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This vegetarian wellington recipe is a fantastic centrepiece for a vegetarian Christmas table. It includes beetroot, butternut squash, lentils and chestnuts all wrapped in wonderfully crisp pastry – no one will miss the meat.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Begin with the butternut squash. Place the diced squash onto a baking tray and drizzle with some oil, Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Place into the oven and roast for 20 minutes until soft and cooked through.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan heat 1 tbsp oil. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion and fry gently for 5 minutes until softened. To the softened onions, add the crushed garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Next add the chopped chestnut mushrooms and continue to cook these for 5 – 8 minutes until the mushrooms have softened and beginning to caramelize.

Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the chopped sage and thyme leaves, followed by the cooked puy lentils and double cream. Allow this to fry and cook for 3 minutes, mixing well so everything is well combined. Remove from the heat and add the crumbled cooked chestnuts, Maldon salt, cracked black pepper and the cooked butternut squash. Set aside and allow to cool.

Once the mixture has cooled, you are ready to assemble.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the puff pastry block until it is a roughly 30 x 40cm rectangle and 1cm thick. At this stage you want to carefully lift the rolled pastry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Next spoon on the cooled filling and spread out evenly, leaving a 1-inch boarder along the top and 1cm board round all the rest of the edges. Next take the cooked beetroot and make sure they are dry of any excess liquid. Choose beetroot that are similar in size and place them in a row down the middle.

Take one of the long sides and lift it up and over the beetroot to enclose them. Pinch the pastry together at the seams and rest the whole wellington seam side down. Pinch the pastry at either end of the wellington also, and trim off any excess.

Use the excess pastry to create long strips and decorate the top of the wellington with a lattice pattern (optional). And brush the entire thing with the beaten egg.

Place the wellington into the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes (but the longer, the better) to cool.

When ready to bake, take your chilled wellington from the fridge and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp all over. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Begin by making the sweet shortcrust pastry. This can be done in a food processor or done by hand. Place the plain flour into the bowl of the processor and add a pinch of Maldon salt and the cold, cubed butter. Pulse this until resembles fine breadcrumbs (try not to overmix). Mix in the icing sugar. Next add the egg yolk and pulse again until it forms a dough.

If you are doing this by hand, instead use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour. 

Tip the dough onto some clingfilm and press it to a disc shape and then wrap in the clingfilm and place into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

After 20 minutes, remove from the fridge. Lightly dust a work surface with plain flour and then use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry to a large circle, roughly 1cm thick and large enough to fill a 20cm tart tin. Lift and line the tart case with the pastry, making sure to press it well into the corners. Use the rolling pin to roll off the excess across the top. Lightly prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Then use some baking parchment and baking beans to line the base of the filled tin ready to be blind baked.

Place the tart tin into the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and baking beans and return to bake for a further 10 minutes. It should be pale golden and chalky to the touch.

Remove the tart from the oven and set to one side. Now make the pistachio frangipane filling. Blitz the pistachios till the are fine. In a food processor or using electric hand whisks, beat the softened butter with the sugar and add a pinch of Maldon salt. Beat until the mixture is pale and light and fluffy. Next add the eggs and beat again. Then add the blitzed pistachios, ground almonds and 1 tbsp of plain flour and fold through until evenly mixed.

Tip this frangipane into the baked tart case and smooth over the top. Dot the cherries across the top and very lightly press them in. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and then place into the oven to bake for 40 minutes until lightly golden on top and the frangipane has puffed up.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving dusted with icing sugar.

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Start by prepping the pork. Roughly chop the pork into 1-inch chunks. In a large bowl mix together the fennel seeds, chilli flakes, ground cumin, orange juice and zest, tomato puree, chipotle paste, garlic cloves and salt to make a paste. Add the pork chunks to the paste and toss them so they are well coated in the spices.

In a large heavy bottom casserole pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the pork and fry them off on all sides so they are golden brown, and the fat has rendered down – you might need to do this in batches. Once browned, remove with a slotted spoon. Keeping the pan on the heat, deglaze all the sticky bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan, using 2 tbsp water and 2 tbsp honey. Let this bubble and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to lift it.

Then add the browned pork back into the casserole dish. Fill the pan with the vegetable stock, it should come up about halfway up the meat but if you need more then top up with water. Place the lid on the casserole and put it into the preheated oven for 2 hours.

While the pork is cooking prepare the pickled onions. Finely slice the onions and place into a small bowl. In a pan heat up the vinegar, sugar and Maldon salt. Heat it gently until the sugar and salt has dissolved, then pour the warm liquid over the sliced onions. Toss the onions and then allow them to sit. They will collapse and soften, turning a wonderful pink colour.

After 2 hours, check the pork. Remove the pan from the oven and using two forks, start to pull the meat apart – some parts will still be a little tough. Once you have pulled as much as you can, place the lid back onto the pan and put it back in the oven for a further hour.

Just before the meat is ready it is time to prepare the rest of the taco elements. In a small bowl mix together the natural yoghurt and chipotle paste. Destone the avocados and slice, then squeeze some lime over them to stop them from oxidising. In a small frying pan, heat up the tacos for a couple of minutes on both sides.

After 3 hours remove the pork from the oven. It should be meltingly soft by now and easy to pull apart with your forks.

Serve the tacos with a dollop of the chipotle yoghurt, some pulled pork, avocado slices, pickled red onions and some coriander leaves. Squeeze over some lime juice and a final pinch of Maldon salt, then enjoy!

Preheat the oven to 180C. 

On a foil lined baking tray place the two salmon fillets, skin side down. Drizzle over 1 tbsp olive oil and season with cracked black pepper and a pinch of Maldon salt. Place into the preheated oven for 15 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven. 

