What to put on your menu for World Vegan Month

Cauliflower

Thanks to the emergence of new dietary requirements and low-carb diet plans, cauliflower has had the transformation of a lifetime. The vegetable, once resigned to being an overboiled addition to a roast dinner, has been reimagined as rice, wings and even pizza bases.

Create a vegan version of comfort-food classic bolognese, using blitzed cauliflower and mushrooms in place of minced beef. The key to this dish is to add dried rosemary to the onions and a few tablespoons of pasta water to the sauce at the end to achieve a velvety texture.

Nuts

Texture is an important element to any dish. It’s also something that can be hard to nail in vegan cooking. One way to emulate the creamy texture that dairy brings, but without compromising on taste, is by using nuts such as cashews.

Simply soak cashews in water for two hours, drain and blitz with the other ingredients. Speed this process up by covering the nuts in boiling water and soaking for 30-45 minutes.

This works well in creamy pasta sauces, stroganoff , béchamel and hollandaise sauce. You could even make condiments such as vegan sriracha mayo using cashews, garlic, hot sauce and lemon.

Mushrooms

With more than 1,000 edible species in the UK, each with their own texture and flavour profile and packed full of protein, mushrooms are king in plant-based cooking.

Chestnut mushrooms are available year-round and have an earthy, nutty flavour which suits rich dishes such as stews.

Oyster mushrooms have a meaty texture which makes a fantastic substitute when recreating southern fried chicken. Not only are they tender and juicy but they also tear like tender chicken strips.

Porcini mushrooms take their name from the Italian word for piglet. They have a rich, earthy taste which pairs brilliantly with risotto and pasta dishes.