Christmas 2/vegan recipe

A Christmas starter with Northern flavours and Southern aromas. This recipe encloses ingredients that bring the energy of the sun under which they grew, together with some typical winter local vegetables. Because of its texture and its slightly bitter aftertaste, tempeh is very suitable for preparing fragrant pâtés. In this case, the aroma of Marsala is mixed with the sweetness of raisins, the freshness of orange and wild fennel. The beetroot cones add to the soft aroma of the green coconut, the chopped pistachios add to the aromatic spiciness of the curry.

Tempeh pâté with Marsala, chopped dried leeks, curry and pistachio, with beetroot cones and orange sauce

Recipe for 4 people

Tempeh pâté
120 g Tempeh au naturelle
80 g finely sliced scallion
60 ml Marsala superiore secco or Marsala vergine
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
10 g sultana
30 wild fennel seeds
grated zest of 1 orange
salt

Beetroot and green coconut cones
250 g fresh or frozen green coconut pulp
65 ml beetroot extract
salt

Yellow and red orange sauce
60 ml orange juice
5 g “0” flour
1 pinch of powdered beetroot (finely chopped and salted beetroot, dried at 42°C for 6-8 hours)
salt

Chopped dried leeks, pistachios and curry
50 g Bronte pistachios
10 g chopped dried leeks (sliced leeks, salted, seasoned with oil and dried at 42°C for 6-8 hours)
Spicy curry
grated zest of ½ lemon

Composing the dish
Brussels sprouts leaves blanched for 30 seconds and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil
Purple cauliflower tips marinated in lemon with a little salt for 15 minutes and then drained
Powdered dried red cabbage
Powdered dried beetroot
Begonia flowers
Wild fennel tips

METHOD
Tempeh pâté
Cut the tempeh into thin slices, stew it with the scallion, the raisins and the fennel seeds. Pour the Marsala wine and let it evaporate. Cook for ten minutes, then turn off the burner, add the orange zest and blend. Leave to cool.

Beetroot and green coconut pastry
Blend the ingredients and spread the mixture over the non-stick drying-sheets so it is about 2 mm thick. Leave to dry for about 6 hours at 42°C, until it is dry though still flexible. Cut two circles out (with a diameter of 12 cm), cut them into halves and form 4 cones with a 3 cm diameter. To close them, just apply a little pressure with your fingertips.

Yellow and red orange sauce
Mix the flour and orange juice, bring to the boil while mixing constantly, remove from the fire and divide the sauce into halves. Add the powdered beetroot to one half. Leave to cool.

Chopped dried leeks and pistachios with curry
Chop the pistachios and leeks finely until they are as big as 2 mm, add the curry and orange zest.

COMPOSING THE DISH
Using a chopstick, draw two spirals with the orange sauces. Form 4 small meatballs of pâté, roll them in the chopped leeks and pistachios, place them on the dish and put the beetroot cones on top. Add the Brussels sprout leaves, the purple cauliflower tips, the dried red cabbage and beetroot, the flowes and fennel tips.