125g (4oz) mixed mushrooms, such as chestnut or Portobello, finely chopped
100g (3½oz) risotto rice
100ml (3½fl oz) Noilly Prat vermouth or dry white wine
500-600 ml (17fl oz, close to 1 pint) hot vegetable stock
75g (3oz) fresh breadcrumbs
50g (2oz) each blanched almonds and pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
125g (4oz) mature cheddar, grated
2 medium eggs, beaten
1Tbsp. each thyme leaves and curly parsley
200g (7oz) fresh cranberries
1Tbsp. cranberry sauce
Directions
Step 1
Put the dried mushrooms into a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for 20min.
Step 2
Melt the butter in a large pan and gently fry the onion and celery for 10min until softened. Add the garlic. Cook for 1min.
Step 3
Drain mushrooms and keep 150ml (5fl oz) of the soaking liquid, disposing of any grit. Chop and add to the pan with the fresh mushrooms. Cook for 5min, stirring often.
Step 4
Stir in the rice and cook for 1min. Slowly add the Noilly Prat and bubble until almost evaporated, then add the mushroom liquid. Once the liquid has almost disappeared, add a ladleful of stock and simmer until absorbed. Keep adding a ladleful at a time, until the rice is tender - about 20-25min. Put in a bowl to cool.
Step 5
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan) mark 4. Stir the remaining ingredients, except the fresh cranberries and sauce, into the mushroom mixture. Put the fresh cranberries into the base of an oiled 18cm x 12cm x 8cm (7in x 5in x 3in) ovenproof dish or loaf tin, then tip in the mushroom mixture. Pack down firmly. Cover with foil and bake for 1hr, removing the foil for the last 10min. Let stand for 10min.
Step 6
Meanwhile, heat the cranberry sauce with 1tbsp water, then push through a sieve. Carefully turn out the nut roast on to a platter and brush with the cranberry glaze. Garnish with fresh bay leaves.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).