Vegetarians can be the poor relatives on Christmas – =with nothiung but a nut cutlet to take the place of Turkey or Beef.

Here is one innovative suggestion for your Christmas menu – there are many others – please can we hear from you with YOUR ideas?

Go on! Help out those underserved veggies.

The following recipe, while designed to appeal to those who prefer a vegetable and fruit diet, could comfortably find its place on any restaurant menu over the festive season. It would also be perfect as accompaniment to the more traditional fare of roasted meats or birds.

Roasted onion squash and cep with sage, soft parmesan polenta and mascarpone

Serves 6

One small to medium onion
Two squash
olive oil 60ml
sage 1 tbsp, chopped, plus a few large leaves
garlic 2 cloves, crushed to a paste
cep, portobello or field mushrooms 6 (or use a selection of other wild mushrooms)

For the polenta milk 500ml water 250ml bay leaves 4 garlic 2 cloves, crushed to a cream sage 1 tsp, chopped coarse polenta 500g butter 50g parmesan 100g, freshly grated, plus extra for serving at the table mascarpone 200g

Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3½. Wash the squash and remove the skin carefully with a sharp knife. Cut the flesh into even sized wedges (discarding the seeds) and place in a bowl. Drizzle generously with olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper and the chopped sage and creamed garlic. Jumble the wedges together so that all surfaces are well coated in the marinade. Arrange the squash in an ovenproof dish that is large enough to hold all the vegetables. (Retain the remaining marinade in the bowl.) Roast the squash in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until they start to colour at the edges and soften a little.

Trim the mushrooms and cut in half or quarters, depending on their size. Toss them gently in the bowl with the remaining marinade until well coated. Remove the dish from the oven and arrange the mushrooms in and around the squash. Scatter with the whole sage leaves. Return to the oven and roast for a further 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft when pierced with a knife, but golden at the edges.

Meanwhile, for the polenta, bring the milk, water, bay leaves, garlic and chopped sage to a gentle simmer. Using a whisk, add the polenta to the liquid little by little. Once it has all been incorporated and is smooth, continue stirring with a wooden spoon as it thickens. This may take up to 15 minutes, depending on the type of polenta, but it is important that the polenta loses its graininess as it cooks. Remove the bay leaves.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and half the grated parmesan. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Pour the polenta into a serving dish, scraping the pan clean with a plastic spatula. Scatter the remaining parmesan over the surface and dot with generous dollops of mascarpone. Cover and leave in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Serve the roasted vegetables with a scoop of the soft polenta on the side, a drizzle of good olive oil, and a bowl of freshly grated parmesan at the table.