Chestnut and butternut squash roast

Chestnut and butternut squash roast.

A delicious Christmas main for a vegetarian or vegan option (also gluten free and low fodmap).

Ingredients:

1 medium sized butternut squash (about 1kg)
1/2 teaspoon dried mild chilli flakes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
olive oil
2 spring onions (just the green part)
1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1 large carrot (grated)
1 large parsnip (grated)
200g vac-packed chestnuts
3 tbsp Nutritional yeast
Herbs: use whatever flavours you love - I used
½ bunch of fresh sage, or 1/2 - 1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper.
Optional:
Grated or small chunks of veggie/vegan cheddar cheese
A small handful of dried cranberries.

Pastry:

500g packet of gluten free puff pastry - get ready rolled if you can find it - it makes life a wee bit easier.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
Peel and deseed the squash and cut into little chunks, then place on a roasting tray and sprinkle over the chilli and coriander, drizzle with oil and then season with salt and pepper. Give everything a good mix together the roast for about 30 - 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Finely chop the spring onion (green part only) and roughly chop the chestnuts and sage.
Add the garlic infused oil to a non stick frying pan and gently fry the spring onions, carrot and parsnip for about 5 minutes until soften then add the sage and chestnuts. Fry for a few minutes then add to a large bowl along with the squash, nutritional yeast, and/or cheese, cranberries and herbs then mash everything together. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Leave to cool. Once cooled you can form into a loaf shape and wrap firmly into a large piece of greaseproof paper and store in the fridge for up to 3 days so this is a good option to make ahead of time.

To assemble the pastry: (photos above to show step by step)
If the pastry is ready rolled pop it on a piece of greaseproof paper on a baking tray. Trim the edges so it’s about 20 inches by 14 inches. And save the remaining pastry for decorations.
Alternatively dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with a little gluten free flour and roll your pastry into a rectangle about 20 inches by 14 inches. Cut off any uneven edges and leave left overs for decoration.

Lightly score (but don’t cut) two strips down the pastry so it’s evenly divided in to 3 sections.
Then take the chestnut mixture and form a loaf shape down the middle section leaving a bit of room at both ends. Pat the mixture into a firm log.
Cut slightly diagonal strips down each side about 1 inch wide. Cut off the top two and bottom corners and set aside. (Refer to photos).
Fold top flap over the end, then take the top left strip and fold over the loaf. Take the top right strip and fold that over so they cross. Do this all the way down and aim to keep the strips close together leaving only small gaps. Once you get near the end, fold the bottom flap up, then finish crossing the last strips tucking in the ends.
If you want to add decorations, you can use the leftover pastry to cut into shapes and tuck them into the weave.
I cut the pastry in to leaves, add whatever design you like then brush the top with non-dairy milk
Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes until it's beautifully golden brown.