Veggies wrapped up in a pretty package
Many years
ago as I approached my first Christmas as a vegetarian, my friend Lacy (also
new to the meatless way of life) and I decided we would make this as a
substitute for the Christmas beast.
In addition
to being new to the vegetarian lifestyle, neither of us had much experience in
the kitchen with dishes much more complicated than a burger or grilled cheese
sandwiches. Our attempt at Vegetarian Wellington, with all that cutting and
stirring and whatnot was a sloppy, gooey mess. It tasted pretty darned good, so
I made it several more times for other occasions.
The recipe
has been tweaked a bit over the years and we learned to substitute some
ready-made stuff to make the process a little simpler during the busy holiday
times.. The recipe, scribbled on a ingredient-dappled piece of paper, has been
stuffed inside a cookbook for a decade or more now. It fell out the other day
when I was looking for something else.
It’s a
fairly simple recipe in retrospect – far easier than stuffing the body cavity
of a slaughtered bird with bread – but it does take a bit of patience to
assemble it. In the end, it is worth the trouble and it makes a beautiful
addition to the holiday table.
At a
vegetarian feast, this Wellington could be the centerpiece of a meal. If you
are sharing your holiday with carnivorous loved ones, this is a side dish they
can enjoy as well.
Vegetable
Wellington
1 tablespoon
of olive oil
1 pound of
asparagus, cut into smallish pieces
2 medium red
peppers, cut into thin strips
1 medium
onion, thinly sliced
1 cup of
baby spinach leaves
1 4-oz. jar of
prepared pesto sauce
1 large egg
1 17.3-oz. package
of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 10-oz. log
of goat cheese, softened
1 16-oz. jar
prepared tomato sauce, warmed
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus, the peppers, and the onion, and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the veggies begin to soften. Add the spinach, and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes – until the spinach wilts. Stir in the pesto and set the pan aside to cool.
- Whisk the egg in a bowl, and set aside.
- Place 1 sheet puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper. Lift the parchment with the puff pastry, and place it, parchment-side-down in 9-inch loaf pan. Press the pastry into the pan, allowing it to hang over the sides.
- Cut squares from a second puff pastry sheet, and press them onto the short sides of parchment-covered pan to make dough shell. Prick bottom of puff pastry all over with fork.
- Spread the whole lot of the goat cheese over the bottom of puff pastry. Top with the asparagus mixture. Fold all of the excess puff pastry over the vegetables, and brush the edges with egg.
- Cut a 10 by 6ish piece of puff pastry from the remaining sheet and set it on top of the asparagus mixture. Press to seal the edges. Refrigerate the whole thing for 30 minutes, along with unused pastry scraps and egg.
- Preheat the oven to 425°, and place an oven rack on second-lowest level.
- Brush the top with egg, and poke 2 or 3 holes in the top so steam can escape.
- Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven heat to 350° and bake for 45 minutes more. Cool for 15 minutes.
