This year’s suggestion for your vegan Christmas main course comes straight from the excellent Hart’s Bakery in Bristol, and is fashioned directly after their own, thanks to help from Laura Hart. This heavenly “sausage” roll is made with mushrooms, rye and three of the best condiments on the planet: tomato ketchup, Marmite and Henderson’s relish. It is also sympathetic to the home cook, in that the filling can be made in advance and, like most good Christmas guests, will get on very well with others (such as roast vegetables, for example).
Giant mushroom and pearl barley ‘sausage’ roll
You’ll need a food processor to make this. If you want to get ahead, you could build the roll in advance, pre-bake on the day and re-crisp in the oven just before serving.
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 40 min
Serves 6
1kg chestnut mushrooms, cut into 4cm x 4cm pieces
75g rye bread (ie, 1 slice)
75g pearl barley
3 tbsp Henderson’s relish
1 tbsp garlic granules
1 tbsp onion granules
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp Marmite
1½ tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
15g sage sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 sheet vegan ready-rolled puff pastry (320g) – I use Jus-Rol
1 tbsp oat milk, or other plant-based milk
1 tbsp black onion seeds (AKA nigella seeds)
To serve
Caramelised onion chutney
Dijon mustard
Heat the oven to 230C (210C fan)/450F/gas 8, and line a large baking tray (or two medium trays) and a smaller tray with greaseproof paper. Put the mushrooms on the large tray (or trays), so they sit side by side and not overlapping, then roast for 45 minutes, or until they are wizened and chewy, and there is no water running from them. For the last 15 minutes, pop the rye bread on the smaller tray and put it in the oven. After the 45 minutes is up, take all the trays out of the oven and leave to cool.
Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the pearl barley, boil for 20 minutes, or until it’s tender but with a bite, then drain.
In a large food processor, blitz the toasted bread to a coarse crumb – it will take a minute or two to break down – then add the mushrooms and blitz again until finely chopped. Add the pearl barley and this time pulse to break it down a bit, until the mix all comes together into a homogenous mass. Using a spoon, press some of the mixture against the side of the food processor to check it sticks together; if it doesn’t, blitz some more until it does.
Tip the mushroom mixture into a large bowl, add all the seasoning (that is, everything else but the pastry, oat milk and onion seeds) and mix well. Unroll the pastry, keeping it on its baking paper lining, then lay it on a worktop with one long side facing you. Leaving a 5cm gap along the edge nearest you, carefully spoon the filling in a line parallel with the long side of pastry, then fold the pastry towards you, up and over the filling. Use the side of a hand to smooth the pastry over the filling and to pack it tightly together.
Seal and crimp the edges with the back of a fork, then brush the top with the plant milk. Using a sharp knife, slash the top of the pastry diagonally at 2cm intervals, then sprinkle over the onion seeds and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
Serve on a platter with small bowls of caramelised onion chutney and dijon mustard on the side.