Vegan Walnut Wellington

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• ½ onion, finely diced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced

• 3 tsp finely minced fresh rosemary leaves

• 2 tsp thyme leaves

• ¾ cup toasted walnuts

• 1 medium-large cooked beetroot

• 1 pack of firm tofu, pressed

• ¼ tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 tsp maple syrup

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 tbsp flour (reg or gf)

• 1 sheet vegan puff pastry

• 1 tbsp plant milk, to glaze

• coarse sea salt, sesame seeds or poppy seeds, to garnish (optional)

Duxelles (Mushroom Pate):

• 600 g mushrooms

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced

• a few springs of thyme, leaves picked

• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Beet Filling:

1. Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add the finely diced onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add the chopped garlic, rosemary and thyme, gently cook for a few minutes until softened and fragrant. Allow the mixture to cool.

2. Place the walnuts in a food processor and process until fine. Transfer the walnuts out of the food processor.

3. Heat up the oven to 355° F and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.

4. Add the beetroot to the food processor and process until finely shredded. Then add the drained tofu, onion and garlic mixture, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and salt / pepper. Process until you get a well combined mixture. Finally add in the flour and ground walnuts. Process some more.

5. Empty the contents of the food processor onto the prepared tray and form the mixture into a compact 6.25″ long log with a spatula or your hands.

6. Bake for about 30 minutes and allow it to cool down.

Duxelles:

1. Clean all the mushrooms and dice them finely.

2. Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in pan. Add the finely diced onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add the chopped garlic, cook until softened and fragrant.

3. Add in all the diced mushrooms, thyme leaves and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

4. Allow the mushrooms to cook gently, stirring them from time to time.

5. Once cooked, taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Allow the mixture to cool off completely before assembling the Wellington. In fact, it will stick to the filling better after some refrigeration time.

Assembly:

1. Allow the roll of puff pastry to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling it out and assembling your dish.

2. Heat up the oven to 425° F and prepare a small baking tray.

3. Place the sheet of pastry in front of you so that the longer edge runs parallel to the kitchen counter.

4. Designate an area in the middle of the pastry that is of the same size as the base of your beetroot log. Place a compact layer of duxelles in that area.

5. Place your beetroot log onto the duxelles.

6. Using a butter knife, a supple spatula or simply your hands, cover the log with the rest of your duxelles mixture, making sure you compress the mixture gently as you go along (so that it doesn’t fall off the log).

7. Once the filling is in place, make a 1″ incisions in the pastry on both sides of the stack at a slight diagonal. The resulting strands of pastry will be braided at the top of our Wellington.

8. Fold both end (top and bottom) flaps up, like you would wrap a present and then braid the strips over the top of the filling, alternating sides. If you end up with big gaps at either of the ends, patch them up with leftover pastry. The tiny gaps in between the braids allow the steam to escape and prevent the Wellington from bursting while in the oven.

9. Brush the pastry with plant milk and sprinkle with coarse salt, sesame seeds or poppy seeds.

10. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the pastry is beautifully puffed and golden. Serve with your favorite sides and gravy on the side.