This dish is perfect at any special occasion, but we tend to make it for Christmas dinner for my husband who has been a veggie since he was 13! It’s a perfect veggie alternative to Turkey or the regular Sunday roast.

I’d love to claim this recipe as my own, but it’s actually a very old Co-op recipe that my lovely mum found in a magazine!

It takes quite a long time to prepare and put together but the results are so worth it! The kids love getting involved with weighing ingredients, so you can make it fun while cooking! What’s extra fab about this recipe, is it can be eaten cold with salad- great for Christmas day tea! The littlies love it too and it can be chilled and stored for 3 days after (it never lasts that long in our fridge though!)

You’ll need…

• • 1 large red onion, chopped
  

• 3 garlic cloves
  chopped

• 1 tbsp olive oil
  

• 250g chestnut mushrooms
  cut into chunky pieces

• 2 heaped tbsp of fresh flat leaf parsley
  

• 1 tsp of fresh rosemary
  

• Juice of half a lemon
  

• 1 tbsp of marsala wine
  mixed with..

• 1 tbsp of vegetable stock
  

• 150g mixed Brazil nuts, cashews and walnuts
  

• 80g blanched almonds
  

• 80g fresh white breadcrumbs
  

• 1 beaten egg
  

• Sea salt and black pepper
  

• 425g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
  

• 2 chopped white onions
  

• 1 tbsp butter
  

• 1 tsp unrefined caster sugar

How to…

1.Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200ºC/fan 180ºC. Gently caramelise the onions in the butter and sugar for 25 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool.

2. In the same pan, sweat the red onion and garlic in the oil for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the mushrooms and herbs, lemon juice, marsala and stock, and cook on a low to medium heat for 10–15 minutes.

3. Process nuts in food processor. Add the onion and mushroom mixture, blend until smooth and transfer to a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, half the beaten egg and season to taste.

4. Roll the pastry into a rectangle and place on a greased and floured baking sheet. Spoon the onions down the middle, and top with the filling mixture.

5. On either side of the filling, cut the pastry into diagonal strips around 2cm (¾in) wide. Fold these over the filling in a plait shape and tuck in the ends.

6. Brush with egg and cook for 40 minutes until golden.

Serve with regular Christmas yummy veggies and enjoy!