Vegetarian wellington recipe

 

For any special occasion dinner, this vegetarian wellington serves as a fantastic meatless centerpiece. 
When sliced open, the orange butternut squash and dark pink beetroot are displayed alongside a flash of green from the spinach, creating a rainbow of root vegetables. Serving it up is really enjoyable. There are eight servings per recipe. If your gathering includes both meat eaters and vegans, though, and your family is larger, you might consider making a beef wellington to go with it. Serve it with some dark green leafy vegetables and roast potatoes for a delicious Christmas or Boxing Day feast. You can even top it with some vegetarian gravy if you'd like.

Ingredients:

• Peel and cut one squash into quarters, then cut each quarter into four.
• 500g of raw beetroot
• One tablespoon of chicken seasoning—a spice mixture devoid of actual chicken—
• Two tablespoons of olive oil
• 400g of curd cheese, 250g of baby spinach, and 650g of puff pastry
• 500g filling made with vegetables
• One huge egg that has been beaten

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and gas 4. Put the beetroot in one roasting tray and the squash in another. Drizzle each with oil and season the squash with chicken seasoning. Bake for twenty-five minutes.
2. Take out the squash and place foil over the beetroot. Cook until the beetroot is soft, perhaps another 35 minutes. After allowing it to cool, peel and cut it into wedges.
3. Set the oven's temperature to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Roll out one-third of the pastry to make a rectangle that is 15 by 25 cm. After transferring to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, prick with a fork, and refrigerate for half an hour, bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden and puffy. On a wire rack, cool.
4. Toss in the spinach, cover loosely with clingfilm, and microwave on High for one to two minutes, or until the spinach has just wilted. To get rid of extra liquid, tip into a strainer and pound with a potato masher.
5. Place the cooked pastry back on a baking tray coated with parchment. Spread a layer of spinach on top of it before covering the beetroot. Drizzle the curd cheese on top.
6. Place the stuffing down the center in the shape of a long sausage. Layer the roasted squash on top, and then sprinkle the remaining spinach on top.
7. Roll out the remaining pastry to a 23 x 34 cm big rectangle.
8. Egg should be brushed along the edge of the baked pastry foundation. Next, place the pastry rectangle over the entire thing and gently press it to seal. Refrigerate for a minimum of half an hour, or overnight if you're making it in advance.
9. Bake the Tellington for 40 to 45 minutes, or until brown, at 200°C/400F/Gas 6.

Top tip for this vegetarian wellington

To garnish the top of the Wellington, reroll the leftover pastry and cut out shapes with it. Use a holly cookie cutter to stamp out 22 holly leaves, for example, if this is a Christmas feast. Finally, sprinkle the holly leaves on top of the egg-brushed pastry.