Celeriac Steaks from Aine Carlin

To celebrate World Vegan Day, we’ve shared two of our favourite healthy vegan recipes from Aine Carlin’s book, Cook Share Eat Vegan. First, a mouth-watering celeriac steak with a mushroom stroganoff sauce, and for dessert, a festive mulled pear recipe. Whether you want to try vegan food for the first time, or you simply want to cook something a bit different for your guests, these healthy vegan recipes are sure to impress. Plus we're giving you the chance to win your very own copy of the book! Over to Aine...

World Vegan Day: two favourite healthy vegan recipes from Aine Carlin

Celeriac Steaks

with a mushroom stroganoff sauce Serves 4 Celeriac steaks are something of a stunner. Not only do they slice beautifully but they also cook in no time, meaning that dinner can be on the table in 30 minutes. The creamy stroganoff sauce is a simple but beautiful accompaniment, and could easily be served alongside rice for a bowl-food type scenario if you prefer. For me though, the star of the show is the roasted celeriac, which has solved many a weeknight dinner dilemma in our house, as well as becoming a bit of a last-minute dinner party staple.

Ingredients

• 1 large celeriac, peeled and cut into 4 slices, each 2.5cm thick
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• A pinch of sea salt flakes and black pepper
• 1 heaped tablespoon chopped chives, to garnish

Stroganoff sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 leek, trimmed, cleaned and finely chopped
• 500g chestnut mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 250ml soy, oat or other plant cream
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Sea salt flakes and black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 240C (220C fan), Gas Mark 9. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. 2. Brush the celeriac slices with the olive oil, season generously and place on the prepared sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 10–15 minutes, or until nicely browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside. 3. For the stroganoff sauce, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the leek, season and sweat for 2–3 minutes until softened. 4. Add the mushrooms to the pan, season generously and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes, without stirring, until just beginning to colour, then add the garlic, lemon zest, cayenne pepper and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 5–10 minutes until the mushrooms have shrunk and are lightly golden. 5. Pour over the soy cream, stir in the Dijon and remaining lemon juice and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring, for 1–2 minutes, thinning out the sauce with a splash of water if it becomes too thick. Season to taste. 6. Divide the celeriac steaks among plates and top each with a spoonful or two of the stroganoff sauce. Garnish with a sprinkling of chopped chives and serve with a fresh pea shoot salad.

Mulled Poached Pears

with a silky lemon & thyme cashew cream Serves 6 A fabulously easy festive dessert, this exquisite mulled pear dish is truly a thing of beauty. Even if you’re not much of a wine drinker, these are worth sampling for their soft-spiced sweetness alone. Served with the delicately infused lemon cashew cream, these pears add a touch of elegance to any gathering – just be sure to blend the cashew cream until silky smooth as there shouldn’t be any hint of it having once been a nut. I tend to make both elements in advance, making this recipe a terrific option for a stress-free evening that can be spent socializing rather than sweating in the kitchen. Perfect.

Ingredients

• 750ml red wine
• 60ml sloe gin (optional, but lovely)
• 175g brown sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• rind of 1/2 orange
• 3 large pears (any variety), peeled and cut in half lengthways with the stalk intact

Lemon & thyme cashew cream

• 200g cashew nuts
• 1 thyme sprig, plus extra leaves to decorate
• 100ml water, plus extra if necessary
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 heaped tablespoon coconut oil
• 50ml agave nectar
• A pinch of fine sea salt flakes

Method

1. For the lemon and thyme cream, place the cashew nuts and thyme in a large bowl and cover with freshly boiled water. Set aside to soak and infuse for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. 2. Drain and rinse the cashew nuts and place in a blender along with the remaining ingredients. Blend for at least 10 minutes until completely smooth, scraping down the sides periodically with a spatula and adding an extra splash of water if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until needed. 3. Place the wine, gin (if using), sugar, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, bay leaf and orange rind in a large saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. 4. Gently lower the pear halves into the pan and simmer for 20 minutes, or until soft, inserting a toothpick into the flesh to test. Turn the heat off and leave the pears to sit in the warm liquid for a further 10 minutes, then carefully remove the pears from the pan and set aside. 5. Bring the poaching liquid to the boil and cook for 10–15 minutes, or until reduced to a thick, pourable syrup. 6. To serve, place a dollop or two of cashew cream on the bottom of each dish, top each with a pear half and drizzle over the reduced mulled wine syrup. Scatter over a few extra thyme leaves to finish. Thank you Aine! To celebrate World Vegan Day, we've partnered with Aine to give you the chance to win 1 of 5 copies of her book, Cook Share Eat Vegan. Click here to enter! Tried either of these recipes? Show us on Twitter or Instagram!   All images taken by Danielle Wood Publisher: Octopus