Vegan Wellington, butternut squash stuffed with vegan black pudding in a crispy puff pastry parcel. Perfect as a Christmas centrepiece.
Since turning vegan we have always missed having a show stopper centrepiece to have at Christmas. This year we wanted to have something special.
This Vegan Wellington tastes and looks great and is perfect for that special occasion. The butternut squash is wonderful and soft. The mushroom duxelles gives a rich umami flavour and the pastry makes everything better.
We have recipes for our Vegan Christmas Sides. These are perfect to serve alongside the wellington. A rich and savoury red wine sauce, wonderfully spiced braised red cabbage and smokey sprouts and chestnuts. All the flavours and smells of Christmas on one plate.
Vegan Wellington Assembly
Carve out and stuff the butternut squash with the vegan black pudding before roasting. Use a cookie cutter to cut a round hole through the centre of the butternut squash. We found it easier to cut the squash into sections to make it easier to cut with the cookie cutter.
Once the butternut squash has been roasted and the mushroom duxelle has been made and they are both cooled down you can start constructing the Vegan Wellington.
Lay plastic wrap down and place over two or three of the crêpes. Overlay them slightly so they stay together once rolled.
Now spread an even layer of the mushroom duxelles over the top and shape so it’s the same width as the roasted butternut squash.
Now add a layer of wilted spinach. This helps keep the mushroom layer an even thickness when rolling the Wellington.
Now place on the butternut squash and roll up into a tight log using the plastic wrap to help. This should now be placed in the fridge to cool for at least 20 minutes before covering in the pastry.
Wrap the cooled log in vegan puff pastry then wash with plant-based milk. Score the pastry however you like then place it in a preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden all over.
For best results eat the Wellington as soon as it comes out of the oven. The wrapped log that’s constructed without the pastry can be made the day before and kept in the fridge overnight.
Any leftovers can be reheated in an oven. Slice into portions before placing on a baking sheet then placed in an oven preheated to 180°C for 15 minutes.
Vegan Wellington
Ingredients
- 1 vegan black pudding roll *
- 1 large butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 50 g spinach
- 1 roll vegan puff pastry
- Unsweetened plant-based milk for pastry wash
Duxelle
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large shallots finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic miced
- 500 g mushrooms
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 150 ml white wine
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Crêpes
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 270 ml unsweetened plant-based milk
- 15 ml olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180°C.
- Peel then cut the top part of the butternut squash into a cylinder. Now slice into quarters to make 4 smaller cylinders. This will make it easier to cut out the centre to stuff with the vegan black pudding.
- Using a cookie cutter the same diameter as the black pudding cut out a hole in each cylinder making sure to line them up.
- Once all cylinders have a hole, stuff the black pudding through the middle of each and construct it back into a single cylinder.
- Place on a baking sheet and coat all over with oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Roast in the preheated oven until the butternut squash is cooked through, turning halfway. This will take around 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to fully cool.
Duxelles
- Clean then chop the mushrooms into a fine crumb. You can use a knife or do it in a food processor. Don’t chop into a paste you still want a bit of texture.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Once hot add the finely chopped shallots and the minced garlic. Gently sauté until the shallot is beginning to soften, around 2 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms with the salt and sauté until the mushrooms have released all their liquid and the liquid has cooked off, around 15 minutes.
- Add the thyme leaves with the white wine and continue to cook until all the wine has cooked off and there is no remaining liquid in the pan, around 10 minutes.
- Be patient, you want to make sure all of the liquid has cooked off.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning then remove from the heat and stir in the chopped parsley.
- Set aside to cool completely.
Crêpes
- Mix all the ingredients for the crêpes in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and there are no lumps of flour.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Once hot add a small amount of oil and coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add some of the crêpe batter and coat the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. Cook on each side for around 1 minute until lightly golden.
- Remove from the pan and leave to cool.
- You will need two or three crêpes to construct the wellington.
Constructing The Wellington
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Blanch the spinach for 30 seconds before adding to a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, remove from the water and drain on a clean kitchen towel.
- Layout a sheet of plastic wrap or baking parchment. Lay the crêpes on top then layer on the mushroom duxelles in a thin even layer the same width as the butternut squash.
- Layer the spinach on top of the duxelle then place the butternut squash at the bottom.
- With the help of the plastic wrap, carefully roll the squash in the crêpes to create an evenly thick log. Tightly roll up the ends of the plastic wrap then put in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.
- Preheat an oven to 180°C.
- Roll out the pastry then coat the top surface with plant-based milk. This will help the crêpes stick to the inside of the pastry and make it easier to roll the pastry.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the chilled log then place it on the pastry and roll so the pastry completely covers the log. Crimp at both ends and place on a baking sheet. Brush the pastry with more plant-based milk then score the pastry however you like then place in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden, around 30 to 40 minutes.
