This recipe is a filling and comforting dinner option, making the most out of spices and seasonings to bring out flavours.
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic
- Half stem of one leek
- 1.5 tsps margarine
- 4 tbsps tomatoes (if not in season, tinned tomatoes are fine. Just remove as much of the tomato juice as possible)
- 2 tsps English mustard
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- Salt & pepper
- 6 tbsps tofu, mashed
- Small handful of herbs – parsley or coriander or basil is fine, whatever you have (optional)
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
- 1 tsp agave
- 2 tsps oil
Method
- Crush the garlic and shred the leek stem into fine pieces
- Melt margarine in a pan, add garlic and gently fry for 1-2 minutes until it has softened.
- Add the shredded leeks to the pan with the garlic and fry gently until softened, about 4-5 minutes
- Add tomatoes and stir through.
- Add mustard and paprika and stir through.
- Add salt & pepper, if you wish, and stir through.
- Add tofu and stir through
- Add herbs and stir through
- Remove the pan from the stove, and set aside mix to cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Now prepare your puff pastry. On an oven baking tray roll out your puff pastry sheet. You may need to trim it to fit your tray. Leave the paper on the pastry, as this will act as a liner (so no need for extra baking paper).
- Place the tofu and leek mix down the centre of the pastry sheet, making sure to leave a border all around, so that you can enclose your mixture in the pastry.
- Fold down 2 cm of the pastry at the top, to enclose your filling. Trim off excess pastry on left and right sides.
- Using a sharp knife, cut incisions slanting away from you, about 2-3 cms apart, on both left and right sides of the filling. You should make sure you have equal number of incisions on left and right sides.
- Now start plaiting. Start at the end furthest to you, and fold the strips of pastry over the tofu mix, so that it is like a plait. When you reach the bottom, fold the edge up 2-3 cms to enclose the mix, and finish the plait by covering the ends of the folded up edge. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect, puff pastry always looks great when it comes out baked. Trust us!
- Mix the agave with the oil and brush over the top of the entire plait, to help it get a golden colour when it is baked. Sprinkle all over with sesame seeds, then bake in the oven at 180 C for 35-30 minutes, until golden and the pastry is cooked through. Can be served hot fresh out of the oven, or is great at room temperature too, and will keep for 2 days in the fridge.
Approximate cost per serving: 86p
Recipe credit: Sustainable Kitchen