Tofu and Nut Loaf

I wanted to create the perfect tofu and nut loaf for our Christmas Day feast, and, after a few trials in December, I finally came up with a recipe that we all loved! It has a great texture, being quite firm to bite but also a bit crunchy thanks to the nuts. The mushrooms provide a rich depth of flavour and the flaky pastry perfectly complements the filling. This dish will definitely be a regular feature in our house from now on, either as part of a roast meal or simply served with mash and gravy.

It's a lot easier than you might think to conjure up, it's really just a matter of mixing the ingredients together and putting them in a bread pan. So here goes:

First:

Finely dice two punnets of mushroooms and fry them, along with 3 cloves of garlic and a pinch of sea salt.

Then:

Slice 2 packs of of organic, extra firm tofu. Press the slices under a weight to drain the excess liquid then pulverise them in the vitamix/food processor until totally smooth.

Next, put the mushrooms and tofu in a mixing bowl and add:

2 cups of oatmeal

3 finely diced carrots

1 cup almond slices

3 tbsp psyllium husk powder

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp sea salt

Mix well until thoroughly combined.

Then:

Line a bread pan with baking paper and transfer the mixture into the pan.

Put the pan in the oven, on gas mark 5, for 2 hours.

Gently lift the loaf from the bread pan and allow it to completely cool.

Finally:

When the loaf is totally cool, pour ¼ cup of vegan milk into a bowl, add a squirt of agave syrup and stir well.

Brush this mixture on the inside of a large sheet of puff pastry (you may need to stick two or more sheets together to fit around the loaf).

Wrap the loaf in the pastry, as you would a present, and seal by pressing the ends together with the milk mix.

Brush the outside of the pastry with the milk mix.

Cook in the oven again, according to the puff pastry instructions, until the pastry is puffy and slightly brown.

The loaf is then ready to slice and serve.

Enjoy!

If you're making the loaf in advance, it's best to keep the unwrapped loaf in the fridge until the day you need to use it, then wrap it in pastry and cook it again just before you need it, so the pastry is fresh and flaky.

You can always experiment with using different dried herbs for variations of flavour. Basil and oregano go especially well with an Italian-style tomato sauce.