Puff, The Magic Pastry
If there is a food that's deliciousness is not increased exponentially by wrapping it in puff pastry, I am yet to eat it. Pepperidge Farms puff pastry is vegan, and while some of the ingredients are not exactly the pinnacle of healthy eating, I'm not delusional enough to think that wrapping anything up in dough and baking it makes me a beacon of health and wellness. Generally we try to eat balanced meals, but give me all of the puff pastry! Also, I'm not spending $12 dollars for organic puff pastry made out of the dreams of faerie pixies at our local co-op, so thank you, Margaret Rudkin!
Inspired by the Great British Bakeoff, I got a real bee in my bonnet about making a Wellington. While I've made plenty of lentil loaves in my day, I have never ventured into Wellington territory. Pot pie, yes. Pasties (out of the gutter, you filthy animals), sure. Wellington? I don't have six years, I'm hungry now. It seemed like a day long event to go through the whole process, but a few weeks ago, I figured what the hell, let's do this, and boy am I glad I did.
The recipe for this is loosely adapted from my British boyfriend, Jamie Oliver's website. I know you will never read this, but I love you, Jamie Oliver. His recipe calls for mushrooms and chestnuts, which my beloved hates with the fire of a thousand burning hells, so I've altered it considerably.
INGREDIENTS
1 small butternut squash
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small sweet potato, cubed
1 small yukon gold potato
olive oil
1 small dried red chilli , crumbled
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 large yellow onion
1 cup seitan, cubed
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh sage
1/4 cup cashews
2 slices sourdough bread
3 cloves garlic
1 lemon
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup spinach, kale, or swiss chard, stemmed and chopped
1/2 cup broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 egg (optional, for egg wash for pastry)
1 splash milk or milk alternative
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice the squash lengthways into wedges and add to a large roasting tray with olive oil, chili, coriander, rosemary, and cinnamon. Toss together so that each piece of squash is well coated with the seasoning. Make sure all the squash is skin-side down, then cover with tin foil and bake in the hot oven for around 45 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool, then tear into bite-sized chunks.
Meanwhile, heat a saucepan over a medium heat, then add olive oil and the onions. Season well with salt and pepper and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned. Add the sage and cashews to the pan for the last few minutes of cooking.
While that’s happening, toast the bread on a hot griddle pan or in a toaster and rub well with one of the cloves of garlic. Tear into small chunks, and once the onions are done, add the toast to the pan. Turn the heat off, stir everything together, taste, then season and grate in the zest of the lemon. Note: I used leftover stuffing and that worked out just fine.
Add the butter to a frying pan on a medium heat and when melted, add the carrots, sweet potato, yukon gold, and a chopped clove of garlic. Saute until easily pierced by a fork.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the spinach, kale, or chard and broccoli and cook until soft. Drain in a colander, pressing lightly to get rid of excess moisture, then place to one side.
Slice the remaining garlic clove and add to a frying pan with a splash of olive oil. Add seitan, and cook for approximately 10 minutes on medium heat or until golden. Add the pine nuts, broccoli, and greens and fry everything together until warmed through. Season well with salt and pepper and turn off the heat.
Now assemble your Wellington. Roll out the puff pastry on a sheet of parchment paper. Layer your carrot and potato mixture. Top with layer of seitan. In a large bowl, lightly toss together the greens, squash, and onion-bread mixture, then spoon it in a thick line down the middle of the pastry. Leave a space free at either side so you can roll the pastry around the filling.
To do this, hold one side of the parchment and lift it, with the pastry, towards the center of the Wellington so it starts to cover the filling. Peel the baking parchment back, leaving the pastry in place, then do the same with the other side. The pastry should overlap in the middle. Beat the egg with the milk and brush it over the pastry join to seal the join. Fold up the ends so the filling doesn’t leak out, then carefully roll the Wellington onto a baking sheet, with the seal underneath. Brush all over with the egg mix.
Six years later, you have this tasty morsel to eat! Just kidding! From start to finish this takes about two hours. It's absolutely worth the time and effort, if you have it. It's definitely not something I'd make on the daily, but it's a great special occasion dinner.
