Serves 4 – 6
Cost per serve = £1.04 for 4 people
Ingredients:
400g celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped
10 shallots
1 whole leek, entire leek – whites & green leaves
3 apples
4 slices bread, crusts removed
1.5 tbsp fresh sage leaves
1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary
7-8 chestnuts
1 500g block of shortcrust pastry
Plain flour for rolling
A little plant-based milk – we recommend oat milk
Rosemary sprigs and dried cranberries to garnish
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Place the chopped celeriac in a bowl, and drizzle with oil. Toss through the oil until each piece is lightly coated.
Place the celeriac on a baking tray and bake in the oven until tender, about 20 minutes
On a separate baking tray place the shallots and drizzle with oil.
Slice the leek lengthways and lay facing up on the same baking tray as the shallots. Drizzle with oil. Place tray in the oven and bake both the shallots and leek until lightly caramelised, about 15 minutes.
Peel the apples, remove the core, and thinly slice. Boil sliced apple in water until tender, drain well, then mash into a puree. Set aside.
Remove the celeriac, leeks and shallots from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
Add to a food processor or blender and pulse until a roughly textured puree.
Break up the sliced bread roughly and add to the puree mix. Pulse a few times until the bread is mixed through. Add the apple puree, and pulse 1- 2 times.
Add the chopped chestnuts, sage, rosemary and salt and pulse 1-2 times until mixed through. Remove and add this mixture to a bowl, ready to use to fill the wreath.
Dust a work surface well with flour, and roll out the pastry block into a rectangle, approx. 60cm x 20cm.
Starting one cm in from the edge of the pastry, spoon the wreath filling mixture along the length of the pastry, making sure to leave a 2cm gap at the left and right ends of the pastry.
Fold the left and right ends in to the mixture, to stop it from coming out, then roll the pastry away from yourself to start making a long sausage shape, enclosing the filling.
To make the long sausage a wreath, gently bring the two ends together to create a circle shape, and stick them together with a little plant-based milk.
Carefully transfer the wreath to a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to firm up. Can be made up to this point a day in advance and kept covered in the fridge.
Once the wreath is chilled, heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Cut small slashes in the top of the pastry using a sharp knife, approximately 2.5 cm apart, all around the wreath.
Mix a little plant-based milk with some oil and brush all over the wreath, to prevent it from getting too dry, and also to help give the pastry a nice golden colour.
Bake for 40-45 mins until golden brown.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a serving platter and decorate with rosemary sprigs and some dried cranberries.
