If you know someone who doesn’t eat meat or dairy then please share this recipe for an epic Neat loaf with them.. or perhaps you’d like to give it a try yourself? This Seeded Neat loaf is gluten free, nut free and vegan.
I call it my Life Changing Seeded Nut Loaf because before this, I’ve always found nut or seed loaves to be somewhat bland, oddly textured or just a bit lacking for my personal taste. I was determined to change my own opinion on this and if you agree with the above then I hope this recipe will kick goals for you too.
If you have been following me for a while you will know that every year I make my twice cooked Sunday roast every Christmas, without fail. It’s a recipe that comes requested by the vegans and yet is often demolished by the non-vegans. A great compliment, I think.
This recipe has been adapted from my Sunday roast recipe but with a few tweaks. I decided to skip the pastry, shy away from any form of vegan butter and skip out on the fruit. What I didn’t skimp on was flavour. This neat loaf still has all the glorious herbs that the Sunday roast has except it’s perhaps a more meat-like texture whereas the Sunday roast had more of a stuffing vibe (equally as glorious).
Most Neat loaf recipes call for the addition of lentils and nuts. This recipe has neither. I opted for black beans and to use seeds instead which is a great option for people who have an allergy or sensitivity to nuts.
For best results this recipe needs to be made either 1 day in advance or a few hours in advance as the results are best when cooked, left to cool then placed in the fridge for 1 hour to continue to ‘firm up’ before reheating. You can serve straight away of course, however you may find it won’t ‘slice’ completely perfectly – It will still be very delicious though!
This Neat loaf should not be kept for Christmas only. You most definitely need to prepare and surprise your friends and family with this at your next gathering because it is guaranteed to rock the socks off your guests.
For all those super prepared people who I envy everyday, you’ll be chuffed to know that making this in advance (ideally 1 day ahead) and storing in the fridge, you will be rewarded with the most perfect texture. On the day you need it just pop it into the oven on 170 degrees C and cook until warmed through. You can add a little glaze on top to keep things from drying out but if you like it crunchy I would even recommend removing it from the loaf tin and placing on a baking tray so that the edges are well exposed and crispy up slightly.
If you make this recipe, I would love to hear from you. Either drop me a comment below or tag me in your social media posts.
Happy roasting!
Set oven to 180 degrees and line 1 loaf tin.
Add dried porcini mushrooms to a bowl along with 1 cup of boiling water and allow to soak while prepping other ingredients.
Add diced onion, garlic and mushrooms to a pan along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large mixing bowl add drained black beans and mash roughly using a fork. Next add the onion, garlic and mushrooms along with all remaining ingredients (except the porcini mushrooms).
Next take the porcini mushrooms and dice finely. Add 1/2 cup of the mushroom broth to the other ingredients along with the finely diced porcini mushrooms.
Give everything a good mix and season with salt and pepper. Press the mixture firmly into the lined loaf tin and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the loaf is cooking, prepare the glaze by whisking all ingredients together in a small bowl.
At the 30 minute mark, brush the top of the neat loaf with the glaze. Repeat again at the 45 min mark. Cook for 60 minutes before turning the oven off and allowing to completely cool.
At this stage for best results i recommend placing in the fridge for at least 1 hour so that the loaf is completely formed and the flavours are fully developed. You can serve immediately, just be careful when removing the loaf from the tin as it may be a little more crumbly (this is completely avoided if you allow to set in fridge and then reheat).
Serve with your favourite roast veggies and lots of gravy.
Ingredients
Directions
Set oven to 180 degrees and line 1 loaf tin.
Add dried porcini mushrooms to a bowl along with 1 cup of boiling water and allow to soak while prepping other ingredients.
Add diced onion, garlic and mushrooms to a pan along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large mixing bowl add drained black beans and mash roughly using a fork. Next add the onion, garlic and mushrooms along with all remaining ingredients (except the porcini mushrooms).
Next take the porcini mushrooms and dice finely. Add 1/2 cup of the mushroom broth to the other ingredients along with the finely diced porcini mushrooms.
Give everything a good mix and season with salt and pepper. Press the mixture firmly into the lined loaf tin and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the loaf is cooking, prepare the glaze by whisking all ingredients together in a small bowl.
At the 30 minute mark, brush the top of the neat loaf with the glaze. Repeat again at the 45 min mark. Cook for 60 minutes before turning the oven off and allowing to completely cool.
At this stage for best results i recommend placing in the fridge for at least 1 hour so that the loaf is completely formed and the flavours are fully developed. You can serve immediately, just be careful when removing the loaf from the tin as it may be a little more crumbly (this is completely avoided if you allow to set in fridge and then reheat).
Serve with your favourite roast veggies and lots of gravy.
