The more I learn about lasagne, the more I realise that the real deal is quite different from the sort I grew up with – Italian lasagne doesn't slump on the plate in a puddle of sauce, but sits proud and holds its shape. Most recipes I make achieve this goal, though the American Academy's fresh cherry tomato sauce does slosh about a bit (but if you have a glut of tomatoes, pureeing them and layering with pasta and mozzarella does make a gorgeous summer supper).

Fried Halloumi Cheese with Lime and Caper Vinaigrette

Having combed my bookshelves, and the internet, I’ve concluded that meat-free sausage rolls fall into a number of broad camps. The first, represented here by Christmas queen Delia Smith, though also favoured by the likes of Gary Rhodes and Prue and Peta Leith, relies on cheese. Cheddar, in Smith’s case, flavoured with grated onion and chopped herbs, bulked out with soft breadcrumbs and moistened with cream. And I can see why so many of you recommended them to me – they’re as rich and satisfyingly greasy (and I mean that in a good way) as the real thing, with an emphatically savoury flavour. My concern, however, apart from the fact that they occupy much the same party-food space as a cheese straw, is that they’re not vegan-friendly. In a bowl mix the wine, tomato purée and cinnamon together, then pour it over the vegetables. Add the lentils and the chopped parsley, season well and let everything simmer gently while you make the topping. All you do is place the milk, flour, butter and nutmeg in a saucepan and, using a balloon whisk, whisk until it comes to simmering point and becomes a smooth glossy sauce. Season with salt and pepper, remove it from the heat and let it cool a little before whisking in the ricotta followed by the beaten egg.The same goes for the chestnut puree in Rose Elliot’s version from her Vegetarian Christmas book: though the chestnuts feel festive, the texture is similarly mushy and the flavour similarly sweet. It’s a clever idea, especially because chestnut puree is now fairly easy to come by in large supermarkets, but for me it needs more than onion, garlic and seasoning to compete with sausage meat. Weigh this down with a heavy object (like scale weights) and after 30 minutes quite a bit of water will have been drawn out. Dry them really thoroughly in a clean cloth and then they're ready to cook. Heat the oil in a frying pan large enough to hold the courgettes in one layer (otherwise do them in two batches), add the crushed garlic and sauté the courgette slices to a nice golden colour on each side. Next arrange layers of courgettes, cheese slices and sliced tomatoes in a heatproof gratin dish so that they overlap each other slightly like slates on a roof. You can watch how to skin tomatoes in our Cookery School Video. Lastly, I try the recipe that inspired this column in the first place, Kate Young’s vegetable-based “not-sausage rolls” from her new book, The Little Library Christmas. They are, as she promises, deeply savoury, with a base of sauteed leek and mushroom mixed with spinach, breadcrumbs and various umami-rich seasonings – in short, they’re deliciously moreish, but they don’t feel very Christmassy to me. Laura Fyfe’s recipe for Jamie magazine also contains cheese (stilton this time), but the base is roast butternut squash mixed with breadcrumbs and chopped walnuts, which makes it much more adaptable – you could easily leave out the cheese, or replace it with a plant-based substitute without changing the flavour profile too much. (Other recipes that fall into this category include Anna Jones’s root vegetable rolls and Bosh’s giant parsnip and bean one.) Delicious as these are, however, they’re far softer and sweeter than a traditional sausage roll, and I’d like to find something that doesn’t feel so much like a vegetarian alternative.

Courgettes and Tomatoes au Gratin | Recipes | Delia Online Courgettes and Tomatoes au Gratin | Recipes | Delia Online

Begin by preparing the aubergines: to do this cut them into ½ inch (1 cm) dice leaving the skins on. Almost everyone suggests buying vegan puff pastry, which is certainly the easiest option, but, while all pastry is good, it’s hard to deny the fact that homemade pastry is usually better, and Smith’s flaky pastry always is. (Rhodes gives a vegetarian suet version, but that involves palm oil, so I’d prefer to steer clear.) It all depends how much time and patience you have.Mix the ricotta with the toasted pine nuts and about three-quarters of the pecorino. Season to taste. First, soak the vine leaves in boiling water for 20 minutes, then drain and spread out each leaf flat – vein side uppermost. When the roulade is cooked, turn it out on to the hazelnuts and carefully peel off the base paper. Spread the creamed parsnip evenly all over the sage and onion stuffing. Then roll up the roulade along the longest side, using the greaseproof paper underneath to help you pull it into a round (it's not difficult, it behaves very well). Next add the blanched vegetables to the lentil mixture along with the yoghurt, tomato puree and just ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Stir well, and try to push all the vegetables below the surface of the liquid. Now bring to simmering point, cover and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until everything is tender. Taste and add a further ¼ teaspoon of cayenne, if you prefer a hotter flavour, and season with salt. While they're cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large solid frying pan and fry the onions until they're soft and tinged brown at the edges (about 5 minutes), then add the chopped pepper and soften and brown that too for about another 4 minutes. Next add the garlic, cook for 1 minute more, then transfer the whole lot to a plate. Next transfer the aubergines to a clean tea cloth to squeeze them dry, then add a further 2 tablespoons of oil to the frying pan, turn the heat up to high and toss the aubergines in it so they get evenly cooked. When they're starting to brown a little, add the drained tomatoes and the onion and pepper mixture to the pan.