Perfect Vegan Wellington Recipe with Mushroom and Beets (2024)

FAQs

What's in a vegan Wellington? ›

Don't panic if you can't find chestnuts, you could try walnuts or hazelnuts instead – and these Wellingtons use ready-made puff pastry, so they really couldn't be easier.

Seared portobello mushrooms are layered with apple cider-caramelized onions and sautéed mushrooms, which are seasoned with soy sauce for flavor and bolstered with walnuts for texture. The rich mushroom filling is vegan, and the entire dish can easily be made vegan, too.

Honey. Honey is a controversial food for many vegans. Bees do produce it, and it is also a food source in the hive. Because bees produce it, and bees have died to make it, honey is not considered vegan.

Although we commonly talk about "chestnuts", "candied chestnuts" and "chestnut purée" or "cream", we are actually only referring to a variety of large sweet chestnut grown for consumption! Sweet chestnuts are edible, but horse chestnuts are poisonous.

Simply called Japanese sweet potatoes, they have a creamy, mellow taste reminiscent of chestnuts.

Nigella mentions in the introduction to the recipe that walnuts are a good alternative to the chestnuts and it is a good way to use up any walnuts left over from Christmas. But you could also use pecans or hazelnuts as an alternative as their slight sweetness will contrast well with the other ingredients.

What exactly is mushroom leather? Mushroom leather is an imitation leather manufactured from mycelium, which is the vegetative section of a fungus. A fungus is part of the group of eukaryotic organisms. It's a vegan-friendly alternative to cowhide leather.

You can also follow the recipe to step 5 of 'making the wellingtons' and freeze the wellingtons, uncooked, and keep frozen up to 3 months in advance. When you want to cook them, defrost thoroughly in the fridge and bake as above.

However, what sets mushroom leather apart is its environmental footprint. The production of mycelium leather emits fewer greenhouse gases, uses less water, and requires less land compared to animal leather. Additionally, as a plant-based product, it is biodegradable and compostable, thus reducing waste in landfills.

How do you make beef Wellington without a soggy bottom? ›

Phyllo provides a moisture barrier, preventing the puff pastry from getting soggy. A double layer of plastic wrap makes it easier to wrap up the tenderloin.

One other approach is to bake "blind" a rectangle of puff pastry for the base before assembling the wellington. Cut a rectangle of pastry slightly larger than the beef for the base, prick it thoroughly with a fork and bake at 200c/400F for 20 minutes until golden.

It should be a nice compact package. Brush the entire Wellington with beaten egg. You can decorate the top using pastry scraps, brush them with egg as well. You can prepare the Wellington up to 24 hours in advance at this point, but make sure you remove it from the fridge 30-40 minutes before the final bake.

Almost all ready-made puff pastry is vegan. The ready-rolled and ready-to-roll puff pastry that you buy in the supermarket is usually made with vegetable fats. Homemade puff pastry typically calls for butter but it can be made with dairy-free butter too.

Seitan is a plant-based meat substitute made from wheat gluten that mimics the flavor and texture of chicken. You can buy it in many health food supermarkets, or you can make it yourself. It's typically made out of vital wheat gluten, an ingredient that has a similar texture to flour but is mostly, well, gluten.