Gaz says: “Rarebit is one of the classic Welsh dishes I grew up eating – it’s basically fancy cheese on toast. When I stopped eating dairy I craved this nostalgic dish, but it’s easy to achieve the flavours I once loved.”

Serves 4

Cooks in 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 55g plant-based butter
• 1 leek, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
• 125ml beer
• 2 tsp miso paste
• 1 tsp mustard
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
• 180ml non-dairy milk
• juice of half a lemon
• 30g nutritional yeast
• sea salt and white pepper
• a drizzle of olive oil
• 1 small sourdough loaf, cut into thick slices on an angle and toasted

For the caramelized red onions:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 red onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced
• 4 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves chopped, plus extra to garnish
• pinch of sea salt and pepper

Method

First, prepare the caramelized onions. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, then add the onions. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until they start to soften and colour.

Add the sugar, vinegar, thyme and seasoning, stir well and turn the heat down very low. Cover the saucepan and allow the onions to caramelize for 15–20 minutes – stir/ shake the pan every now and then.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the leek and garlic and sauté for 3–4 minutes until softened. Stir in the flour and let it cook out for 2 minutes before deglazing the pan with the beer. Cook off the alcohol for a few minutes before stirring in the miso, mustard and coconut aminos.

Add the milk and whisk until there are no lumps, then stir in the lemon juice, nutritional yeast and seasoning. Turn the heat down to low and let the sauce bubble away for a few minutes to thicken up.

Meanwhile, preheat your grill (broiler) to 180ºC (350ºF).

Heat the drizzle of olive oil in an oven-proof frying pan and toast the bread. Spoon lashings of the cheese sauce over each piece of toast, then put the pan under the grill to caramelize the tops.

When golden, serve up the rarebit with lots of the caramelised onions.

Gaz says: “This is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek recipe – it almost shouldn’t be allowed. It looks ridiculous really, but I love making underrated veg the centre of the dinner table.”

Serves 4–6

Cooks in 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 1 leek, roughly chopped
• 250g (9oz) chestnut (cremini) mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 red onions, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 medium cauliflower
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 x 500g (1lb 2oz) block of ready-made puff pastry
• plain (all-purpose) flour, for dusting
• Christmas trimmings of choice, to serve

For the cauliflower marinade:

• 3 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp dried sage
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp miso paste

For the duxelles:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g (7oz) mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 shallots, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried sage

For the spinach layer:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 300g spinach
• pinch of sea salt

For the gravy:

• 3 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
• 3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
• 360ml white wine
• 2 tbsp Marmite or soy sauce
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• pinch of sea salt and pepper

For the glaze:

• 2 tbsp maple syrup 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp soy milk

Method

First up, preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

Mix together all the ingredients for the cauliflower marinade in a small mixing bowl.

Add the carrots, celery, leek, mushrooms, onions and garlic cloves to a large baking tray, and scatter over the thyme sprigs and salt. Place the cauliflower in the centre, so that it’s surrounded by the roasting vegetables. Brush the marinade mixture over the cauliflower generously. Squeeze over the lemon juice, then place the tray into the oven to roast for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the mushroom duxelles. Place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. When the pan is hot, add the mushrooms, shallots, thyme and sage and season with a little salt and pepper. Sauté the mixture for 4–5 minutes. When the mushrooms have caramelized, transfer the mixture to your food processor and blitz until it’s lightly chopped. Set the mushroom mix aside too cool.

For the spinach layer, add the oil to the same frying pan placed over a high heat, then add the spinach. Sauté the spinach until it’s wilted, adding a tiny pinch of salt while it is cooking. Once wilted, remove the spinach from the pan and place it onto a clean tea (dish) towel. Using the towel, squeeze the water out of the spinach, then set it aside to cool.

Once the cauliflower has been in the oven for an hour, remove it from the oven. Take the cauliflower out of the tray and set it aside to cool, leaving the remaining vegetables in the tray – these will form the base of the gravy.

To make the gravy, place the roasting tray over a low heat on your stovetop and add the tomato purée and flour. Cook for a minute or so, stirring, then deglaze the pan with the white wine, Marmite and vegetable stock. Scrape the bottom of the pan to release any flavourful roasting juices that may have stuck. Let the gravy bubble away and thicken up for 15 minutes or so. Once the gravy has thickened, pass it through a sieve into a saucepan. Check the seasoning, then set it aside until you’re ready to serve.

Once the cauliflower, mushroom mixture and spinach have cooled, preheat your oven to 180oC (350oF). Whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.

Roll out your puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to around 3mm thick and big enough to be able to wrap up your cauliflower. Use a plate measuring about 25cm as a template to cut a circle shape in the centre of the pastry. Spread the mushroom duxelles mix into the middle of the pastry, leaving a 5cm border around the edge, then top with the spinach. Place the cauliflower on top, upside-down, then grab the edges of the pastry circle and wrap the cauliflower up.

Be creative with any excess pastry – you can cut shapes and top your wellington with them. Brush the whole wellington with your glaze.

Place the wellington onto a lined baking tray (the right way up) and then into the oven to roast for 30–35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp.

Serve the wellington right away with the gravy and all your Christmas trimmings.

Gaz says: “A classic dessert that has stood the test of time. I like to use rich miso to slightly salt the caramel sauce.”

Serves 6

Cooks In 90 minutes

Ingredients

• half a ripe banana
• 240ml non-dairy milk
• 100g plant butter, plus extra for greasing
• 220g maple syrup
• 100g brown sugar
• 225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1 tbsp mixed spice
• 10 dates, finely chopped and soaked in 125ml boiling water
• ice cream, to serve
• chopped pistachio nuts, to serve (optional)

For the miso caramel sauce:

• 200g coconut sugar
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 120ml  non-dairy milk
• 115g plant butter
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 2 tsp miso paste

Method

Preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Grease and flour 6 mini pudding tins (each about 200ml) and place them into a deep baking dish or tray.

In a mixing bowl, mash together the banana and milk until there’s hardly any lumps.

In another large bowl, beat together the plant butter, maple syrup and brown sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice, then fold until fully incorporated. Drain the dates and stir them into the batter, along with the banana and milk mixture.

Spoon the mixture into your pudding tins, leaving around a 1.5cm gap for the puddings to rise. Pour boiling water into the baking dish, to come three-quarters of the way up the pudding tins, and cover the tray with foil. Place the puddings in the oven to bake for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the miso caramel sauce. Add the coconut sugar and maple syrup to a heavy-based saucepan. Place the pan over a medium heat and allow the sugar to melt to an amber-coloured caramel. Once melted, take the saucepan off the heat and carefully whisk in the milk and plant butter. Once incorporated and saucy, place the sauce back over a low heat and add the vanilla and miso.

After 45 minutes of baking, test the puddings are cooked by inserting a skewer into the middle of them – if the skewer comes out clean, they are ready. Let the puddings sit for about 5 minutes before turning them out of the tins.

Serve the puddings with the caramel sauce, ice cream and a sprinkling of pistachios, if you like.