Baby shiitake, celeriac and kelp

Serves 4-6

This is the ‘meatiest’ plantbased dish one could possibly conjure. The baby shiitake mushrooms are so simple to cook but have such depth of umami flavour, and their fleshy texture is enough to satisfy any carnivore.

— 800g button mushrooms or

mushroom trimmings — olive oil, for cooking — 20g dried kelp (available from The Cornish Seaweed Company)

— 1kg celeriac

— 15g smoked garlic, peeled — 600g baby shiitake mushrooms, stems removed if using larger ones — smoked rapeseed oil,

to finish

Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas mark 4.

Start by preparing the roasted-mushroom and kelp broth. Spread out the button mushrooms or mushroom trimmings on a baking tray in a single layer. Toss them in a little olive oil and salt and roast until golden brown.

Transfer to a large pan and cover with water. Simmer for an hour then strain, retaining the liquid. The mushrooms can be used in your next stir-fry, risotto or soup.

Spread out the kelp on a baking tray and dry-roast for 10 minutes, then immediately plunge it into the mushroom stock. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and set the kelp and broth to one side separately.

Peel the celeriac and cut it into small dice. Add a big splash of olive oil to a heavy-based pan set over a low heat. Add the celeriac with a good pinch of salt, and put the lid on.

Allow the celeriac to sweat slowly until mushy and soft (about 20 minutes), making sure it remains pale and doesn’t caramelise.

Spoon the celeriac into a blender. Finely grate in the smoked garlic. Place the lid on securely and blend until super smooth. If the blender struggles, add a little water, but you want this purée to be as thick as possible. Season, and keep warm in a container with a lid on.

Slice the kelp into fine noodles and bring the broth up to a simmer again.

Toss the shiitake mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil and salt, then spread on a baking tray and roast for 3-6 minutes, until slightly caramelised, but without drying out the edges (the time will depend on the size of the mushrooms).

To serve, spoon a large teaspoon of celeriac purée into each bowl. Add some of the roasted mushrooms in the centre of the bowl and spoon over two tablespoons of the hot broth, along with some of the kelp noodles. Finish with a nice drizzle of smoked rapeseed oil.