Baked Vegan Wellington with French Lentils
Looking for a vegan main that will knock everyone’s socks off? This vegan wellington is filled with French lentils and crimini mushrooms, so it’s as filling as it is flavourful…and it’s a lot easier to make than you think! Serves 8-12
Ingredients
Lentil Mushroom Filling
- 3 cups cooked French lentils from about 1 1/4 cup dry
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil or vegan butter
- 1 large yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 medium carrots scrubbed and finely chopped
- 1 pound crimini (brown button) mushrooms finely chopped, or white button
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 4 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian Beef Concentrate or sub 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup panko crumbs
For the Wellington
- 2 sheets vegan puff pastry thawed overnight in fridge; see notes for phyllo variation
- flour for rolling
- extra virgin olive oil or melted butter, for brushing pastry
Instructions
- First things first: Make sure you thaw the puff pastry or phyllo dough in the fridge the night before!
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ (205℃) now if you're not prepping the filling in advance. And line a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Are your lentils cooked? If not, do that now, before you start chopping anything.
- In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion and carrot until softened, about 10 minutes…don’t rush this! It makes a difference. Once cooked, place in a large mixing bowl along with the cooked lentils.
- In the same skillet, cook the mushrooms over medium heat until they release their water and look browned, 8-10 minutes. Then, add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
- To the mushrooms, add the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, cumin, bouillon concentrate, balsamic vinegar, and water. Cook until the liquid mostly evaporated, about 2-3 minutes. This is important, so your wellington is not soggy!
- Add mushroom mixture to the bowl with the lentils, mix thoroughly. Add the panko crumbs, mix again and taste. Need more salt and pepper? Season well until it really pops.
- Roll out your first puff pastry sheet on a well floured surface, so it’s about 10 x 15 inches in size. If you're using a puff pastry block like Tenderflake, press the two halves together to close the seam, then place the block seam side down and roll.
- Place half of the lentil mixture in the centre of the sheet, leaving a 3 inch border. You’ll want to really press it firmly with your hands to help pack it down.
- Fold the short sides over the filling first. Then, fold the long sides over the filling, it’s okay to stretch them a bit to make sure they overlap well. Carefully flip over and place on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the second sheet and filling.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. Let cool for 5 minutes and then slice each wellington into 4-6 slices.
- This vegan wellington is delicious served warm or at room temperature…so if you need the oven for another side dish, just bake the wellington first!
Video
Notes
Using puff pastry blocks, not sheets? You'll need 2 of the 397g boxes of Tenderflake puff pastry. I have tried this using just one box, divided into 2 blocks, but it is VERY difficult to roll out and the pastry is super thin.
Want to make this with phyllo dough instead? Here’s how:
It’s a little more effort than puff pastry but not much. Unwrap the phyllo dough and place it on the counter and cover with a damp tea towel. Pour some olive oil into a little bowl and grab a pastry brush. You’ll use 6-8 sheets of phyllo dough, depending how thin you want it. Place one sheet of phyllo on your parchment paper and brush gently with olive oil. Place another sheet of phyllo dough on top and continue, until you’ve added the last sheet. If it tears, don’t worry…just press it together. Then add your filling, folding over the dough as described with the puff pastry above. Brush the outside with more olive oil and bake as directed.
It’s a little more effort than puff pastry but not much. Unwrap the phyllo dough and place it on the counter and cover with a damp tea towel. Pour some olive oil into a little bowl and grab a pastry brush. You’ll use 6-8 sheets of phyllo dough, depending how thin you want it. Place one sheet of phyllo on your parchment paper and brush gently with olive oil. Place another sheet of phyllo dough on top and continue, until you’ve added the last sheet. If it tears, don’t worry…just press it together. Then add your filling, folding over the dough as described with the puff pastry above. Brush the outside with more olive oil and bake as directed.