Whilst the fish is cooking, prepare the stir-fried vegetables. In a large frying pan heat up the other 1 tbsp olive oil. When hot add the asparagus, spring greens and radicchio. Stir fry the vegetables for 3 minutes until they are just wilted and cooked through. Season the vegetables with cracked black pepper, a pinch of Maldon salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

On two plates divide the vegetables. Place the fish fillet on top and then garnish with sprigs of dill and lemon wedges to squeeze over.

This pizza dough recipe is incredibly simple and only requires one prove before its ready to use. This recipe is topped with tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, parmesan and rocket but you can top with whatever you like!

Start by making the pizza dough. Place the flour into a large bowl and sprinkle in the Maldon salt, mixing well. Then make a well in the middle of the flour. In a jug mix together the warm water, yeast, sugar and olive oil and whisk it together. Let this sit for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes pour the mixture into the well in the flour. Use a wooden spoon to slowly incorporate the flour into the wet mixture. When it starts to come together then use your hands to bring the dough together. Tip it onto a clean work surface and knead the dough to help bring it together. Then continue to knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth, supple dough.

Lightly grease a large bowl and then place the dough into the bowl and cover with clingfilm. Place the bowl in a warm place and allow it to prove for 1 hour until it doubles in size.

Preheat the oven to 220C and place either a pizza stone (if you have!) or a large baking sheet into the oven so it warms up.

While the dough is proving, mix up the tomato base for the pizzas. In a small bowl mix together the passata, grated garlic, dried oregano and plenty of Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Set aside.

After an hour the dough should have doubled in size. Then remove the clingfilm and knock back the dough by punching out the air from dough and giving it a quick knead. Then divide the dough into 4 equal balls.

On a piece of baking parchment sprinkle generously with semolina before rolling out one of the pizza balls to roughly 25cm in diameter, leaving a slightly thicker ring around the edge for the crust. Then spoon on some of the passata mix and spread out a thin, even layer on the base but leaving a gap for the crust. Top with some torn mozzarella and prosciutto. Then slide the pizza onto the hot tray in the oven and cook for 10 minutes.

The pizza is ready when the crust has puffed up and gone golden brown, and the mozzarella has melted and gone oozy. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with chilli flakes, parmesan shavings and fresh rocket. Finally drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and a final pinch of Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Cut the pizza up and enjoy.

In a large bowl add the padron peppers and then drizzle over the olive oil. Toss the peppers so they are well coated in the oil.

Heat up a frying or griddle pan to a medium high heat. Once hot, fry the peppers for a few minutes on each side until they get black char marks and soften.

Once cooked place the padron peppers onto a serving plate and sprinkle generously with Maldon salt before serving.

  1. If you’re using the larger potatoes, preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C Fan/gas mark 7/425ºF; for roasting new potatoes, preheat to 200°C/180°C Fan/gas mark 6/400ºF. Put each potato, in turn, in the bowl of a wooden spoon, like you would carry an egg in an egg-and-spoon race, and cut across at about 3mm / one-eighth of an inch interval.
  2. When you’ve cut them all, put the baking tin on the hob with the butter and oil and heat up till sizzling. Turn the potatoes well, putting them in upside down (ie, cut side down) first, then the right side up, and spoon the fat over them.
  3. Sprinkle each potato well with Maldon salt and put in the oven: cook the large potatoes for about an hour and 10 minutes, testing to see whether the flesh is soft (you may need another 10 minutes for this); 40 minutes should be fine for the new potatoes.
  4. Transfer to a warmed plate, and serve.

How to create:
1. Grease the base and sides of an 18cm square cake tin.
2. Line with baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.
3. Place peanuts, cacao, Maldon salt and half of the oats in a food processor and pulse until just finely chopped.
4. Add the raisins, oil, maple syrup and remaining oats. Process until well combined.
5. Press into base of prepared pan.
6. Use a straight-sided glass to smooth the surface.
7. Place in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm.
8. For the filling, blend the banana, peanut butter, raisins, oil, maple syrup, flour and Maldon salt, scraping down the sides occasionally, until very smooth. Spread over oat base and use a spatula to smooth the surface. Place in the fridge for 2 hours or until firm.

9. For the chocolate topping, place the coconut oil and maple syrup in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water).
10. When melted add the cacao powder and stir constantly for 3 minutes or until mixture is smooth and thickened.
11. Pour over the filling. Smooth the surface. Sprinkle with extra peanuts and Maldon salt.
12. Place in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight to set.

How to create:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4.
2. Remove the larger leaves from the cauliflower, and then immerse completely in a large saucepan (or stockpot) filled with boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes. Drain.
3. Mix together the oil, curry powder, chilli flakes and Maldon salt.
4. Rub the cauliflower all over with the mixture.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Scatter the cauliflower with the toasted almonds, pomegranate seeds,
apricots and drizzle tahini. Add a pinch of Maldon salt to serve!

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C.

2. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut up into 1 inch pieces, toss with the olive oil and spread evenly on a baking sheet.

3. Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the sweet potatoes and return to the oven. Cook the sweet potatoes until tender and caramelised.

4. Whilst the sweet potatoes are roasting, cook the quinoa as per the package instructions. Add the stock cube to the water before bringing the quinoa to a boil. When done, set aside to cool slightly.

5. Wash and roughly chop the greens and the red onion, roughly chop the pecans and dice the feta.

6. Whisk together the dressing ingredients of olive oil white wine vinegar and dijon mustard.

7. Toss the roasted sweet potatoes with the warm quinoa and greens. Add the red onion, pecans and feta cheese. Drizzle over dressing and toss gently to combine. Finish with a pinch of Maldon salt and pepper.