Have a Sustainable Christmas – Eat more plant-based foods!

Plant-based Foods

One of the ways that you can do your bit for climate change, is to reduce your consumption of meat as this is said to have an impact on global warming from the methane gas animals produce, as well as deforestation where trees are cut down to increase pastures.

If you’re thinking about having a more sustainable Christmas in Ramsey this season, or you have a visiting vegetarian, here’s Discover Ramsey’s traditional nut roast recipe.

The Christmas Vegetarian Option

This is a family recipe so there are no precise measurements – experiment to suit your own tastes!

Ingredients

Bag of nuts coarsely grated (mixed nuts makes more of a brown loaf whereas cashew is more of a white loaf)

3-4 medium carrots grated (you should have more nuts than carrots)

3 slices of bread grated (brown or white to match nuts, the ends of the loaf work well)

1 onion (red or white to match nuts)

1 leek or handful of mushrooms (optional)

2 large eggs (add more if it’s dry)

Seasoning – salt, pepper, generous on parsley or other herbs, (for brown loaves, try a teaspoon of Marmite, dollop of cranberry sauce, or tomato puree).

Method

  • Use a loaf tin and line it with greaseproof paper. Set the oven to 180°C/360°F.
  • Grate your ingredients in a food processor or electric grater if you have one.
  • Fry onion and if using them leek or mushrooms until soft.
  • Add all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and combine. The mixture should be moist and hold together firmly if you press it with the back of a wooden spoon. If it’s too dry and crumbly, add more egg.
  • Fill the loaf tin and press down firmly. It should take around 35-40 minutes in the oven. Cover the top if it’s browning too quickly or put it on the bottom shelf.
  • Serve in slices with a vegetarian gravy for Christmas dinner. Try eating the leftovers in white bread sandwiches with mayonnaise and cranberry sauce! Yum.

If you want to make this vegan, make sure your bread is labelled as suitable for vegans (most are), fry the onion/leek in a plant-based oil, and use an off the shelf egg substitute, or try chickpea water or flaxseed in water which work well for nut roasts. You can also buy Vegan Mayonnaise.

The best vegan egg substitutes for baking and cooking

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