Mushroom Wellington recipe

A basic but tasty vegetarian (could be adapted to be vegan by swapping out the pastry and omitting the parmesan) Mushroom Wellington with caramelised onion, rosemary, port and Dijon mustard.

This recipe is intended as a guide. I cobbled it together carefully crafted it from a combination of recipes I found on the internet. I’ve only made it once so measurements are approximate and if you’re serving this to anyone I would suggest a trial run first to check for any mistakes and adjust quantities.

However, it did turn out very well, was delicious and the texture was great. It would make an excellent vegetarian alternative for a Sunday roast, and omnivores should enjoy it too (I’m not a vegetarian and loved it).

Ingredients

Serves 4 moderately hungry people alongside a roast dinner, or two very hungry people. Could also serve 6 as a starter or side dish.

For the roasted mushrooms

• 400g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 or 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10g parmesan, grated on a microplane
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 50g breadcrumbs
• 2g salt

For the caramelised onions

• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 25g/2 tbsp butter

For the mushroom centre

• 150g exotic mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, enoki), roughly chopped or whole
• 1–2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 50ml port

To assemble

• 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
• 2tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 egg yolks mixed with a little water, to glaze

Directions

Roast mushrooms

1. Thickly slice the mushrooms.
2. Mix in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and rosemary.
3. Tip onto a roasting tray and pop in the oven at 180 degrees C for 30-40 minutes.
4. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until in small pieces but not a paste or puree. You’re looking for a similar texture to chunky mince/ground beef.
5. Transfer to a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, garlic, parmesan and soy sauce.
6. Taste and adjust for seasoning then leave to cool.

Caramelise onions

1. Melt the butter in a pan then add the onions and a pinch of salt.
2. Cook over a medium-high heat until they soften, then cover with a cartouche (optional but helps to keep the moisture in).
3. Turn down to low and cook until caramelised.
4. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.

Cook the mushroom centre

1. Slice, halve, or leave the mushrooms whole. You’re aiming for a different texture to contrast with the rest of the filling.
2. Add to a dry pan and cook over a medium heat until softened but still with some texture.
3. Deglaze the pan with port and add in the chopped rosemary.
4. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.

Combine the elements

1. Lay out a sheet of cling film. Have the pastry to hand to gauge how long the filling needs to be. You want an inch or two at each end to allow for sealing the Wellington.
2. Lay down the roast mushroom mixture.
3. Put the caramelised onions on top.
4. Top with the mushroom centre.
5. Roll up into a sausage and roll by holding the ends of the cling film to tighten.
6. Pop in the fridge to firm up. This can be done the night before or a couple of days ahead.

Assemble the Wellington

1. Get the pastry out of the fridge an hour or so before to come up to room temperature.
2. Unroll and lay out.
3. Spread a layer of Dijon roughly the size of your filling sausage.
4. Unwrap the filling and get rid of the cling film. Lay it on the layer of dijon.
5. Carefully roll up the pastry to enclose the filling.
6. Fold or crimp the ends to close it up.
7. Brush with the egg mixture, (I forgot to do this bit) and put a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape and make it look a bit pretty.
8. At this point it could be refrigerated overnight ready to bake the next day.
9. Place on a baking tray and put in a 200 degree C oven (180 fan) for 30-40 minutes until golden.
10. Slice and serve.