Celeriac Mushroom Wreath

This showstopping vegetarian centrepiece of a dish is perfect for your festive table this holiday season. Packed with earthy mushrooms and sweet roasted celeriac and wrapped in golden, flaky pastry, it is as comforting as it is elegant. Celeriac is a bulbous root vegetable that is plentiful in fall and winter. It is a versatile ingredient that can be eaten raw or cooked, and it has an earthy, nutty flavour with hints of celery and parsnip. This edible wreath would be great as either an appetizer or vegetarian main. Serve this Celeriac Mushroom Wreath with Steller’s Jay Blanc de Noir or Gray Monk Pinot Noir.

Ingredients

Serves 8

1 × 1 lb (450 g) box frozen phyllo pastry

½ lb (225 g) trimmed celeriac, cut into ½-inch (1.25 cm) dice

1 large leek, trimmed and finely sliced into rounds

⅓ lb (150 g) mixed mushrooms, halved or quartered

1½ tsp (7.5 ml) finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish

2 tbsp (30 ml) grapeseed or avocado oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ cup (125 ml) fresh cranberries, plus more for garnish

1 cup (250 ml) ghee, melted

¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup (60 ml) toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

2 oz (60 g) crumbled blue cheese

Instructions

Before beginning recipe, thaw phyllo pastry in refrigerator overnight. Let pastry rest at room temperature, in its packaging, while making filling.
Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine diced celeriac, leeks, mushrooms, rosemary and grapeseed oil. Toss and season generously with salt and pepper. Tip onto prepared baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, toss and bake for another 10 minutes. Add cranberries to baking sheet and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set filling aside to cool to room temperature. Leave oven on.
In a bowl, whisk ghee and olive oil.
When ready to assemble, sprinkle hazelnuts and blue cheese onto filling mixture.
To assemble phyllo parcels, lay out 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface with short side facing closest to you. Generously brush with ghee mixture, then place another sheet of phyllo on top and brush again with ghee mixture. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling on bottom right of phyllo and another on bottom left, leaving a 2-in (5 cm) border around sides and bottom.
Fold bottom border up and over filling and seal by pressing down with your fingers. Bring in each side of pastry and fold up filling once more from bottom. Crinkle remaining phyllo above filling parcels. Fold crinkled phyllo down so it sits on top of parcels. Using a sharp knife, cut into 2 parcels and use your fingers to pinch each end as tightly as possible. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling. There should be 16 parcels.
Line a 9-in (23 cm) springform pan with parchment.
Place each parcel into prepared springform pan, fitting them all like a puzzle and making sure they are not too tightly packed together. Brush tops of parcels with ghee mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Allow parcels to cool to room temperature.
When ready to serve, remove ring from springform pan and gently arrange parcels in a wreath design on a large round platter or cake board. Decorate with fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs and serve.

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