I remember someone once saying to me "oh Christmas must be so boring for you as you're vegetarian", as if turkey is the only exciting thing about the festive season!
I love dreaming up a tasty and attractive centrepiece for the Christmas dinner table, and something wrapped up in pastry always impresses. I'm happy with a nut roast or something similar for Christmas, but this Quorn roast smothered in apricot and mushroom paté and wrapped in pastry will wow any meat-eating relatives! It's also good cold.
I should dedicate an entry to mushroom patés as I make lots of versions, and they're particularly good for parties. You can either buy mushroom paté (it tends to be higher in fat than mushrooms) or use this BBC recipe, and add chopped dried apricots for festive colour and sweetness. Use shop-bought puff pastry, or make it yourself if you're not busy enough already this Christmas!
- 500 g Mushroom paté
- 1 Quorn family roast (defrosted and removed from wrapping)
- 1 sheet pre-rolled puff pastry
- Roll out the pastry and cut into a big circle with a diameter about 1.5 times the length of the Quorn roast.
- Spoon some paté in a line along the centre of the pastry, then place the Quorn on top. Spoon more pate over the top of the Quorn, smoothing down the sides until it's snugly encased in a paté layer about 1 cm thick.
- Take the two flaps of pastry lying against the long side of the Quorn, and bring them together over the top of the Quorn, making the shape of a giant Cornish pasty.
- Press the pastry so together so it's tightly wrapped around the Quorn, crimping the join with thumb and forefinger all the way across the top.
- Trim any excess pastry. With the leftover pastry scraps, cut various shapes like holly leaves, stars, trees - go crazy, be creative!
- Beat an egg, stick the pastry decorations on with the egg wash, then glaze the whole thing. Cut a few holes in the top of the pastry to let steam escape.
- Bake in the oven at 200C for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the Quorn heated through. Leave for a few minutes to rest, take to the table, slice, and wow your guests!
Variations
Shortcrust pastry will also work here, previously I've made a walnut shortcrust pastry for Christmas, which tastes delicious and smells heavenly in the oven. Puréed chestnuts are also good as a paté alternative, buy canned or pouch chestnuts but make sure they're not too wet.
