Hazelnut Crown

“For any festive celebration a beautiful centrepiece is needed. I created this recipe with that in mind, I wanted to show the abundance and vibrancy of vegan food. This recipe is perfect for a vegan Thanksgiving, Christmas or any holiday when these ingredients are in season.”

Prep time - 60 minutes

Cook time - 70 minutes

Difficulty - Medium

Serves / makes - 4

Ingredients

100g hazelnuts

100g walnuts

1T extra virgin olive oil

400g shallots or onion, finely chopped

100ml red wine

100g sun dried tomatoes (I used sun dried tomatoes soaked in oil, if yours are not soaked in oil and are tough soak in hot water for 30 minutes until soft)

10 sage leaves, finely sliced

180g cooked chestnuts (this is the amount in the Merchant Gourmet packs)

15g ground flax seed

100g breadcrumbs, I used gluten free

100ml water

1t yeast spread (aka Marmite, Vegemite)

1t salt

1T stock powder

200g radish

200g carrot

200g Brussels sprouts

200g tenderstem broccoli

Equipment

Baking tray

Tupperware box with lid

Reusable freezer bag or similar

Rolling pin or similar

Frying pan

Food processor or chopper attachment to a hand blender

Large bowl

Cake or panettone tin (16 cm wide)

Method

Heat your oven to 180c/360f/GM4. Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray. Once the oven is hot, bake the nuts for 15-20 minutes until the skins are coming off the nuts. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to the point you can handle them. Put them in a Tupperware box, shake the box vigorously. This will remove a lot of the skins, the rest you can do by hand. Discard the skins.
Put the hazelnuts in a reusable freezer bag, crush them with a rolling pin until they are in pieces. You do not want them to be very fine as they add texture to the recipe. Remove them from the bag, put the walnuts into the bag and crush them too.
In a frying pan heat 1T extra virgin olive oil on a medium to high heat. Once the oil is hot add the shallots (or onion). Mix them with the oil so they are covered in the oil. Allow them to cook until they are completely soft and translucent, this will take at least 10 minutes. If the pan dries out add small splashes of hot water to stop the shallots burning. Add red wine to the pan, allow it to simmer until it has reduced by half.
Put the sun dried tomatoes, sage and chestnuts in a food processor or the chopper attachment of a hand blender. Blend until the ingredients are broken down and have become a paste. You may need to scrape down the sides intermittently. Put this into a large bowl with the onions, flax seed, breadcrumbs, water, yeast spread, salt and stock powder. Mix very well then add the nuts and mix again.
Pour the mixture into a cake tin, creating a dip in the middle so the vegetables can sit easily on top. Bake in the middle of the oven for around 40-50 minutes until the crown is cooked through.
Roast the carrots and radish in a little oil for 20 minutes, the Brussels sprouts for 10 minutes and the broccoli for 5 minutes.
Place the crown on a serving plate or platter, top with the veggies and gravy.