Mighty Mushrooms
- Becca Mary
- Oct 11, 2017
- 4 min read
Wellingtons (not the ones you wear to go and jump in puddles) are a popular dish and are often on the menu in local pubs and restaurants. Scott's family sometimes have beef wellington at Christmas time, but then I came along. Last year, Scott's mum made a really tasty butternut squash and wensleydale wellington. I'd never really eaten a beef wellington before I went veggie, but since being veggie and trying the butternut squash version, I've been keen to make my own using tasty fillings and fluffy pastry. A wellington can be a perfect option for a Vegetarian Christmas. There are different variations you could try:
- chestnut and mushroom
- butternut squash and stilton
- pesto, roast veg and goat's cheese
- mediterranean veg
- beetroot and roast veg
I found this tasty Melthy Mushroom version that I just had to try:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/12804/melty-mushroom-wellingtons
I served the wellingtons with roast potatoes, sweet potatoes and broccoli and fresh green beans. It ended up being quite a feast for a Tuesday night.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients:
* 4 large field mushrooms
* olive oil
* 2 garlic cloves, chopped (1 for spinach, 1 for broccoli)
* about 400g spinach leaves
* a dusting of GF flour
* 1 tbsp picked thyme leaves
* 500g block all-butter puff pastry (I used GF Silly Yak multi-purpose for mine and 3 wellingtons using Lidl's rolled puff pastry)
* 140g extra mature cheddar, sliced (or stilton, mozzarella)
* 1 egg, beaten
* mix of roasting and sweet potatoes to roast
* green beans and broccoli to serve
* smoked paprika, rosemary and dried thyme
Method:
1. Heat oven 180°C. OPTIONAL - Mix sweet potatoes, roasting potatoes and garlic in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil over the mixture and toss to coat; pour into a shallow roasting pan. Roast until the potatoes are soft and golden brown (this should take 30 to 35 minutes).
2. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and sizzle the mushrooms for 3-4 mins on each side until golden and cooked through – add a drop more oil if needed. Lift the mushrooms out onto kitchen paper to drain.
3. Place the same pan back on the heat with the rest of the oil. Fry the garlic for a moment, add the spinach to the pan, then cook for 2-3 mins over a high heat until completely wilted. Tip the spinach into a large sieve to drain thoroughly.
4. On a lightly floured surface scattered with the thyme leaves, roll the pastry out to the thickness of a £1 coin. You can make any shape of wellington you wish and you could turn this into one large wellington or keep it as 4 individuals. Use a template to cut desired shape of pastry. Ensure the base is about 5cm wider than the mushrooms (for the bottoms) and the top is about 10cm wider than the mushrooms, re-rolling the trimmings if you need to.
5. Place the 4 smaller bases on a baking tray and top each with a quarter of the spinach, making sure the pile of spinach isn’t wider than the mushrooms. Top the spinach with a slice of cheese, then a mushroom, smooth-side up, and top the mushroom with another slice of cheese. Brush the border to each circle with egg, then gently stretch the larger circle over the mushroom, trying not to trap any air, then press the edges together with a fork. Trim the edges with a knife if you want, then brush each generously with egg. Bake for 30 mins until golden, then leave to cool for a few mins before serving.
6. OPTIONAL - Meanwhile, toss the broccoli florets with olive oil, garlic, and pepper on a baking sheet. Spread them out and then roast, without stirring, until the edges are crispy and the stems are crisp tender (this should take about 20 minutes). Once the wellingtons are nearly cooked, cook the green beans.
Like I said at the top of this post, it was a big feast, but a very tasty one. I think this has been one of my favourite dishes I've made so far. Scott's mum and I cooked together, and she helped me with the GF pastry as it didn't roll out very easily. The filling was really tasty and although the GF pastry was tasty, it tasted quite sweet and was more like shortcrust (even though we didn't knead the pastry like the instructions said). I'd like to try using the pastry again and experiment with it. Last night I could start cooking at 16.45 and we were eating by 6PM. However, that's not always possible. In Edinburgh, I wouldn't have had time to make this kind of dish on a weekday. This would have been something I would have made and eaten at the weekend. Or you can make it, pop it in the freezer, and eat it a couple days later. I am definitely appreciating that it is a luxury at the moment that I have time to cook something like this after work.
Sorry my posts haven't been so regular. I made my usual tasty red pesto on Sunday, and we've been using up leftovers/making savoury crepes for dinner. I still have smoky veggie chilli, mushroom curry and homemade gnochhi on my mind so I will be making that soon. I stillll need to try GF fondants too. I am going to Edinburgh on a Friday for a week. My mum wants me to cook some of the recipes I've already posted, so I might not be sharing any new recipes. However, I'll share any GF Veggie food I've eaten in Edinburgh and I can share what I get up to while I'm away.
Thanks x gf v x
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