Menu a la Harts
The Ultimate
Xmas
Roast By Gaz Oakley
T
his is Christmas, all wrapped up ... literally! The
Christmassy flavours we all love are in this roast “beef”
wellington. It’s so succulent and flavoursome.
Ingredients
Serves 6
“Beef” wet ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of allspice
Pinch of paprika
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tbsp dried sage
2 tsp dried rosemary
30g dried cranberries
50g dried apricots
100g peeled and cooked
chestnuts
240ml cider, from a 500ml
bottle
240ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp miso paste
Dry ingredients
250g vital wheat gluten
3 tbsp chickpea (gram)
flour
For the spice rub
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried tarragon
For roasting
Remaining 260ml cider
1 orange
500ml vegetable stock
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
Handful of fresh thyme and
rosemary sprigs
1 tbsp miso paste
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp Cranberry and
orange sauce (see below)
320g block ready-made
vegan puff pastry
For the glaze
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp non-dairy milk
4 tbsp vegetable oil
For the gravy
2 tbsp cornflour
4 tbsp water
Cranberry & orange sauce
300g fresh cranberries
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 small cinnamon stick
1 Braeburn apple, grated
200g caster sugar
240ml fresh orange juice
Method
Heat all the ingredients in a
heavy based saucepan over a
low heat with the lid on. Cook
for 15 minutes, stirring often.
Spoon into hot, sterilised jars
and seal. The sauce will keep
for around 4 weeks in the
fridge.
CHRISTMAS KIT
Powerful Blender
“One of the most important pieces of equipment in a good vegan
kitchen is a powerful blender and lots of my recipes rely on one.
I promise that it will be a really good investment!”
Gaz Oakley
Kitchenaid Diamond Blender
RRP: £149.00
Harts Price: £134.00
19
www.hartsofstur.com
About Gaz Oakley
Professional chef Gaz became
a vegan in 2015 for the health
benefits - his and the animals.
He hasn’t looked back since and
now runs the Avant-Garde Vegan
Instagram page and YouTube
channel which has over five-
hundred thousand followers. He
has written two books – Vegan 100
and Vegan Christmas.
Method
1. Make the “meat” dough. Heat the oil a non-stick
frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion, leek,
garlic, seasoning, spices and herbs for 2–3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile put the cranberries, apricots and
chestnuts into a blender and blitz until they’re all a
similar size. Add these to the frying pan and sauté for
3–4 minutes until everything has softened. Pour in the
cider, stock and miso paste. Stir together and allow
the mixture to simmer for 2 minutes before turning the
heat off. Combine the dry ingredients. Once the wet
mixture has cooled slightly, mix with the dry ingredients.
It should form a nice dough. If your mix is wet add
a little more chickpea flour. Tip the dough out onto a
clean work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Leave to
rest. Preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F). Combine the
rub spices in a bowl. Shape the dough into a sausage
10cm (4in) in diameter.
3. Sprinkle the rub onto your work surface. Roll the
dough in the rub. Roll the dough in a piece of muslin
(cheesecloth), twist the ends tightly, then tie each
end with cook’s string to secure it. Place the wrapped
dough into a deep baking tray together with the rest
of the roasting ingredients and bake for 2 hours on the
bottom shelf, turning over halfway through to ensure it
cooks evenly. Once baked, lift the roast out of the tray,
reserving the roasting liquid, leave to cool slightly, then
remove the muslin. At this point you can either chill it
in the fridge for up to 3 days or continue. If you are not
cooking now, make the gravy (below) and keep in the
fridge, then reheat.
4. An hour before you want to serve, roll out your pastry
into a tea towel- sized rectangle around 3mm (1/8in)
thick. Cut strips a third of the width of the pastry on
each side, so you can cross them to make a lattice.
Spread the cranberry and orange sauce over the
roast, lift it into the centre of the pastry, wrap it up,
then transfer to a baking sheet lined with non-stick
baking paper. Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl,
then brush over the top of the pastry. Bake for 15–20
minutes, or until golden. While the wellington is
cooking, strain the roasting liquid from the baking tray
through a sieve into a saucepan, pressing to squeeze
out all the lovely juices. Place over a low heat and
simmer for 10 minutes until you have a thick gravy.
Mix the cornflour with the water and add it to the
gravy whilst whisking until it thickens to your desired
consistency. Remove the wellington from the oven,
carve and serve with the rich gravy.