A festive showstopper of a dish that's ideal for vegetarians.
Ingredients
Serves 2
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 whole cauliflower
- 300ml vegetable stock
- 80g butter, diced
- 250g chestnut mushrooms, left whole
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- a splash of port or sweet sherry
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach
- a handful of salted almonds
- 20 seedless black grapes, halved
For the wild mushroom sauce:
Serves 4
- 175g/ 6 oz butter
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
- 50g/ 2 oz of dried forest mix
- Half teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 75mls / 3 fl oz dry white wine
- 150mls/ quarter pint chicken stock
- 75mls / 3 fl oz cream
- 55mls/ 1 fl oz sherry vinegar
- Squeeze lemon juice
- 1 sprig rosemary
- Splash of milk to thin the sauce down if it is too thick
Method
- Preheat the oven to 165°C.
- Put the lemon zest and juice in a bowl along with the oil, paprika, cinnamon and some salt and pepper. Mix into a paste, then rub it all over the cauliflower, making sure you get it into every nook and cranny.
- Put the cauliflower in a shallow casserole or baking dish and pour the stock all around. Transfer to the oven and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes. Add the butter, mushrooms, garlic and port or sherry, then return to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Remove the cauliflower, then add the spinach to the casserole or baking dish, tossing to coat in the cooking juices. Allow to wilt a little for 1–2 minutes over a gentle heat. Season.
- To serve, spoon the spinach onto the centre of a serving plate. Put the cauliflower on top, then scatter over the almonds and grapes.
For the mushroom sauce:
- Melt a knob of the butter in a pan and add the shallots. Fry until transparent and add the dried mushrooms and pepper.
- Cook gently for one to two minutes and add the white wine, sherry vinegar, chicken stock and rosemary. Reduce by two thirds, almost until the mixture is syrupy.
- Add the cream and bring to a gentle boil.
- Chop the remainder of the butter and whisk it in, little by little until its completely amalgamated. Take off the heat and check for seasoning.
- Allow to stand for 15 minutes and pass through a muslin cloth. Keep standing in a warm place until you need it.
- If you like, chop some chives and add them just before serving. This is also even better with dried cepes or girolles. The forest mix is the cheaper, more available variety.
