Can you believe Christmas is nearly here?

Seriously, it honestly feels like it was only yesterday I was carving pumpkins and eating sweets for dinner.

I blinked, and it’s all festive all the time, but I don’t mind, I absolutely adore Christmas.

We always spend Christmas in Spain, I love the crisp mountain air, the bright blue days and the freezing chilly nights begging to be finished with a warming lightly spiced hot cocoa in front of an open fire.

Every Christmas Day, we head to our friend’s house to spend the festivities with them, and we all bring a dish with us. I always end up making a big lentil bake, just mixed and matched on the day, which makes it extra special, as it’s never the same as last year.

But I think, this year, I absolutely nailed it, in making the Ultimate Winter Lentil and Roast Vegetable Bake, so I had to write the recipe down.

Plus, so many of you saw this on my Social Media and asked for the recipe, so, here, my little Christmas present to all of you.

My delicious luxury Christmas vegan main, that everyone will enjoy!

I’ll stop my daydreaming and tell you more about this mouth-watering feast, which I serve with steamed broccoli and sautéed vegetables and the ultimate vegan stuffing.

I made the base of this dish with lots of fresh vegetables that have been roasted to perfection.

Something just magical happens when you roast vegetables.

Their exterior goes sweet, crisp and charred, and they become almost custard-like on the inside, making them the perfect acquaintance and component to the rich earthy lentils and crunchy walnut topping.

I served this dish in one pan, making it the perfect hearty, healthy winter food that everyone can share around the table and get stuck into family style.

After all, isn’t that what Christmas is all about? Sharing delicious food with the ones you love.

Use your favourite winter vegetables in this dish. You can add in carrots and parsnips for an extra layer of deliciousness, or remove the sweet potatoes should you wish.

The caramelised onions can be made or store-brought to save time, and you can add blitzed breadcrumbs to the walnut topping for extra crunch. Alternatively, you can use sunflower seeds if you don’t want to use nuts.

Green lentils can be used instead of red or pearl barely can be subbed, it will reduce the earthy, rich taste but will still be super delicious.

The mushrooms can also be removed, but I would recommend keeping them in as it really completes the texture and flavour of the dish, but then mushrooms are one of my favourite ingredients, so maybe I’m a little biased here.

As this dish has quite a few elements and takes a while to prepare, you can make this dish the night before the big event. The flavours improve overnight as they soak into all the wonderful vegetables.

Unlike most of my dishes, this one doesn’t freeze that well. But portioned in the fridge and re-heated the next day amazes, especially topped with a fresh cranberry sauce and a little splash of leftover gravy!

I hope you have the most magical Christmas, spend time with your friends and family and relax, rest and renew.

Festive love to you all, Niki xx