Here are three ways for using the range:-
Chestnut stuffing balls
Serves: 4, Time: 20 mins
INGREDIENTS
1 pouch of Merchant Gourmet Chestnut Stuffing
A splash of water
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 180C.
Tip the stuffing into a bowl and mix well, adding a splash of water if needed.
Shape into 8 balls and place on a lined baking tray.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.
Chestnut wreath
Serves: 8-10, Time: 1hr 10
INGREDIENTS
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes
250g mushrooms, roughly chopped
180g Merchant Gourmet Whole Chestnuts, roughly chopped
120g aalnuts, roughly chopped
30g pumpkin seeds
75g dried cranberries
80g breadcrumbs
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped (including the stalks)
8 sage leaves, finely chopped (reserving 4-5 leaves for the end)
2 sprigs rosemary
1 orange, zest
Cranberries for decoration, if you like
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan and sweat the onion until soft, adding the garlic for the last 2 minutes. .
Add the butternut squash to the pan and continue frying on a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Then add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes - again stirring regularly and gently mashing the squash with the back of a wooden spoon as it cooks.
Add the chestnuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, mustard, chopped thyme and sage to the pan, season well with salt and pepper and mix everything together well.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Tip the mixture into a greased bundt tin pushing down firmly into the tin, and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and crisp on top.
Allow to cool briefly and then tip onto a flat plate. Fry the reserved sage leaves and rosemary sprigs in 1 tbsp oil until crispy and use these to garnish the wreath along with the orange zest and cranberries, if using.
Ultimate (Christmas) leftover sandwich
Serves: 2, Time: 25 mins
INGREDIENTS
1 x 250g pouch of Merchant Gourmet Spiced Grains & Chestnuts
1 tsp cornflour
Leftover roasted vegetables (i.e carrots, parsnips)
Leftover braised red cabbage
Kale/ spinach / winter greens
Pickled red onion slices
Thick sliced white bread
Vegan mayonnaise
INSTRUCTIONS
Tip the Spiced Grains & Chestnuts into a pan with approx. 50ml water and heat gently.
Sprinkle over the cornflour and mix well to combine, stirring over the heat for 3 minutes.
Take off the heat, put into a food processor and blitz the mixture until the grains break down slightly
Shape into small patties and put on an oiled tray and bake for 15 minutes.
Layer up your ultimate leftover sandwich as follows and make sure you pack in plenty of each: bread, cranberry sauce, kale, roasted root veg, Spiced Grains & Chestnuts patties, braised red cabbage, spinach, pickled onions, mayo, bread.
You can learn more about the range here https://www.merchant-gourmet.com