4 until the top starts to brown nicely.
Turn out onto a plate and garnish with parsley and lemon. Slice and serve with onion gravy or your favourite sauce and vegetables. Of course with chips and ketchup is great too.
N.B.
1. Red or white kidney beans can be used instead of chick peas.
2. Salted peanuts can be used, but this means that less salt should be added to the recipe as a whole.
3. I use a loaf tin which is 23cm x 10cm x 6cm.