This vegan delight is a crunchy, tasty, and hearty main that’s full of flavour. Wonderful to serve during the festive, winter period – perfect comfort food.

Ingredients: Serves 2

3 carrots, cut into 2cm cubes

2 parsnips, cut into 2cm cubes

1 small bay leaf

4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole

1 strip orange peel

1 tsp of lemon zest

400ml olive oil

2 slices seeded bread

4 tbsp. jumbo rolled oats

2 tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes or cornflakes

200g butter beans

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh sage

4 tbsp. oat fraiche (you can get this in most supermarkets now)

Method:

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas mark 4

Put the veg, cloves, bay leaf, garlic cloves, sage and citrus ingredients in an oven dish, then pour over enough olive oil to cover it all. Cover tightly with foil and cook for 40 minutes until the vegetables feel fork tender.

Meanwhile put the bread in a food processer and blitz into a coarse crumb, place in a bowl and stir in the oats and half the yeast flakes, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Scoop out the vegetables from the oil and into a bowl. I keep the reserved oil for cooking later as it has fantastic aromatics and avoids unnecessary wastage. Mash the confit garlic into a paste and stir it into the veg with the butter beans, oat fraiche and remaining nutritional yeast flakes. Season as you like then tip the mix into a pie dish or similar.

Add three tbsps. Of the reserved oil to the bread mix and stir to combine. Top the vegetables with the crumb and at this stage you can freeze for using later or bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden and crisp. Leave to stand for 5 minutes and serve.

Gary Townsend is head chef at One Devonshire Gardens by Hotel du Vin, Glasgow. See www.hotelduvin.com or phone 0141 378 0385 to book.

Twitter @Chefgtownsend

Instagram- @chef.g.townsend