Vegan Christmas Tofu Wreath with Brandied Mushroom Chestnut Filling

1. Blend the garlic with the salt, black pepper, sesame oil, lemon juice and zest, add 1 pack of the tofu and the nutritional yeast to make a smooth paste. Mash this blend in with the rest of the tofu. Easiest to mash it all up really well with your hands, so the flavour is evenly dispersed and the mixture is not too lumpy.
2. Line a 10 inch/25cm diameter ring mould with a large square of muslin, leaving plenty of overhang around the outside. Press the tofu into the mould and fold the muslin over the top. Weight it down by placing a heavy chopping board or large pan on top to compact the tofu, place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. While the tofu is being pressed make the mushroom filling.
3. Scoop the middle out of the tofu ring, making a trough and fill it in with the mushroom filling. Press the scooped-out tofu back on top, which should be slightly domed up above the top of the ring mould, then press again with the weight and place the ring back in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. While the tofu is being pressed make the shoyu glaze.
5. Turn the tofu out onto a large tray lined with baking parchment and remove the muslin. Brush the shoyu glaze all over, it should be thick enough to adhere to the tofu without dripping. Chill the tofu again in the fridge again while you prepare the pastry.
6. Unroll the puff pastry and cut 3/4 of it into long 1cm wide strips. Cut the remaining pastry with shaped cutters, we used holly leaf and star shapes, but you can use any shapes you’d like to give a Christmassy look.
7. Keep the pastry chilled, taking each strip directly from the fridge as you go to make it easier to work with. You might not want to use the whole pack of pastry if you want a lighter look to the lattice effect, you can also try cutting different shaped strips and get creative with the pattern.
8. Lay the pastry strips across the ring of tofu, criss-crossing to create a lattice affect, trimming the ends as needed. Twist a few strips and lay them along the top following the line of the ring and lay some around the base to line both the inner and outer edges of the ring. Finally decorate the wreath with the holly leaves and stars, placing them particularly over the joins of pastry.
9. Brush the pastry with olive oil.
10. Bake in the oven at 180CFan/200C/GasMark6 for 40 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and is a deep golden colour.
11. Decorate with fresh bay leaves, fresh rosemary and frozen cranberries to give a festive look

Shoyu Glaze:

Boil together for a few minutes to reduce and thicken. Allow to cool before brushing onto the wreath.

Brandied Mushroom and Chestnut Filling:

• Fry the onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent.
• Add the garlic and fry for a minute, then add the mushrooms and fry until they have released their juices, add the wine and brandy and cook out of a minute
• Then add the chestnuts, shoyu, herbs and black pepper.
• Cook gently, until the liquid has been absorbed and the mixture is thick and not wet.
• Add the parsley and season with salt and plenty of black pepper to taste.