Vegetable Wellington
This puff-pastry wrapped vegetarian entrée will not only please your vegetarian guests, but your meat-eating diners as well. Filled with savory mushrooms, roasted butternut squash and creamy goat cheese, this vegetable wellington will become a staple in your holiday and dinner party meals. (Adapted from a Melissa Clark recipe).
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter or 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil if you roast the squash
- 1 small butternut squash 1 1/4 pounds, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (you can buy pre-cut squash at many stores which can be a real time-saver)
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika or regular paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 large shallot finely chopped
- 3/4 pound cremini mushrooms trimmed and roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Flour just for dusting when working with puff pastry
- 14-16 oz package puff pastry
- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1 egg whisked with 1/2 teaspoon water.
Instructions
- If you'll be preparing these immediately, heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- Roast the squash at 400 degrees in the oven with the olive oil, salt, and pepper - it will take about 20 minutes. You can stir in the syrup, thyme, and paprika when you take it out of the oven. I did this the day before and stored it in a container in the refrigerator.
- While the squash is roasting, put a large skillet on medium and melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Stir in garlic and shallot; cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and remaining salt. Cook until mushrooms are soft and their juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until the mixture is dry, about 5 minutes. Stir in the pepper and parsley. Taste and add more salt if needed. You can also do this the day before, if you like.
- Unwrap the puff pastry and place one on a piece of parchment or silicone silpat-style mat that you can transfer directly to your sheet pan for baking. Ms. Clark cuts her puff pastry sheets into into two 5-by-15-inch rectangles. I do not cut the puff pastry. I wanted a larger finished wellington that I could slice into pieces. Using a fork, poke holes in the pastry to let it steam and create crispy layers (less puff - more crisp layers).
- Spread mushrooms on each pastry rectangle leaving 1/4-inch border. Spoon the cheese crumbles over the mushrooms. Then spoon the squash over the cheese, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border (it will look like a stripe of squash lying on a bed of cheese and mushrooms). It also works to put the squash on the mushrooms and the cheese last - just be sure to start with the mushrooms.
- Brush the exposed borders of dough on each rectangle with the egg wash. Fold the long sides up to meet in the middle and pinch together to seal; pinch the ends, too. Repeat with other piece of puff pastry.
- Transfer the parchment or silicone mat with pastry on top to the baking sheet. Turn them over so that the seam is face down. If you end up with any small holes in the puff pastry, just close them up with your hands. There isn't any liquid, so a tiny hole won't destroy the wellington. Brush the tops with more egg wash. Bake until they are puffed golden, and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes.* Let cool for 10 minutes, slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- I wrote to Ms. Clark to ask her if the puff pastry would be ok if you prepared these early in the day, refrigerated, and just applied the egg wash last minute and baked them. She said it would be fine, but to expect a few minutes extra baking time if they were cold from the refrigerator. I used this method and it worked perfectly!
- The original recipe suggests sautéing the squash but I decided to roast the squash instead. You can sauté the mushrooms while the squash roasts - a big time-saver especially if you are prepping for a large holiday gathering.
- If your puff pastry gets too soft and hard to work with just pop it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.
- Buy pre-cut butternut squash and skip cutting the squash - a great time-saver.
- Buy pre-cut mushrooms - just watch for freshness and don't let them sit in the refrigerator for too many days.
Nutrition
Calories: 378.02kcalCarbohydrates: 29.58gProtein: 9.45gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 10.18gCholesterol: 38.85mgSodium: 351.26mgPotassium: 471.05mgFiber: 2.41gSugar: 3.46gVitamin A: 8450.4IUVitamin C: 17.36mgCalcium: 83.87mgIron: 2.29mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!