Portobello Wellington [Vegan]

You know what gets me really excited? Like, maybe it’s a little weird, I’m so excited?

Fresh produce.

Yup, if there’s one thing I love, it’s to spend some time browsing the farmer’s market. Going to a farm stand. It’s just so… wonderful. Fresh!

So, you can imagine the state of my mood when I got a delivery last Thursday from Organivores. A brand-new produce delivery service here in Vancouver, Organivores delivers produce on Thursday afternoons that was literally picked that morning. Yup. It doesn’t get any fresher than that! And it’s all organic, and it’s local, from the Valley, mostly, except for the apples, which come from the Okanagan, of course.

It was like Christmas at my house! I was so excited; the bin contained potatoes, turnips, radishes, tomatoes, garlic, onions, a variety of different greens, the biggest leek I have ever seen in my life, and even some dried apple chips. Mmm. And mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms, including criminis, buttons and portobellos. Watch me unboxing the whole thing here.

I’ve been plowing my way through all these gorgeous vegetables over the last week, making lovely quiches and salads, a risotto, and roasting them. But I wanted to make one really special dish to share with you all, and this is it, in all its epic showstoppingness: Portobello Wellington.

I do love “vegetarianizing” or “veganizing” omni classic dishes. If you’ve never had a Wellington, it’s a British dish that’s often served at special occasions or a Sunday dinner. It’s usually made with beef or salmon, a whole big chunk of meat, along with some kind of stuffing, and then the whole thing is wrapped in puff pastry and baked in the oven. It’s pretty impressive.

I decided to do a vegan version of this. Portobellos are so meaty in their texture, many people use them in place of hamburgers or even steak. This version is a portobello stuffed with a mushroom duxelles mixture, then wrapped in puff pastry. Now, you might be worried puff pastry is made with butter, but actually most of them are vegan. Check the ingredients to be sure.

To make this even more traditional, I’d serve it with potatoes and some nice green beans or asparagus. Everything I needed to make this recipe with the exception of the puff pastry and the herbs (which came from my garden) came from the Organivores box. I do love a challenge! FYI, this recipe is a little more complicated than most that I share here, but it really is a “special occasion” recipe, when a little extra work is merited. The results are fabulous!

Portobello Wellington

(recipe inspired by One Green Planet)

Ingredients:

• 2 Portobello mushrooms (largeish)
• 1 sheet vegan puff pastry (I used Tenderflake)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 crimini mushrooms
• 3 button mushrooms
• 1/2 small leek
• 2 large ribs swiss chard
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp good mustard (dijon)
• 1 tsp each: fresh tarragon, rosemary and sage, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp vegan butter

Instructions

1. Remove the puff pastry from the freezer, and allow to stand at room temperature.
2. Carefully brush any dirt off of the portobellos, and remove their stems. Place on a baking tray, and allow to bake for 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Remove, and set aside.
3. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Chop the leeks into fine half moons and add to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until the begin to soften. Chop the garlic finely and add it as well. Stir.
4. Chop the criminis and button mushrooms in half, and then slice them finely. Add them to the pan and allow them to cook down for about another 5 minutes.
5. Chop the chard into ribbons and add to the pan. You may need to add more olive oil, as the mushrooms might soak up a great deal of it. You want to keep everything in the pan moist. Stir well and allow to cook down for about 2 minutes. Finally, add the fresh herbs and the mustard and stir well. Turn off the heat, and taste and re-season if needed.
6. Dump the entire works into a blender or food processor, and pulse until it resembles large crumbs. You want all the pieces to be relatively uniform and small.
7. Heap a couple large tablespoons of the duxelles mixture (stuffing) into the cavity of the portobellos, and pack it down.
8. Roll out the puff pastry so that it forms a large enough square to accommodate both portobellos. Cut it in half. Place one mushroom down on one half of the puff pastry, and wrap the pastry around it so that it meets up in the back. Tamp the open edges down to completely envelop the mushroom in a little puff pastry package. Place them on a baking tray.
9. Melt the vegan butter in the microwave, and brush it over the puff pastry packages. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.