Cheesy Leek Nut Loaf
6 | people
Intermediate | 1 hour
This nut loaf recipe is next level. Packed with glossy leeks and cheese and wrapped in a pastry lattice, even the meat-eaters won’t be able to resist. Swap the breadcrumbs for almond meal and buy a gluten-free puffy pastry to easily make this recipe gluten-free.
Ingredients
🌱 = Get It From The Source
6 dried shitake mushrooms 🌱
100g raw premium mixed nuts 🌱
50g smoked almonds 🌱
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 🌱
1 leek, cleaned and thinly sliced
¼ tsp. fine Himalayan sea salt 🌱
½ tsp. ground black pepper 🌱
½ tsp. dried rosemary 🌱
½ tsp. dried sage 🌱
1 large garlic clove, minced
½ tsp. onion powder 🌱
½ tsp. garlic powder 🌱
125g organic whole green lentils, cooked 🌱
50g breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp. linseeds, ground 🌱
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast 🌱
100g grated vegan cheese (or use cheddar if not vegan), plus a little extra for garnish
1 Tbsp. gluten-free tamari 🌱
1 sheet store-bought puff pastry, vegan and gluten-free 🌱
plant-based milk for brushing 🌱
Method
- Place the dried shiitakes in a heatproof bowl and submerge in boiling water. Set aside for 30 minutes to rehydrate.
- In the meantime place the mixed nuts and smoked almonds in a food processor and pulse until they resemble roughly chopped breadcrumbs (do not over pulse or you’ll end up with nut butter!) or chop finely with a knife. Set to one side.
- In a large frying pan, on medium heat, saute the leeks in olive oil with salt and pepper until they are golden and glossy. Add the rosemary, sage and minced garlic clove. Saute for another minute.
- Finely chop the shiitake mushrooms and add them to the pan along with the minced garlic, onion powder, garlic powder and cooked lentils. Mix well, crushing the lentils slightly and cook until any excess liquid has evaporated.
- To the pan, add the chopped nuts, breadcrumbs, ground linseed, nutritional yeast, cheese and tamari. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring throughout. The mixture should hold together well when squeezed between your fingers. Check the mixture for seasoning, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 200C and line an oven tray with baking paper.
- Place the long side of your pastry sheet parallel to the workbench. Place the filling in the centre of the pastry and firmly pack into a squat rectangle leaving 4-5cm of bare pastry at the top and bottom.
- There should be enough pastry on the left and right side, to comfortably fold over the top of the nut loaf (if the sides are a too long you can trim 1-2cm from each side).
- To make the lattice pattern, make a series of 2cm diagonal incisions on the left and right sides of the pastry. Start from the side of the nut loaf which is perpendicular to the workbench and cut diagonally all the way to edge of the pastry. Fold the top and, bottom end flaps up to cover the narrow ends of the nut loaf then braid the diagonal strips of pastry over the nut loaf, alternating from left to right.
- Brush the pastry with non-dairy milk, top with a generous sprinkle of cheese and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until golden.
