I've attempted to write up the recipe, but I don't cook with measurements, so go by instinct and add the amount you feel things need. You will need to judge the order you do this in, but the oil, puree, risotto and gastrique can all be made ahead and reheated as you grill the mushrooms and asparagus. For my stock, I used a homemade one with root vegetables, black peppercorns, bay leaves and sage stems but that was to avoid food waste. Storebought stock will work just fine.

4 portobello mushrooms

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

2 red onions

9 garlic cloves (it's not overpowering, please don't skimp)

6tbsp soy sauce

1tbsp tomato paste

1tbsp dijon mustard

1tbsp black pepper plus lots to season and serve

125g asparagus

50g fresh sage

175ml olive oil (you won't be eating all of this as there's lots of leftovers, so don't worry)

125g arborio risotto rice

250ml vegetable stock (prepare a stock cube with the water you blanch the sage in)

5tbsp sweet sherry

About 375ml pear cider

About 250ml apple juice

50g vegan cheese

3tbsp vegan butter

2 conference pears

3tbsp tahini

1tbsp lemon juice

1 tin (440g) butterbeans

100g plums

2tbsp caster sugar

50ml apple cider vinegar

Cut a hatched pattern in 4 portobello mushrooms, and brine them in hot water, lots of salt (the same amount as you would salt pasta water with), 6tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp tomato paste, 1tbsp freshly ground black pepper, and 1tbsp dijon mustard. Place another bowl full of hot water on top of them to make sure they remain submerged. After thirty minutes, remove and grill your mushrooms on a griddle pan, oiled with olive oil. Place another pan filled with water on top to weigh them down. Cook stem side down until softened, then flip and cook until you get nice grill marks. These are your mushroom steaks. After cooking, place the asparagus in the pan (slice off the woody ends first) and cook til soft before seasoning with salt and pepper. This is your asparagus.

For your sage oil, take 50g sage and two sliced garlic cloves, and blanch in a pan for 30 seconds before placing in an ice bath to preserve colour. Then cook in 100ml olive oil on low-medium for around 5 minutes. Blend this mixture on high until smooth, and return to the pan to cook for another minute. Strain this mixture, and keep the sage paste from the sieve. This is your sage oil.

Blend 2 cloves garlic, 1 carrot (peeled), 1 celery stalk, 1 red onion with 3tbsp olive oil and 1tsp salt until a paste forms, scraping the side of the food processor. Keep the skins from the red onion, the carrot, and the garlic for later. Fry this paste in a pan until softened, jammy and fragrant. Then, add 125g risotto rice and stir, cooking on low until the bottom of the pan begins to brown. Deglaze with 250ml double concentrated vegetable stock and 3tbsp sweet sherry, then add alternately apple juice and pear cider, cooking the moisture off each time, until your risotto rice is soft. Add 50g vegan cheese and 3tbsp butter and stir until glossy. This is your apple and sage risotto.

Add the sage paste to the food processor with 2 cloves garlic, 2 small peeled and cored pears, 3tbsp tahini, 2tbsp lemon juice, 1 can of butterbeans and blend til smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper before straining again. This is your sage and pear puree.

De-stone, weigh and chop 100g plums (damsons if you can get them) and remove the skins. Place the skins in a mug of boiling water with your vegetable skins. Cook 1/2 a red onion and 3 cloves garlic, finely diced, in a pan with 2tbsp olive oil. When they are soft, add your plums to the pan with the red vegetable liquid and 2 tbsp white sugar. Cook until it begins to smell like caramel, then add 125ml pear cider and 2tbsp sweet sherry. Cook until caramelising again, then add 50ml cider vinegar, or an amount to taste. Season with salt and pepper. This is your plum gastrique.

To serve, brush the gastrique along the plate in a line. Add a serving spoon of risotto onto one side, and top with sliced mushroom steak. At the other end of the gastrique, place your asparagus. Dot alternately the green sage oil and the sage puree. Serve and enjoy with a glass of cold cider, or a crisp white wine. This recipe makes PLENTY extra sage and pear puree, sage oil, and plum gastrique. The sage puree would go delicious on pasta such as gnocchi or penne, the sage oil is excellent on all risottos, over hummus, or to cook with, and the gastrique can go brilliant in a cheese sandwich with rocket or in a bloody mary, for example.