Nigel Slater's vegan and vegetarian winter recipes

My shopping starts with fruits and vegetables. It always has. Thoughts on what's in season, what's at its best right now, have always come before anything else. Rummaging through the market stalls or pacing the long table at the greengrocer is the part of food shopping I enjoy the most. It always seems like a good starting point. But often that's also where it ends.

This month's recipes are suitable for vegetarians and three of them are - with an adjustment here and there - also good for vegans. I roasted cauliflower and made a chickpea sauce to go with it; slices of golden-fleshed pumpkin baked in the oven to eat with a bean and winter tomato sauce, and marinated and grilled eggplant. There's a crisp crepe of grated root vegetables to eat with a winter salad or stuff into a fluffy roll, and dessert too, a refreshing take on a traditional rice pudding.

None of this is unusual. Meals without meat or fish have long been a mainstay of my diet and it looks set to continue. What matters most to this cook is whether or not it's delicious.

Cauliflower, chickpeas and tahini

A creamy, vegan treat for cauliflower. The sauce is made with chickpeas and tahini, then used as an accompaniment to roasted cauliflower and whole chickpeas. I use bottled or canned chickpeas, but if you're cooking your own from scratch, save some cooking water for the mash.

< em>For 2-3 people garlic 1 head of cauliflower 1 large (1kg)chickpeas about 400g, cooked and drained (2 cans)mint leaves a handfulparsley leaves a large handful

For the saucechickpeas 2 x 400g tinstahini 2 tbsp olive oil 100ml lemon juice 2 tbsp

< p class="dcr-1b64dqh">Preheat oven to 180°C fan/thermostat 6. Loosely wrap the whole head of garlic in a piece of tin foil, place in a roasting pan and roast. bake for 25-30 minutes until the inside is soft enough to crush between fingers and thumb.

While the garlic roasts , cut the cauliflower and break into large florets, keeping as much of the stem intact as possible. Bring a pot of water to a boil, place the cauliflower in a colander or steamer basket and place over the boiling water, cover with a lid and steam for 10 minutes. This will give you lovely tender bouquets.

Remove the garlic and transfer the cauliflower to the roasting pan, add a good drizzle of olive oil and cook cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

While the cauliflower is roasting, prepare the sauce: put the 2 cans of chickpeas and their liquid in a saucepan and heat gently , remove from heat, drain and transfer to a food processor. Remove the roasted garlic from its foil, then remove the cloves from their skins. Add 6 cloves of garlic to the robot and keep the others. Process the chickpeas, tahini and garlic into a smooth cream, pouring in the olive oil and 100ml hot water as you go. You want a soft mash. Stir in the lemon juice and salt.

Drain the 400g of chickpeas and add them to the roasting cauliflower, then return to the oven for 5 minutes until beans are hot. Place the chickpea cream on a serving plate then add the roasted cauliflower and the whole chickpeas. Sprinkle with mint leaves and coarsely chopped parsley.

Baked squash, white beans, winter tomatoes