This super indulgent French-inspired giant Yorkshire pudding is filled with dauphinoise potatoes, Vichy carrots, garlic green beans and blue cheese cauliflower gratin. It is drizzled in a rich vegan red wine gravy. This recipe is perfect as a twist on a typical vegetarian Sunday roast.
What to fill a French-inspired giant Yorkshire pudding with
I have chosen 4 delicious vegetarian French-inspired side dishes which are a delicious twist on a typical British roast dinner.
Dauphinoise potatoes
Typically roast dinner is served with crispy, fluffy roast potatoes. I love roast potatoes but dauphinoise potatoes are also one of my favourite ways to enjoy potatoes.
Dauphinoise is made by layering thinly sliced potatoes and baking them covered with garlic and herb infused milk and cream. I infused my milk and cream with garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and bay leaves. Feel free to add any extra herbs you have, such as rosemary, thyme or sage.
You can also add a sprinkling of cheese onto your Dauphinoise to add extra flavour. This is not traditional, but it is delicious. I recommend Gruyère, Cheddar or Parmesan.
Vichy carrots
Vichy carrots are French glazed carrots. They are made by simmering sliced carrots in water, sugar and butter. They are then flavoured with a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh parsley.
To add extra flavour you can use small Chantenay carrots, if you can find them.
Garlic green beans
These garlic green beans are quickly boiled and then sautéed with shallots and garlic. Ensure you trim the beans before cooking to get rid of the woody stalks.
I used an ice bath to plunge my beans into after boiling. This prevents them from overcooking and preserves their green colour.
Blue cheese cauliflower cheese
As someone who doesn’t eat meat I like to have something substantial and cheesy to have as the main element of my vegetarian roast dinner. I have found cauliflower cheese to be perfect for this.
To give this cauliflower cheese a French twist I crumbled some French blue cheese, stirred it through the béchamel sauce and also sprinkled it over the cauliflower cheese.
More vegetarian roast dinner ideas
Here are some more meat-free giant Yorkshire pudding filling ideas:
- Macaroni cheese
- Creamed spinach
- Leek gratin
- Roast potatoes
- Honey or maple roast carrots and parsnips
- Lemon and garlic cavolo nero
- Mashed potatoes
- Roasted broccoli
How to make a giant Yorkshire Pudding
Here are my top tips for making the best giant Yorkshire pudding:
- Heat the oil for at least 30 minutes. You will need to heat the oil in your roasting dish before you pour in the Yorkshire pudding batter. This will help your batter rise.
- Let the batter rest. This will help the Yorkshire pudding to rise. It also allows any flour lumps to dissolve. Make your batter first and let it rest whilst you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
- Do not over whisk your batter. Over working your Yorkshire pudding will create gluten in your batter and leave you with a tough Yorkshire pudding.
- Open the oven door as little as possible. For Yorkshire puddings to rise well it is best to keep the oven as hot as possible. When adding other dishes to the oven work as quickly as possible. Alternatively, if you have a dual oven, you can cook your Yorkshire pudding separately.
What do you cook a giant Yorkshire pudding in?
Most Yorkshire pudding tins are made in metallic, usually steel, tins. This is because it heats quickly and evenly which helps the Yorkshire puddings to rise.
I have cooked giant Yorkshire puddings using a ceramic, glass and metal dish. I found that so long as you heat the dish for at least 30 minutes your giant Yorkshire pudding will rise and be browned all over, including on the bottom.
Similar recipes
If you liked this recipes, you should try my vegan roast dinner or my more traditional giant Yorkshire pudding roast dinner.
French-Inspired Giant Yorkshire Pudding
Ingredients
Method
- Ensure all of your ingredients are prepared as per the ingredients list.
- Place the flour and eggs in a medium-sized bowl or jug. Mix with a fork until just combined.
- Add in the milk, a little at a time, and continue to mix until fully combined. Set aside.
- Peel and finely slice the potatoes. Slice using a mandoline or the slicing blade on a food processor so that they are completely even. Mine were 2.4mm thick.
- Grease a medium oval-shaped oven-proof dish with the butter. Layer the potatoes into the dish, ensure each layer overlaps the other. Set aside.
- Combine the milk, cream, garlic and bay leaves (optional) in a medium-sized sauce pan. Season to taste with a pinch each of salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.
- Bring to the boil. Once boiling remove from the heat. Set aside.
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan (390°F/355°F).
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan over a medium heat. Add in the shallots and carrot and stir fry for 5 minutes.
- Add in the flour and tomato purée and stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Gradually stir in the wine and bubble for a couple of minutes to cook off the alcohol. Next add the stock slowly, whisking constantly.
- Bring to the boil, stir often until the sauce is thickened and smooth.
- Add the soy sauce, redcurrant jelly, star anise and herbs. Simmer very gently until needed. Add extra water if it reduces too much.
- Gently reheat the infused milk and cream for the potatoes a little and remove the bay leaves, if using. Pour evenly over the potatoes.
- In a large roasting dish or tin just cover the bottom of the dish with vegetable oil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes alongside the dauphinoise potatoes. Once the potatoes have browned, cover with foil.
- Meanwhile prepare the cauliflower cheese. Slice the cauliflower into small florets, halving or quartering any larger florets.
- Place onto a baking tray, drizzle with the oil and season with salt. Toss to coat. Place into the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through. Cover with foil if browning too fast.
- Whilst the cauliflower roasts, make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add in the flour and stir until a paste forms, stir for a further 30 seconds.
- Slowly add in the milk, stirringly constantly. Add in half of the cheeses and stir until melted. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Take off the heat and set aside.
- Once roasted, place cauliflower in a small oven-proof dish. Pour over the white sauce and top with the remaining cheese. Set aside.
- By now the oil for the Yorkshire pudding should be very hot. Working quickly, remove the hot oil from the oven. Pour the Yorkshire pudding batter into the hot roasting dish. Return the roasting tray to the oven for a further half an hour whilst you prepare the carrots and beans.
- Add the carrots, butter, sugar and a pinch of salt to a medium sauce pan. Add the water. Bring to the boil, cover, turn down the heat and simmer for 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath and boil a pot of salted water for your beans. Now is time to put your cauliflower cheese into the oven.
- Remove the lid from the carrots, simmer for 8-10 minutes until the liquid has evaporated. Toss the carrots in the glaze to prevent burning.
- Whilst the carrots simmer, add in your beans to the pot of salted water and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and place into the ice bath.
- In a medium frying pan heat the oil and butter. Once the butter has melted add in the shallot and stir fry for 2 minutes, or until translucent.
- Add the garlic and fry for a further 30 seconds.
- Drain the beans and toss together with the onions and garlic. Cook for 2 more minutes tossing frequently. Take off the heat.
- The carrots should now be ready. Take them off the heat, squeeze a little lemon juice over the carrots, season to taste with salt and sprinkle over the parsley.
- Strain the gravy to remove the spices and vegetables. Remove the potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and cauliflower cheese from the oven.
- Fill your giant Yorkshire pudding with the potatoes, carrots, beans and cauliflower cheese and serve with the hot gravy. Enjoy!
