Meera Sodha's Recipe for Vegan Christmas Baklava | The new vegan

Although I enjoy cooking for people, I love watching Poirot reruns and playing Who Am I? the day of Christmas. It means getting a good head start on the kitchen, and things like this baklava are a bit of a no-brainer: it has all the fun and flavor of Christmas, but nothing faff. It's made from ready-to-use ground meat, marzipan, and filo sheets, and so "making" is actually more of an assembly job. And, just like me, he can then sit quietly for about a week without any problems.

Christmas Baklava

This recipe can be easily doubled. You will need a food processor for the nuts and a 25cm x 25cm deep baking tray (you can use a larger tray, but it won't fit the filo as well). Make sure the minced meat and marzipan are suitable for vegans.

Preparation 10 minCooking 1h20, plus coolingMakes about 35 pieces

For the syrup100g caster sugar1 tbsp lemon juice1 tbsp brandy

For the baklava125g finely crushed shelled walnuts125g finely crushed shelled pistachios (reserve 20g to finish )1¼ tsp allspice¼ tbsp fine sea saltZest of 1 lemon100g grated marzipan190g minced meat100g melted vegan unsalted butter1 packet of 270g filo pastry (7 sheets)

First, prepare the syrup, which must be cool before it goes on the baklava so as not to end up with a soggy bottom. Put the sugar, 100ml water and lemon juice in a small saucepan, bring to the boil over low to medium heat, then simmer for about eight minutes, until the mixture begins to coat the back of a spoon. Add the brandy, simmer for another minute, then remove from the heat and let cool.

Now let's get to the filling. Put the ground walnuts in a bowl, add the allspice, salt and zest, then mix. Add the minced meat and the marzipan, and mix again.

Heat the oven to 170 C (150 C fan)/325 F/gas 3. Melt the butter with microwave and remove the filo pastry from the fridge. Arrange the filo sheets in a stack, cut them in half vertically from top to bottom, then stack them to make 14 smaller sheets of dough. Brush a 25cm x 25cm baking sheet with butter and place a sheet of filo on it. Brush again, lay down another sheet of filo, and repeat until you've used seven sheets, but don't butter the top sheet. Pour the nut and ground meat filling over p and, using a wet spoon, press the filling evenly and all the way to the edges of the dough. Place another sheet of filo on top, brush with butter, then repeat with the remaining six sheets of pastry. Press down well with your hands, cut diagonally from top left to bottom right at 4cm intervals, then again from top right to bottom left, then lightly brush the top with the remaining butter (you may need to -be recast).

Bake for an hour, until golden brown, then remove from the oven and spread the syrup evenly over the top. Sprinkle the reserved ground pistachios and let cool in the tray. To serve, slice again, then place the baklava on a large platter or smaller individual plates.