There is a tradition in my house that we always have a roast dinner every Sunday. This tradition, I have to admit, stems from my unnatural love for roast potatoes; in which a Sunday roast is my chance to overindulge in carb heaven.

I have been trying, and mostly failing, to follow my nans amazing nut roast recipe; which is always a hit even with the meat eaters in my family. That was until yesterday, when I cracked jackpot with this chestnut and chia seed recipe. It was a really lovely “meaty2 consistency, and the chunks of cashews made my mouth water.

And whats more, it can even be made in batches and frozen, ready for a lazy dinner another day!! I have kept the quantities fairly loose as I tend to use up whatever bread I have, and work the ingredients around that.

Chestnut and Chia Seed Nut Roast 

Ingredients

• Hunk of bread (equivalent to 2 slices)
• Chia seeds (about 1 tbsp.)
• 200g cooked chestnuts
• 1 tsp. Yeast extract
• 1/2 pint of boiling water
• 1/2 cup of cashew nuts
• 1 tbsp. crushed chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp dried sage 

Method 

1. In  a blender whiz up the bread, chestnuts and cashews

2. Add to a large bowl and mix thoroughly with the chia seeds, chilli and sage.

3. Dissolve the yeast extract in the boiling water and mix thoroughly before slowly stirring into the nut mix.

4. Decant the mixture to a greased loaf tin and pat down with a spatula to make sure it’s evenly spread.

5. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 2 minutes. Once ready, remove from the loaf tin and leave to cool for 5 minutes before cutting int slices.