Christmas savoury strudel

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions – peeled and chopped
  • 2-3 garlic cloves – peeled and crushed
  • 2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 90ml red wine
  • 225g button mushrooms sliced
  • sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
  • 275g reasy-to-use vegan filo pastry (available from most supermarkets)
  • 100g olive oil (for brushing pastry)
  • 90g roasted cashew nuts, roughly chopped (alternatively use pecan or pine nuts)

Method

  1. Heat the 3 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, cover and cook for about 10 mins until tender but not browned.
  2. Add the garlic, tomatoes with their liquid, basil and wine. Simmer gently uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has disappeared and mixture is quite thick – about 20 mins.
  3. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 15 mins or until all liquid has boiled away. Mixture must be quite dry. Season and allow to cool.
  4. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
  5. Brush tray with olive oil, put the first layer of filo on the tray and brush with oil, sprinkle a third of the nuts on; lay on top another sheet of filo brushed with oil and sprinkled with nuts. Repeat a third time.
  6. Add a fourth layer of filo, brush with oil and put on tomato/mushroom mixture and spread out. Roll the whole thing up like a swiss roll.
  7. Bake for approx 30 mins until golden brown.
  8. Serve with port wine sauce and your favourite Christmas veggies.

Adapted with kind permission from Rose Elliot’s ‘Vegetarian Christmas’. ©1992 Rose Elliot. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.