Just in time for the festive season, this tasty, plant-based pastry wreath would make a great addition to the table on Christmas day!
Ingredients
3 medium potatoes
4 cups of spinach
2 cups of basil
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of water
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup of macadamias
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
3 sheets of puff pastry
10 cherry tomatoes
A few sprigs of rosemary
1/8 cup of pine nuts
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Allow pastry to rest at room temperature.
2. Peel, cube (approx 2x2cm) and boil the potatoes.
2. Place the basil, garlic, water, lemon juice, macadamias, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend on high until smooth.
3. Wilt the spinach in a pan with a splash of water. Add the basil mixture to the spinach and fry for 1 minute over a low heat. When the potatoes are fully cooked, add them to the spinach and basil mixture. Combine gently in the pan.
4. Prepare the pastry on a floured work space. Press edges together as shown in the second picture. Using a pizza cutter, make incisions into the pastry, cutting one third of the width, in from the edge, on both sides. Space these incisions approximately 2 cm apart as shown in the third picture.
5. Place the potato and spinach filling onto the centre of the pastry. Cover the entire length of the pastry. Starting at either end, create a braid by bringing the pastry pieces into the centre, in a downward fashion.
6. Slide the pastry braid onto a floured baking tray or pizza stone and join the two ends. This step can be a little tricky, it helps to move the pastry slowly, and to place the centre of the pastry onto the tray first, before sliding the rest on. Decorate your wreath with halved cherry tomatoes, rosemary and pine nuts (or anything else you wish to add!)
7. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy. Enjoy!
I hope you have a fantastic Christmas and New Year!
Danielle McDonald Accredited Exercise Physiologist M.Clin.Ex.Phys (Rehab), AEP, AES, ESSAM