Chestnut and butter bean Wellington

Wrapped in golden pastry, this vegan chestnut and butter bean Wellington bake is packed with flavour. She’s a show stopper, too – just look at her.  

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6)

For the pastry:

500g vegan puff or shortcrust pastry, in a block

Flour, for rolling out

For the inner filling:

50g sun-dried tomatoes (oil reserved) drained and chopped

1 onion, chopped

300g cooked chestnuts, mashed

400g tin butter beans, drained and mashed

2tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

50g ready-to-eat prunes, chopped

1tsp mild curry powder

100g chopped mixed nuts

Salt and pepper

For the outer filling:

400g mixed mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp soy sauce

200g frozen spinach

1 lemon, juice and ½ zest only

To glaze:

2tbsp soya milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle measuring 40cm x 30cm. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To make the inner filling, heat a little of the sun-dried tomato oil (save some for later) in your largest frying pan and gently fry the onion for five minutes. Add the remaining inner filling ingredients, except the seasoning, and cook for another 10 minutes over a low heat, stirring often. The mixture should be fairly dry and hold together. Season to taste and set aside to cool.

To make the outer filling, use the rest of the tomato oil to fry the mushrooms and garlic for five minutes. Add the soy sauce, spinach, the lemon zest and juice. Cook for 10 minutes, or until all of the moisture has evaporated. Allow to cool.

To assemble the Wellington, line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and transfer the pastry to it. With the long edge facing you, use the back of a table knife to lightly mark the pastry in half horizontally, giving two long rectangles. Place the inner filling in the top rectangle, leaving a 3cm border around the edges, and form it into a sausage shape. Pat the mushroom and spinach layer all over the filling to form the outer filling.

Brush the pastry borders with a little water. Fold the lower half of the pastry over to enclose the fillings and press all around to seal, then crimp the ends with a fork. Brush with the soya milk and bake for 45 minutes or until golden.

This can be baked and chilled for up to three days or frozen for up to three months. If frozen, allow to thaw and then thoroughly reheat.

Recipe courtesy of The Vegetarian Society