Vegetarian Mushroom Meatloaf with Nuts
Is your Christmas menu ready? Mine not😆 I keep changing it day by day. I think that I will just stick to something traditional maybe. I am really confused, although there are so many ideas that I have in mind.
One of these is this delicious vegetarian loaf with mushrooms and cranberries. I know, it sounds unusual..but the sourness of the cranberries works so well with this loaf! It is also packed with protein, since it contains walnuts and almonds. The burst of flavour is simply amazing!
I know most probably you are not so confused and undecided like me and you all know what you'll have on your Christmas recipe, so I think Christmas posting stops here for me. I hope you will find inspiration in my posts.
- 250 grams cremini mushrooms
- 1 Piece onion (finely chopped)
- 100 grams risotto rice (Arborio)
- 100 milliliters white wine
- 500 milliliters vegetable stock (you might need more depending upon the rice)
- 75 grams breadcrumbs
- 50 grams blanched almonds (toasted)
- 50 grams walnuts (toasted)
- 120 grams cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, anything)
- 2 Pieces eggs
- 200 grams fresh cranberries (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- salt, pepper (as per requirement)
- Cooking the risotto
Heat the oil in a pan and sautee the onion with a little bit of salt until translucent (5-7 minutes). Add the chopped garlic and sautee for 1 more minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until they reduce in volume and until they don't release water anymore (7 minutes approx.). Once the mushroom is cooked, add the rice and add the white wine. Cook until evaporated, then add one ladle at a time while stirring and wait for it to evaporate before adding the next ladle (the classical risotto method). Repeat the steps until cooked (25 minutes). Add salt, pepper and turn off the heat once it is done. Leave it to cool completely.
- Making the loaf
Once the risotto is cooled, add the eggs, cheese, breadcrumbs and chopped walnuts and almonds to it. Add more salt or pepper if necessary. Mix everything well until everything is fully incorporated.
- Baking the loaf
Line a loaf tin with baking paper and a little bit of oil, then add the cranberries on the bottom (spread them evenly), then add the mushroom mixture over it. Press the mixture down gently (very important, push it down so that the cranberries will stick) and bake it in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!