Vegan Butternut Squash Wellington
Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano
This vegan butternut squash wellington is a really easy recipe that will boost your plant-based holiday meal out of this world! Try it soon – you’ll love it!
We love how simple and easy this meat alternative is. In the modern-day, it’s so easy to find alternatives to meat for use during big meals: you don’t need to miss out on a celebration just because you’ve got a plant-based diet.
With this recipe, we’d recommend going for our amazing crispy and fluffy roast potatoes – they make the perfect accompaniment!
How To Make Vegan Butternut Squash Wellington
First thing first, we need to do a little bit of preparation the day before making the wellington to be served. Let’s do those steps first!
First of all, bake the butternut squash in a 200˚C preheated oven for forty to fifty minutes: a wooden skewer should go very smoothly through the pulp. Set it aside to cool down completely. Alternatively, if you have an Instant Pot you can place the squash over the steamer piece, and add a cup of water. Then set the pressure cook mode for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the vegetable (20 minutes will be enough for a squash up to 1kg/2 pounds weight).
While the squash is baking/steaming, wipe the mushrooms clean, making sure not to use water to clean them. Then, blend them to a coarse texture using a pulse setting on your blender.
In a pan, heat the oil and thyme, before adding the mushrooms. Then, season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste – we’d recommend going for a bit more salt than you might normally, the mushrooms can take it!
Cook the mushrooms on medium heat until all the water evaporates. Time will differ a little depending upon the size of your pan, as well as the water content of the mushrooms. In this recipe, we would recommend chestnut mushrooms for their flavor and vitamin D content, but you could use other mushrooms or brown lentils instead – whatever you’d prefer!
Transfer the mushrooms to a dish, and allow them to cool completely.
Next, make the stuffing as per the instructions on the package, and then allow that to cool too. It’s really important that the components of the wellington are cool before we form the roll.
On the day that we’re serving the roll, we can do these next steps.
It’s time to prepare the squash! Trim both ends of it, and peel the skin off – it can be tough and unpleasant, especially in this dish. With a fruit corer or a sharp knife, remove the seeds and filaments from the inside of the squash, making your way through the vegetable flesh to carve a hole for the filling.
Fil the hole that you just made with stuffing, and then set the squash aside.
Line a sheet of clingfilm, and then spread a uniform layer of mushroom ‘pate’ over it. Place the stuffed squash at one end of the mushroom layer, and then gently roll the film to wrap the pate around the squash.
Seal the edge by twisting the plastic a few times, and check to see if the layer of mushrooms is well spread. If it isn’t, then try to do it manually by massaging it around the squash. Put the squash in the fridge to set for fifteen minutes.
Now, take the pastry out of the fridge, and preheat the oven to 190˚C. Unroll the pastry sheet on your work surface, making sure to use somewhere cool, and have cool hands (run them under a cold tap for a few seconds before thoroughly drying them).
Gently unwrap the squash, and place it on the pastry. Then, wrap the pastry around the squash, making sure to seal the end where the two layers of pastry overlap and eventually cut off any excess (that we can use as a decoration)- this will seal the loaf.
Seal the ends as well by folding the pastry around. Make sure to decorate as you might like with pastry off-cuts, and then bake for forty-five minutes, or until golden brown. If the pastry is too dark during the cooking process, cover it with a sheet of foil to prevent it from burning.
Finally, allow the vegan butternut squash wellington to cool down for at least fifteen to twenty minutes before serving – this will allow you to slice it much more easily. Then, enjoy it with your favorite sides and gravy.
Vegan Butternut Squash Wellington Recipe
Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash (around 1 kg)
800 g Chestnut Mushrooms
1 Puff Pastry (rolled)
½ Dose of Quick Stuffing (60 g dry mix if you’re using instant)
1.5 tbsp Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
Small Bunch Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. The day before bake the butternut squash at 200° C (390°F) in a preheated oven for 40-50 minutes (or until a long wooden skewer goes smoothly through the pulp). Set aside to cool down completely.
2. Meanwhile wipe clean (do not wash with water!) and blend the mushrooms to a coarse texture using a pulse setting.
3. In a pan heat the oil and the thyme, then add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook out the mushrooms on medium heat until all the water evaporates. Time will differ according to the pan size and water content of your mushrooms. Chestnuts mushrooms are the best to use in this preparation. If you don’t like mushrooms you can use brown lentils instead.
4. Transfer to a dish and allow to cool down completely.
5. Prepare the stuffing as per instructions and allow it to cool too. It is important that all our Wellington components are cold or at least at room temperature before forming the roll.
6. The day after we can start prepping our squash. Trim both end and peel the butternut squash skin off. With a fruit corer or a sharp knife/spoon, gently remove the seeds and filaments from the bottom part, and work your way through the vegetable flesh to carve a hole for the filling.
7. Fill the hole with the stuffing and set aside.
8. Line a sheet of cling film and spread a uniform layer of mushroom “paté”.
9. Place the stuffed squash at one end of the mushroom layer and gently roll the film to wrap the paté around the butternut squash.
10. Seal the edges by twisting the plastic a few times and check if the layer of mushrooms is well spread, otherwise try to do it manually by massaging it around the squash. Put in the fridge to set for 15 minutes.
11. Meanwhile take out of the fridge the pastry and preheat the oven at 190°C (375°F).
12. Unroll the puff pastry sheet on a chopping board or working surface.
13. Gently unwrap the squash and place on the pastry.
14. Carefully wrap the puff pastry around the squash making sure to wet with a little water the end where the two layers of pastry overlap, in order to seal the loaf.
15. Sear the ends as well by folding the pastry around, decorate as you like with pastry off cuts, and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden. If the pastry goes too dark during cooking, cover it with a sheet of foil to prevent it from burning.
16. Allow the Vegan Butternut Squash Wellington to cool down for at least 15-20 minutes before serving, to better slice it, and enjoy with your favourite sides and gravy.
