This vegan take on the classic beef wellington is a great balance of sweet and earthy flavours, all rolled up in the comfort of golden puff pastry.
Recipe by Gill Johnson
Beet Wellington with balsamic reduction
Ingredients
BEET WELLINGTON
- 6 large beetroot, peeled
- 500g button mushrooms, chopped
- 1 large onion, peeled, chopped
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 300g baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
- 400g frozen puff pastry (shop bought), defrosted
- 1 free range egg, beaten
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds (optional)
BALSAMIC REDUCTION
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 200g sugar
Instructions
To make the Beet Wellington, preheat the oven to 180 C. Lightly grease a baking tray.
Place the beetroot into a large pot of water that covers them. Bring to the boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat, cover with the lid and cook for about 50 minutes, until they are tender. Remove them from the pot and set aside to cool. Once cooled, cut about 1cm off the ends of each beetroot (so that when assembling, they will fit together).
Blitz the mushrooms, onion, thyme, salt and black pepper in a food processor, on high, until it is very finely chopped. Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the blitzed mushroom mixture to the pan, stirring frequently as it cooks. This should take about 15-20 minutes. When the mushrooms have browned and there is no liquid in the pan, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Place the spinach into a pot of boiling water fitted with a steamer. Allow it to wilt for 3 minutes, then remove it from the steamer and let it drain in a colander (it should be as dry as possible).
Unroll the puff pastry onto a floured board. With the pastry lying horizontally on the board, pack the spinach in a strip along the middle ( just wide enough to place the beetroot on), making sure to leave a border on both ends (this will be to close the ends of the wellington). Place the beetroots next to each other on the strip of spinach. Scoop handfuls of the mushroom mixture and mould it over the beetroot, until they are completely covered. Take the end of the pastry closest to you and roll it over the encased beetroots and repeat with the other side. Close the ends (it should look like a giant sausage roll). Place the wellington (seam side underneath) onto the prepared baking tray. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Make 3 small incisions along the top. Bake in the oven for 1 hour until golden brown.
To make the balsamic glaze, heat the balsamic vinegar over a medium heat. Stir in the sugar and allow it to reduce, stirring intermittently, until it thickens.
Place the Beet Wellington onto a platter and serve with the balsamic glaze on the side.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
