You can easily make this beautiful roasted cauliflower Wellington with a bunch of easy tricks that will make you achieve the perfect flavour and texture.
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Hands up who loves a flaky and warm Wellington for Christmas!
Am I the only one? I do not think so.
I thought it would be nice to have an alternative that is low on processed food but very high in quality and taste!
So, here goes! You're welcome 🙂
You can easily make this beautiful roasted cauliflower Wellington completely at home, with a bunch of easy tricks that will help you achieve the perfect flavour and texture.
All you need to do is to follow this step-by-step tutorial and be ready to wow your guests, even the non-vegan ones!
First up: Cauliflower
Let's briefly talk about the king of this dish first: the humble cauliflower.
Low on calories (only 25 per 100 grams) and high on vitamin C, this humble ingredient is extremely versatile thanks to its pretty neutral taste.
For this reason, I personally use it a lot in:
- soups
- pasta dishes
- sides
- salads
- curries
- stir-fries (don't miss this super tasty Kung Pao Cauliflower Recipe!)
The key to use this ingredient at its best lies in the flavoring.
Indeed, a good marinade or a rich sauce it's the best way to better enjoy cauliflower whilst enhancing its flavour!
In this recipe we are going to marinate this little white boy and roast it in the oven for an hour or so (please note: cooking time completely depends on the size of the cauliflower) before wrapping it in puff pastry.
For its gorgeous marinade I've picked the following ingredients:
- Vegan Worchester Sauce
- Liquid Smoke
- Garlic
- Fresh Parsley
- Onion Powder
This marinade will bring the flavour to the next level penetrating into the cauliflower curds while it is gently roasting in the oven.
Feel absolutely free to play around with the marinade and add your own personal touches. For example, this recipe works also well with curry powder and chillies.
How to roast the cauliflower
1. Preheat the oven at 200°C.
2. Arrange a sheet of foil on a baking tray and place your cauliflower on it.
3. Starting from the bottom of the cauliflower head, pour some marinade between the stalk and the florets to allow it to penetrate well.
4. Massage the remaining marinade on the rest of the cauliflower.
5. Wrap in foil and roast for 1 hour to 1 hour and half. - Make sure to prick the centre of the cauliflower with a wooden skewer to check if it's cooked. You can cook for longer (if you prefer the flesh to be on the mushy side) or less time (if you'd like a bit of a crunch), according to your own taste.
6. Remove the foil and roast the cauliflower for another 15 minutes or until it turns golden on top.
7. Allow the cauliflower to cool down completely before moving on to the rest of the next step.
After our cauliflower has been roasted and its delicious smell hugs you and your entire kitchen I'm going to show you another trick that will allow it to taste even more delicious!
Do not forget to keep the marinade! That will make a great flavour addition to the next preparation!
The Paste Layer
That's right! To make this vegan cauliflower wellington even more delicious we are also going to prepare a super tasty paste that will cover the entire cauliflower head and sit between the vegetable and the pastry.
For this layer you will need two ingredients:
- Mushrooms
- Sundried Tomatoes
The mushrooms will add both an earthy and meaty texture, while the sundried tomatoes will add a nice Mediterranean touch with their sweet and tart flavour.
All we need to do to prepare this mushroom and tomato paste is to:
1. Soak the tomatoes in warm water until soft (this step will take up to 30 minutes) - Skip this step if you're using jarred tomatoes.
2. Roughly slice the mushrooms and sauté in a pan with a glug of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, until cooked (5-7 minutes on medium heat).
3. Allow the mushrooms to cool down completely then blend them with: sundried tomatoes, fresh parsley, nutritional yeast and the cauliflower marinade*.
4. Evenly distribute the mushroom paste over the cauliflower head.
*use a tablespoon at the time of marinade: you don't want to have a paste that is too soggy, otherwise it will compromise the final result. Add as much marinade as needed in order to achieve a paste that is quite thick "spreadable" as shown in the next picture.
Final Touches
All we need to do now that we have beautifully coated our roasted cauliflower with the flavourful mushroom and sundried tomato paste is to wrap the star of the show in puff pastry and pop it into the oven for another 20-30 minutes.
You can decorate your vegan cauliflower Wellington as you please, I kept mine pretty simple with a plait around the base and a nice holly on the top.
For best results, allow the roasted cauliflower Wellington to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing it. Make sure to pierce it with a long wooden skewer to check if it's fork tender. Nobody wants to eat a raw cauliflower!
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If you’d like other Christmasy ideas check out this Butternut Squash, Brussels and Cranberries Lasagna, this Homemade Vegan Wellington or this Pull Apart Brioche Bread!
...or you can PIN the following image for later!
Roasted Cauliflower Wellington Recipe
Ingredients (feeds 8 to 10 people):
1 Medium/Big Cauliflower (800g)
2 Sheets Vegan Puff Pastry (rolled)
...for the marinade...
6 tablespoon Vegan Worchester Sauce
4 tablespoon Fresh Parsley
1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke
2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1-2 Garlic Cloves
Salt
Pepper
...for the paste...
400 gr Mushrooms (Closed Cup)
10 Sundried Tomatoes
1-2 Garlic Cloves
2 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
2 teaspoon Olive Oil
½ cup Fresh Parsley
Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. Preheat the oven at 200°C (390°F).
2. For the marinade: add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside while preparing the cauliflower.
3. Wash the cauliflower and cut off all the outer leaves. Turn the cauliflower upside down and pour some marinate between the stalk and the florets. Use the remaining marinate to coat the top of the vegetable, wrap into a foil sheet and roast up to 1:30 hour. Pierce the cauliflower with a wooden skewer to check if it's tender; remove the foil from the top and roast for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
4. For the paste: soak the tomatoes in warm water until soft. Roughly slice the mushrooms and sauté in a pan with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Allow the mushrooms to cool down completely then blend them with: sundried tomatoes, fresh parsley, nutritional yeast and some of the the cauliflower marinade.
5. Evenly distribute the mushroom paste over the cauliflower head.
6. Arrange the first puff pastry sheet on a baking tray. Place the cauliflower over it and gently cover with the second sheet of puff pastry. Carefully shape and fold the pastry around the cauliflower, then cut off the excess of pastry. Seal the edges with a fork and decorate the Wellington as you please with the remaining pastry.
7. Bake at 180°C (350°F) fan assisted for 20-30 minutes, until pastry turns crispy and golden.
8. Allow the Wellington to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Suzy Vance
What does closed cup mean? I'm not familiar...
Adriana Z.
Hi! You might know these mushrooms with the name of champignon or button mushrooms. Hope that helps 🙂