Vegan Wellington
By Brendon Bale (@GreenGazellesRugby)
This vegan Wellington is slam-packed with veggies and is sure to satisfy all tastes. It’s one of my favorite dishes – in fact, I served it as the centerpiece dish at our recent London Training Camp. All the players devoured it, and many wanted more to take back home for later!
Beef Wellington is a traditional English dish that sparks nostalgia for many Brits, including myself. Mindful of this, I set out to create a recipe that still inspired the same positive memories, but that my partner and I could eat with our lifestyle choice of diet. Switching out meat and dairy butter for vegetables and plant-based alternatives was easy. The taste and visual appeal are a 10/10, and the dish is now one of several go-to dishes for when the Green Gazelles all get together. Even by meat-eater standards, the dish is enjoyable to eat. It is also healthier, more affordable and far better for the environment. Many are stunned that such a delicious dish could be fully plant-based!
In just an hour’s time, anyone can make this Wellington. Personally, each time I make it, I love to slice the pastry on top into some creative artwork. However, I think I’ll stick to rugby because I’m a terrible artist!
Whatever your occasion for giving this dish a try – Christmas, New Year’s or a weekly date night – I like to serve it alongside some seasonal veggies and roasted potatoes. Regardless, your rendition of my Vegan Wellington is guaranteed to be a showstopper in any household!
DID YOU KNOW? Brendon’s Vegan Wellington is filled with veggies and nuts instead of 1kg of beef, which is typically required for the traditional Beef Wellington recipe. This simple swap to go plant-based saves 235 kg-CO2-eq, which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 4 seedling trees grown for 10 years!
*Based on published research
Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers, by J. Poore & T. Nemecek. 2018.
US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
For more information see https://upfield.com/purpose/environmental-footprint/
Ingredients
- 56g or 4 tbsp plant margarine
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
- 1 medium onion, finely sliced
- 1 leek, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
- 100g or 2/3 cup baby spinach leaves
- 125g or 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
- 75g or 1/2 cup pecan nuts, roughly broken
- 180g or 1 ½ cup cooked and peeled vacuum-packed chestnuts, roughly crumbled
- 1 large orange, finely grated zest
- 5 large Portobello mushrooms, each roughly 9cm or 3.5” in diameter
- 1 ready-rolled vegan puff pastry
- 30ml or 2 tbsp plant-based milk of your choice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
(time est. approx. 1 hour and 30 minutes)
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of plant margarine in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the sweet potato over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until beginning to soften and brown, stirring regularly.
- Add the onion and leek and sauté for 10 minutes more, or until softened. Stir in the garlic, spinach, cranberries, pecans, chestnuts and orange zest. Season well with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring regularly until the filling mixture is well softened. Spread filling onto a large baking tray, leave to cool, then spoon into a large bowl.
- Using the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon more of plant margarine. Add 3 of the mushrooms to the pan, smooth-side down. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn and cook for further 2 minutes on the other side. Drain, stalk-side down, onto a paper towel.
- Chop the remaining mushrooms and add to the same frying pan with the remaining plant margarine and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Stir into the filling mixture, adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and leave to cool.
- Unroll the puff pastry onto its own baking paper on your counter or onto a thin cutting board.
- Spoon half of the sweet potato filling down the center of the pastry, from one short end to the other, leaving a 2cm or ¾” in border at each end.
- Arrange the whole mushrooms, stalk-side up, in a row on top of the sweet potato mixture. Spoon the remaining filling mixture over and around the mushrooms, pressing gently with clean hands until completely covered.
- Brush the pastry around the filling lightly with plant-based milk. Bring the two short sides of the pastry up and fold over the filling. Do the same with the long sides to create a long, oblong parcel.
- Patch any tears with pastry so that there are no holes. If your pastry is on the smaller side, you may not have room for all the filling. Don’t worry about using it all.
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Place the lined baking tray on top of the Wellington and carefully flip the parcel and board over so that the pastry seams are underneath. Remove the top board and lightly pierce the pastry with the tip of a knife to allow for steam to escape. Gently brush over the whole parcel with plant-based milk.
- Bake the Wellington in the oven for about 45 minutes (longer if it has been chilled), or until the pastry is golden-brown and crisp, and the filling is hot throughout.
- Serve and enjoy!
A diet that is mostly made up of plants is better for you and for the planet.
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