Step 1

Chop mushrooms into very small dice and mash well drained tofu with a fork. You can use a food processor for both, but I prefer chopping the mushrooms by hand as it is too easy to overprocess them and lose all the texture.

Step 2

Heat up olive oil in a large frying pan. Add shallots and fry until translucent, stirring from time to time.

Step 3

Add garlic, chopped up sage and picked thyme leaves. Fry until garlic softens and becomes fragrant, stirring often.

Step 4

Add chopped up mushrooms and let them sauté until they are cooked and all the excess water cooks out.

Step 5

Add in mashed up tofu (or cooked, cooled-down rice), vegan Worcester sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, mustard and smoked sweet paprika (if using rice). Mix everything really well. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. If there is still some moisture in the pan, make sure you allow it to cook out before cooling the filling.

Step 6

Once the filling is cool, add the flour, stir it well and then form a compact log out of the mixture. Compact the filling well with your hands so that it forms a nicely shaped log that fits the size of your pastry sheet. My log was 20 cm / 8" long. Optionally, brush the outside of the log with a bit of olive oil.

Step 7

Heat up the oven to 180° C / 355° F (20° C / 70° F less if using fan function) and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.

Step 8

Place the log on the baking tray and bake for about 35-40 minutes so that it firms up before being wrapped up in pastry. Allow it to cool down before wrapping in pastry.

Step 9

Take the puff pastry out of the fridge for about 10 minutes before assembling the rolls so that it's more pliable.

Step 10

Once you are ready to assemble the roll, heat the oven up to 200° C / 390° F (20° C / 70° F less if using fan function).

Step 11

Unravel the puff pastry sheet so that the long edge runs parallel to the edge of the workbench.

Step 12

Gently place the pre-baked log, top side down, in the middle of the pastry sheet, alongside the shorter edge of the pastry.

Step 13

Wrap the log in the pastry, seal well and then very gently (rope some spatulas and someone else in to help), flip the log so that the seam is at the bottom.

Step 14

Using a sharp pairing knife, make small incisions in the pastry at regular intervals.

Step 15

Glaze the roll with vegan egg wash and sprinkle with sesame and / or poppy seeds.

Step 16

Place the roll on a paper-lined baking tray and bake for about 40 minutes, until the pastry has puffed up and become golden brown.

Step 17

AHEAD OF TIME Bring a kettle of water to a boil and pour about 500 ml / 2 cups of boiling water over cleaned dry mushrooms to create a mushroom stock. Allow the mushrooms to infuse for as long as you can.

Step 18

Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Once the oil comes to temperature, add shallots, garlic, carrot and celery. Sauté gently on a medium heat until lightly caramelised, stirring often.

Step 19

Next add in tomato paste and fresh herbs, stir well and allow it to cook until caramelised (not burnt) - stirring from time to time.

Step 20

Next add in wine (it will deglaze the pot incorporating all the beautiful, stuck-to-the-pan bits into the gravy), bay leaf, peppercorns, miso, nutritional yeast and porcini stock (save rehydrated mushrooms for another dish like risotto).

Step 21

Allow the mixture to simmer gently until it reduces by about half (30-45 minutes).

Step 22

Season with vegan Worcester sauce, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup / sugar and a little bit of salt (if needed). Set aside for the flavours to infuse (ideally overnight if you have time).

Step 23

Strain the mixture and squeeze all of the juice out of the veggies.

Step 24

Return the liquid to a small pot. Taste and season to taste.

Step 25

Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer. Thicken it a little by whisking the cornflour slurry (cornflour mixed in with 2-3 tsp of water) in slowly while it simmers.