Chestnut Roast

A little late for Christmas this year, but plenty of time to practice this for feeding your favourite vegetarians next Christmas *grins*. This really needs a 'moist' accompaniment and is good served with Cranberry Tomato Salsa.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon butter (or margarine or oil)
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk finely chopped
• 1 pound chestnuts, peeled and cooked, OR 1 1/2 cans whole chestnuts (15 ounces each)
• 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 garlic clove, crushed
• Fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs (optional)
• Salt and Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 cup oil
• Dried wholewheat breadcrumbs for coating

Modus Operandum:

1. Melt the butter (or substitute) and saute the onion and celery over moderate heat for 10 minutes until soft but not brown. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Drain the chestnuts and add to the bowl. Mash the chestnuts, onion and celery together, then mix in the chopped parsley, lemon juice and garlic. The mixture should be soft but firm enough to form into a roll, so add a few whole-wheat breadcrumbs, if necessary to get the right firmness, especially if you're using canned chestnuts.
3. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pour a little of the oil into a roasting pan and put into the oven to heat.
4. Form the chestnut mixture into a roll about 4 inches long, pressing it together carefully, then coat it well with the dried breadcrumbs. Put the chestnut roll into the roasting pan and carefully turn it so that it is coated with hot oil.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, until it is crisp on the outside, spooning a little more of the oil over the roll from time to time during the cooking. Serve the chestnut roast cut into slices.

Serves 2-3