Georgina Hayden’s vegan recipe for mushroom and caramelised onion bougatsa | The new vegan

Bougatsa for breakfast is one of my favourite Greek traditions – hot from the oven, dusted in cinnamon-laced icing sugar and chopped up by an efficient, serious-looking chef (I don’t know why they are always so stern, but it seems to be a common character trait). And while that is how bougatsa is most commonly found, you can get savoury, mincemeat-filled versions, too. Today’s recipe is how I make mine, but feel free to play around with it – if you have a particular vegan cheese you like, say, crumble or grate some into the filling. And if you are a Marmite-hater, please don’t be put off by the Marmite butter finish: it isn’t a yeasty smack in the face, but more a salty, seasoned glaze that adds a pleasing depth to the whole thing.

Mushroom and onion bougatsa

Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4

Olive oil
400g jacket potato, unpeeled, cut into 1½-2cm cubes
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
60g plant-based butter
500g chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean and cut into 1cm-thick slices
½ bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked
Sea salt and black pepper
½ tsp ground allspice
150g plant-based cream cheese
250g filo pastry sheets
½ tsp Marmite

Put a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to cover the base. Fry the cubed potatoes for about five minutes, stirring regularly, until lightly golden all over, then add the garlic and onions, and fry, stirring often, for five to eight minutes more, until softened.

Spoon the potato mix on to a plate, then put half the butter and all the sliced mushrooms in the pan. Add most of the thyme leaves, season generously, then stir in the allspice and fry, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the mushrooms release their liquid and start to caramelise.

Return the potato mix to the pan, stir to combine, then take off the heat. Stir in the cream cheese and put to one side.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and grease a 30cm x 25cm roasting tray. Line the tray with most of the filo sheets, so they drape over the sides, and drizzle olive oil between each layer. Spoon on the filling, spread it out into an even, not-too-thick layer, then fold over the overhanging filo so the filling is completely enveloped. Drizzle with more olive oil, then bake for 35 minutes, until golden and crisp all over.

Just before you take the pie out of the oven, melt the remaining butter in a small pan with a few thyme leaves, then stir in the Marmite. Slide the bougatsa on to a serving board, cut it into four, pour over the Marmite butter and serve straight away.