A vegetarian’s delight this Christmas

The Christmas dinner table is always a bit more bland for the vegetarians in among us.

But, with this Parmesan Crisp with mushroom and butter bean pate, accompanied with romesco sauce and grilled aubergine shavings, the table is sure to look more appetising for them.

It takes about 40 minutes to prepare this great meal and, along with the ingredients, you will need a griddle pan, frying pan, blender, and silicone mat. You will need to preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Here’s how you make it:

Mushroom and Butter Bean Pate

• 410g tinned butter beans
• 500g brown mushroom
• 3g garlic
• 30 ml olive oil

Romesco

• 1 red chilli (seeded)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 red peppers (roasted and peeled)
• 400g tinned tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
• 25ml red wine vinegar
• 5ml paprika

Grilled aubergine

• 250g aubergine (shaved)
• 30ml finely chopped garlic
• 5 ml paprika

Parmesan Disc

• 125 ml grated parmesan

Method:

Mushroom and Butter Bean Pate

1. Finely chop mushrooms and garlic, sauté in a hot pan until all moisture is evaporated.
2. Decant into a blender, add butter beans and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add olive oil and blend to a smooth paste

Romesco Sauce

1. Finely chop garlic and chillies and sauté over medium heat, add paprika, canned tomatoes and red peppers and cook until reduced to a thick paste.
2. Add mixture to a blender, add red wine vinegar and puree.
3. Grilled Aubergine Shavings
4. Mix chopped garlic, oil and paprika and toss aubergine shavings until well coated
5. Fry in hot griddle pan until golden.

Parma Disk

1. Spoon heaps of grated parmesan onto silicone mats, lightly pat down and cook in the oven for 3-5 minutes

To assemble

1. Place parmesan disc as the base
2. Spoon mushroom pate in the middle of disc (use your discretion for portion size)
3. Top with Romesco Sauce
4. Garnish with aubergine shavings