Parsnip, cranberry & chestnut loaf

Parsnip, cranberry & chestnut loaf

A modern take on the nut loaf, this makes a great vegetarian centrepiece for Christmas Day or a special dinner

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4 - 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 30 mins

Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Method

  1. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large non-stick pan, add the onions and gently cook for 10-15 mins until very soft. Stir in the sage for 1 min, then tip into a large mixing bowl. Pulse the chestnuts in a food processor until chopped into small bits, then tip these into the bowl with the onions and repeat with the walnuts. Now add the breadcrumbs, mace, beaten egg, 1 tsp salt and some pepper and mix everything together well.
  2. Tip the cranberries and sugar into a pan and simmer for about 8-10 mins over a high heat. The sugar will melt and cranberries will pop and become saucy - keep bubbling until sticky. Set aside to cool. Grease a 900g loaf tin, line with a long strip of baking parchment that covers the bottom and two ends, then grease this as well.
  3. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Throw in the parsnips and boil for 3½ mins. Drain well. From the thinner ends, cut off lengths of parsnip that fit widthways across the bottom of your loaf tin. Keep going until you have enough to snugly line the base of the tin. Roughly chop all leftover parsnip and mix into the nut mixture.
  4. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Mix the parsnip lengths with 1 more tbsp butter and the honey to coat, then fit them into the tin. Top with ¹/³ of the nut mixture - pack it down well and smooth the surface. Spread ¹/³ of the cranberry sauce on top, leaving a small gap around the edges. Top with the remaining nut mixture and pack down as before. The loaf can be made up to 24 hrs ahead, then covered and chilled, before continuing. Cover with foil then bake for 1 hr.
  5. To serve, melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in a small pan and sizzle the reserved sage leaves for a minute. Splash water into the remaining cooked cranberries until saucy. Loosen around the sides of the loaf with a round-bladed knife if you need, then turn out. Drizzle with the sage butter and leaves. Serve in slices with extra cranberry sauce.
Try

Mace

Don't be tempted to miss out the mace - it adds a real savouriness that is needed to balance the sweet chestnuts and parsnips.

819 kcalories, protein 14g, carbohydrate 117g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 15g, sugar 71g, salt 0.86 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, Vegetarian Christmas 2009.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-31

  • Binder photo Theodopolus

    28 October 2011

    Theodopolus rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Vegan version: replace butter with olive oil. Instead of using egg as a binding agent simply make sure parsnip added to mix is quite well cooked, then vigorously mush everything together with your hands by taking handfuls and squeezing so the mixture comes out between your fingers. You may want to add more olive oil than the 1tbsp recommended of butter to keep things moist. I added about 3 and it was really nice and moist. This is similar to how you make burgers without binding agent by just sqeezing the meat between your fingers. Make sure you pack the mixture down well into the loaf and I'd advise not removing the foil at all or it will dry out. It should come out of the tin fine but will be difficult to slice cleanly- your guests will have to accept a slightly crumbly portion.

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  • Binder photo soupdragon10

    26 December 2011

    soupdragon10 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I only gave this 4 stars as both my daughter and I found it a bit sweet with the cranberries and parsnips especially with the amount of sugar used. That said it held together very well and was certainly tasty. I am going to try blitzing the small bit that's left into pate to serve cold with crackers.

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  • Binder photo barb

    28 December 2011

    barb rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this for Christmas day for my vegetarian guests. It looked great on the table and was enjoyed by everyone including the meat eaters! I made it about 3 weeks in advance and froze it - this worked really well and was a real bonus when preparing a celebration meal for 12. I took the loaf out the night before to thaw and put it back in the tin then reheated it in the oven at 180 for 30 - 45 minutes before turning it out onto the serving dish. I will certainly do this again - easy to prepare, freezes well, looked great and enjoyed by all!

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  • Binder photo pamban

    30 December 2011

    pamban rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Yummy! I made this for my xmas lunch (everyone else is a carnivore) and I really enjoyed it, I have frozen the rest for future use. Unfortunately I had already made cranberry sauce so I did have too much cranberry sauce so I have frozen that as well......fingers crossed. The loaf was fiddly but easy to make and did look and taste festive on the day.

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  • Binder photo FionaMM

    30 December 2011

    FionaMM rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Um, I made this for Christmas day, dividing mixture between two 450 ml loaf tins which is what I have. tasted great, added the recommended (thanks) 2 eggs and some mushrooms. All held together a bit but at one end parsnip layer and some mix stayed stuck in the tin so it didn't look quite like the picture. Wondered if lining all sides of tin would help rather than just long strip? I did it for an hour covered with foil then 15 mins without, and am trying freezing one loaf tin's worth.

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  • Binder photo devonsongbird

    04 November 2012

    devonsongbird rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this last year for Christmas, then again for a family party in the new year. Everyone voted it delicious. Leftovers froze well too.

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  • Binder photo JM

    22 November 2012

    JM rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    I tried this out as a potential for vegetarian Christmas dinner as it looks good in the picture. I made the suggested amendments (2 eggs, substitute handful of mushrooms for some of the breadcrumbs) & it just held together. But flavour was disappointing. Family ate it all, but not enthusiastic. They said it tasted too much like stuffing mix. I think that might be on account of the large quantities of sage & onion & perhaps I over-processed the mix a bit too much in endeavour to ensure it stuck together. Don't know why it's categorised as easy when cutting thin parsnip slices from hot veg is a bit fiddly. We won't be having this at Christmas - want something more exciting flavour wise.

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  • Binder photo Meredith

    09 December 2012

    Meredith commented on this recipe

    Could you use premade cranberry sauce for this? Seems like extra hassle/not sure if I'll be able to find cranberries...

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  • Binder photo Soraya

    01 January 2013

    Soraya rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I was very disappointed with this recipe as it was fiddly to make, took nearly 3 hours in total (not 1.5 & 30 mins prep time) and the parsnips ended up soggy. As I was making this for Christmas dinner, I'm glad I made my trusted nut roast alongside this or we'd have had the vegetarians at our dinner very disappointed. I would have categorised it as Moderate or Moderately difficult definitely not easy. However, I will persevere with it and try it again! Also, where does one buy Mace from? I live in London and couldn't find it anywhere!

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  • Binder photo Helen

    08 February 2013

    Helen rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fabulous recipe, really special and very tasty. Great alternative to meat for special occasions or you could serve it as a very posh accompaniment with meat/poultry/game.

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  • Binder photo Vicky

    27 February 2013

    Vicky commented on this recipe

    Really nice and suitably festive as a veggie alternative at the Christmas Day table . . . I overlooked the parsnips a little in an attempt to crisp them up to add a bit of colour to the top layer but didnt spoil it at all. I'll definitely make this again as it was well liked by all.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4 - 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 30 mins

Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp butter , plus a little extra for greasing
  • 3 onions , chopped
  • 15g pack sage , 6 leaves reserved, rest shredded
  • 200g pack cooked chestnuts
  • 100g walnuts
  • 100g breadcrumbs
  • ½ tsp mace
  • 1 egg , beaten
  • 500g cranberries
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 550g parsnips , choose long, thin ones if you can, peeled then halved lengthways
  • 1 tbsp honey
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819 kcalories, protein 14g, carbohydrate 117g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 15g, sugar 71g, salt 0.86 g

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