I do not believe I am going off on a limb when I say this is the best nut roast/mushroom wellington/vegan Christmas roast I’ve ever tried or made. It’s absolutely epic. The flavours are amazing, the texture is perfect and for those of you who have made nut roasts before – this one is surprizingly easy to make! Anyways, we start off by cooking onions, then garlic and mushrooms in a pan. Once the mushrooms have released their liquid, we leave them to cool before transferring to a food processor. Now we add the good stuff: tamari sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce, fresh thyme, lots of stuffing spice, Brazil nuts, bread crumbs (the drier the better!) and kale if desired. We then line up the phyllo pastry, rolling them together with a rolling pin, before neatly placing the mushroom mix in the centre, creating an oblong shape. We then fold it up, brush it with oat milk, cut a few holes into it for that gorgeous look afterwards and bake in the oven. And oh my – the smell of it cooking! Heaven<3. And the way it looks and tastes afterwards? Well, you’re welcome.
I want to mention that my recipe is based on Vegan Punks‘, though I’ve modified it quite a lot.
Also, if you would like more of a stuffing vibe to the whole thing (because stuffing is the best), feel free to add chopped celery while cooking the onions.
This recipe is for the Wellington and sauce, but I would recommend also making my Oven Roasted Potatoes and super easy Green Pea Salad to go with it, and serve with lingonberry jam and pickled red cabbage! That is for the more Norwegian Christmas Eve dinner, but on Christmas Day, we make it North-American style, serving the Wellington with mashed swedes (with butter, salt and a little bit of maple syrup🍁), brussel sprouts, orange cranberry sauce, more peas and well, still potatoes. Followed of course by my epic vegan pumpkin pie. Hey, I’m just trying to get you into the holiday spirit<3.
Ingredients roast:
1 tbsp oil (rape seed is the best)
1 large yellow onion, nicely chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
250g chestnut mushrooms (NO: aromasopp), roughly chopped
250g portabello mushrooms, roughly chopped
100g Brazil nuts
1 cup breadcrumbs (about 1 large slice of bread – I use stale sourdough for the best result:)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1-3 tsp tamari sauce or soy sauce (doesn’t matter which one)
2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1,5 tsp stuffing spice (mix of thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper and nutmeg)
optional: 1-2 handfuls fresh kale, washed, patted dry and roughly chopped
6 rectangular puff pastry sheets, frozen
oat milk to brush
Epic mushroom gravy:
6 chestnut mushrooms, chopped into quite small pieces
1/2 large yellow onion (or one small one), finely chopped
1 tsp stuffing spice
3-4 tsp tamari sauce
2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce – this is usually the only one I manage to find in Oslo:(
fresh thyme
1/2 Litre veggie broth (for the richest flavour, buy broth instead of buillon) I use this one
vegan cream, preferably onion or pepper flavoured (I absolutely love using a combination of Aito Oat Cuisine Pepper and Oat Cuisine Roasted Onion – 10/10 would recommend! I buy these at Meny in Oslo)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees (375F). In a large pan over medium heat, add the oil and onion (and celery if using). Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring every so often. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring a little. Now add the chopped mushrooms. You might have to add half and then the other half once there is room. Cook over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated from the mushrooms and the mixture is starting to stick to the pan a little. We really want the mushroom mix to be as dry as possible, so keep cooking if you’re unsure. Next, take the pan off the heat.
- Get your food processor ready and blend the Brazil nuts alone until crumbly. Then add the mushroom mixture, bread crumbs and thyme. Mix until a nice and chunky dough forms, but not overmix. Now we add tamari, W-sauce and stuffing spice. Start by adding just 1 tsp of each, mix it all together and sample it (yes, you can sample it, everything in there is cooked properly). Does it need more salt/tangyness? Add more tamari. Does it need more sweetness/roast vibe? Add more Worcestershire sauce. Does it need more stuffing spice? Add more stuffing spice. Once you’ve reached the perfect balance of flavours, take a look at the consistency. The dough should have the perfect consistency by now, but if it happens to be a little too wet, add some more breadcrumbs and mix. Once taste and texture has been perfected, add kale (if using) and give it one last mix.
- Get your puff pastry rectangles out and assemble them on top of a baking sheet, as pictured below. Make sure they overlap a little so that there are no gaps. Using a rolling pin (NO: kjevle), roll the rectangles together. You don’t have to overdo it, just make sure they’re all stuck together. Now scoop the filling onto the centre of the pastry dough. With your hands, form it into an oblong shape (see pictures below), and tuck it neatly together. Then, carefully fold the short ends of the pastry sheet over the short ends of the filling. Tuck them in neatly, so that there is as little trapped air as possible in there. Next, take one of the long sides and fold it over the filling. Again, try to tuck it as neatly as possible and avoid trapped air. Fold the other side over, closing the whole thing, and tuck well once more.
- Get your baking tray ready, and transfer the baking sheet with the Wellington onto the tray. This is when you turn the roast upside down, so that the nice side is face-up. Use your hands to form it into a slighly flatter, rounded out shape (a semi circle, seen from the short end).
- Take a sharp knife and make a few incisions into the top of the Wellington, creating parallel diagonal lines (about five) through the top (see pictures) to release trapped air while cooking. This also makes it look really good once it’s done. Put a splash of oat milk into a little cup and brush onto the top of the Wellington, making sure the entire top is covered. Place in the oven and cook for 40-60 minutes. Just keep checking it every five minutes after 40 to see if it’s done. If the roast is starting to get golden on top while the pastry looks very much uncooked at the bottom, you might want to place a sheet of aluminum foil over the Wellington (do not tuck! just hovering over) as it continues to cook, so that the whole thing comes out golden all around.
- While the roast bakes, we’ll make the sauce. Start by heating a small saucepan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil and cook the onion until soft and translucent. Add the mushroom and continue to cook, stirring a little. Once the most of the water has evaporated from the mushrooms, turn the heat to medium/low and add tamari, W-sauce and stuffing spices. Stir well, using a whisk, before adding the veggie broth. Remove the leaves from a few thyme sprigs and put them (the leaves) into the sauce. Cook on medium/low heat, stirring every once in a while until it simmers. Then just let it simmer while stirring a little here and there.
- Once the Wellington is golden all over, take it out of the oven and let it rest. Get your sauce ready by adding about 2dL of cream (I use 50/50 pepper and onion flavoured cream), or more if desired/needed. Your sauce should have a pretty nice consistency by now, but if it is too thick, add a splash of broth or cream. If it’s too runny, get some cornstarch and a cup. Put 1 tsp cornstarch in the cup and add 2-3 tsp water. Mix until dissolved, and add to the sauce, while stirring. This should help it thicken. Transfer to a nice suace serving dish.
- Assuming you have all your Christmas dinner sides ready, start slicing the wellington as you would any other roast – holding it steady with a carving fork while slicing with a carving knife. I like using these utensils as they give me the feeling of being tough and slicing into dead, roasted flesh, while not actually slicing a dead animal<3. Although the roast looks prettier before it’s sliced, your guests will appreciate it being sliced beforehand as it is a messy job, so please, slice the whole thing before serving.
- Serve the mushroom Wellington with mushroom gravy, roast potatoes, green pea salad, or whichever sides you prefer:) Merry Christmas!
Fabulous!!!
😊😊