Vegetarian Wellington

Keep pastry frozen until the night before you are ready to prepare and cook the Wellingtons. Move it to the refrigerator the night before so that it can thaw slowly.

Grill or roast (at 500°F for about 40 minutes or until both are well done but not charred) the portabello mushrooms and peppers, herbed and seasoned to taste and drizzled with the olive oil. Store in the refrigerator until ready to assemble and bake Wellingtons. Can be done the day before, as can the dressing.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Prepare dressing per recipe below. Allow it to cool and then store covered in refrigerator until ready to assemble Wellingtons. When ready to assemble the Wellingtons, take puff pastry from refrigerator. Take one sheet and place on floured surface. Roll gently lengthwise to create a more oblong shape.

Layer the ingredients on one half of the dough, which should measure approximately 6” long x 4” wide. Start with the dressing, followed by one portabello, sliced OR enough sausage to cover top of dressing. Then cover “meat” with one to two grilled halves of pepper, then sprinkle some goat cheese on top of the peppers (just enough to provide some punch and creaminess to the Wellington, but not overwhelm it). Next, spoon some cranberry sauce as the final layer (again not too much, just enough to minimize the liquid in Wellington).

Carefully pat down the filling to make it more compact. Crack open one egg into a small bowl, add a little water, and beat with a fork lightly. Brush the edges of the filling covered half of pastry with egg wash. Fold the unfilled half of pastry over filling half, aligning edges as much as possible. Seal by using a fork to crimp all along the edges. Pierce the top of the pastry with a clean fork to vent and prevent leakage of filling. Brush entire top of pastry with egg wash. Gently place Wellington in a parchment lined glass pie pan (trimming parchment into circular shape).

Bake at 375°F for 35 – 40 minutes. Cook Wellingtons loosely covered with foil for first 15 minutes, then continue baking until crust is golden brown, about 20 – 25 minutes.

To serve, simply keep Wellingtons on the parchment paper and transfer onto serving or dinner plates. Serve with salad, additional cranberry sauce, and gravy. Delish!

These are large single servings, likely to make a great second meal the day after.

For the Dressing:
Place bread cubes on cookie sheet and bake at 300°F until dry, approximately 10—15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool, then sprinkle with dried cranberries and pecans.

Saute red onion in melted butter with garlic powder and herbs. Once the onion has softened, stir in broth and cook until warm, but not hot.

Put bread mixture in a large bowl. Beat egg and pour on top of bread. Pour warm, but not hot, liquid mixture over bread and egg. Toss lightly until combined and spoon evenly into large pan.

Bake covered at 375°F for 30 minutes, then uncovered for another 30 minutes. Allow to completely cool. You can prepare this the day before and refrigerate overnight.

NOTES:
Salt is not required for this recipe, which makes it great for anyone (like those with gout or a heart condition, etc.) who need to stay away from it. But feel free to make it with salt, to taste.

While we used garlic powder, Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic powder, and dried tarragon (1 – 2 teaspoons each or simply to taste) as our key herbs and spices, the recipe will certainly work well with other choices and combinations, including earthy herbs like fresh or dried rosemary, oregano, marjoram. You can also use fresh minced garlic, but be judicious with it so that it does not overwhelm the dish.

Variations: Try adding some fresh arugula as a layer. If you prefer to use chicken, use one skinned breast, sliced. For the chicken version, try spreading some brown mustard of your choice on the inside of the top piece of puff pastry, just over the filling and NOT to the edges).

You can serve this with our variation on VegWeb Vegetarian Chicken Gravy, which you can find in my Tasty Kitchen recipe box.

You can serve this dish with a salad of arugula, walnuts, dried cranberries, and pear/cherry tomatoes, with a cranberry or raspberry and walnut vinaigrette.