I meant to write this one out during Thanksgiving and then somehow forgot about it. This was originally meant as a vegan recipe, but I usually adapt it and make it vegetarian. It’s really very tasty, although it does require a bit more work than some other nut loafs. Although if you double the recipe for the stuffing, you can get a main dish and a side dish for exactly the same amount of work. Vegan ingredient options are marked with a star and in italics. Leave out the eggs for vegan option.

Nut Loaf with vegan alternatives

Loaf

two tablespoons (or more) butter *oil or margarine
2 large onions, chopped fine
5 cloves (or an entire bulb) garlic, minced
3 cups raw cashews
1 1/2 cups bread
1 cup soup stock or broth— you can use water, but I wouldn’t
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg

Cook the onion and garlic in the butter, oil or margarine until tender, and remove from the heat.

Chop the cashews by hand or in a food processor; cut up the bread as well. Add the cashews and bread to the onion, then add the vegetable stock, egg, salt and pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Put half of this mixture into a small, non-stick loaf pan. Even if you’re using a non-stick pan, I would still spray it with non-stick spray or oil it with olive or canola oil. If you want to use a regular pan that is not non-stick, the original recipe recommends lining the pan with parchment paper first.

Stuffing

3 cups bread cubes, toasted
four tablespoons butter *margarine or oil, melted but not hot
1/2 to 3/4 cup finely-chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon sage
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 egg
enough to stock to moisten

Mix together all the ingredients. Put the mixture on top of the stuff in the loaf pan, and add the rest of the first mixture so that there are three layers of food in the pan.

Place the pan on a baking sheet or in a larger loaf pan (in case it overflows while cooking), and bake at 400 degrees F for half an hour. The top should be browned.

Let the roast cool for a few minutes, then serve out of the pan or invert it on to a plate. Serve with gravy, if desired. I’d recommend the mushroom gravy.