Vegetarian wellington with beetroot, butternut squash, lentils and chestnuts

Serves: 6 – 8

This vegetarian wellington recipe is a fantastic centrepiece for a vegetarian Christmas table. It includes beetroot, butternut squash, lentils and chestnuts all wrapped in wonderfully crisp pastry – no one will miss the meat.

Ingredients

• 300g butternut squash, chopped into 1cm cubes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
• 10g sage, finely chopped
• 10g thyme, leaves picked
• 130g cooked puy lentils
• 100ml double cream
• 75g cooked chestnuts, crumbled
• 1 tsp Maldon salt
• Cracked black pepper
• 500g puff pastry
• 5-6 cooked beetroot
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

1Preheat oven to 180C.

2Begin with the butternut squash. Place the diced squash onto a baking tray and drizzle with some oil, Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Place into the oven and roast for 20 minutes until soft and cooked through.

3Meanwhile, in a large frying pan heat 1 tbsp oil. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion and fry gently for 5 minutes until softened. To the softened onions, add the crushed garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Next add the chopped chestnut mushrooms and continue to cook these for 5 – 8 minutes until the mushrooms have softened and beginning to caramelize.

4Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the chopped sage and thyme leaves, followed by the cooked puy lentils and double cream. Allow this to fry and cook for 3 minutes, mixing well so everything is well combined. Remove from the heat and add the crumbled cooked chestnuts, Maldon salt, cracked black pepper and the cooked butternut squash. Set aside and allow to cool.

5Once the mixture has cooled, you are ready to assemble.

6On a lightly floured surface roll out the puff pastry block until it is a roughly 30 x 40cm rectangle and 1cm thick. At this stage you want to carefully lift the rolled pastry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Next spoon on the cooled filling and spread out evenly, leaving a 1-inch boarder along the top and 1cm board round all the rest of the edges. Next take the cooked beetroot and make sure they are dry of any excess liquid. Choose beetroot that are similar in size and place them in a row down the middle.

7Take one of the long sides and lift it up and over the beetroot to enclose them. Pinch the pastry together at the seams and rest the whole wellington seam side down. Pinch the pastry at either end of the wellington also, and trim off any excess.

8Use the excess pastry to create long strips and decorate the top of the wellington with a lattice pattern (optional). And brush the entire thing with the beaten egg.

9Place the wellington into the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes (but the longer, the better) to cool.

10When ready to bake, take your chilled wellington from the fridge and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp all over. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.