Hi kittens! How are you? It’s been a very cold week: snow and ice have covered where I live and I was really a Winter Wonderland! Just perfect for the pre-Christmas period. And it’s a great time to have some comfort food like this Vegan Vegetable Wellington by ConnoseurusVeg.

Ingredients

• ½ cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 cups diced (½-inch) butternut squash (Note 1)
• 8 ounces diced ½-inch) cremini mushrooms (about 3 cups of mushrooms)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup whiskey (Note 2)
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 sheet (about 9 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed (Note 3)
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted

Instructions

1. Place the rice, broth, thyme, sage and rosemary into a small saucepan and set it over high heat.
2. Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat and cover. Allow the rice to simmer for about 40 minutes, until the liquid is fully absorbed.
3. Remove the pot from heat and allow it to sit with the lid on for at least 5 minutes before uncovering.
4. While the rice cooks, preheat the oven to 400°.
5. Toss the squash with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and and toss the mushrooms with 2 teaspoons of oil. Arrange them separately on the baking sheets.
6. Place the baking sheets into the oven and bake until the squash and mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes.
7. Remove the baking sheets from the oven but leave the oven on.
8. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
9. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
10. Add the garlic and sauté another minute, until very fragrant.
11. Lower the heat and carefully add the whiskey (Note 4). Raise the heat back to medium, bring the whiskey to a simmer it simmer for about 2 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked off.
12. Add 1 cup of the cooked rice (Note 5), squash, mushrooms and pecans to the skillet. Stir a few times to mix everything up.
13. Taste-test the mixture at this point (careful, as it will be hot) and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
14. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to incorporate. Remove the skillet from the heat.
15. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
16. Place the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it to about a 12-inch square. Transfer it to the baking sheet.
17. Pile the filling on the puff pastry, forming a long rectangle extending down the center of the puff pastry sheet. Shape the filling with your hands and pack it in. It should seem like a lot, but you can remove some if it’s way too much.
18. Option 1: Braid the dough. Use a knife to cut approximately 1-inch strips down either side of the rectangle, stopping about a half in from the strip of filling. Starting at the bottom, fold the strips inward at a slight diagonal, over the filling, pinching opposite strips together.
19. Option 2: Simply fold the top and bottom ends of the puff pastry over the filling, then wrap the sides overtop to form a log shape, pinching tightly at the seams to form a seal. Poke a few holes in the dough to allow steam to escape.
20. Brush the pastry with the melted butter.
21. Bake the log until golden and puffy, 30-35 minutes.
22. Allow the vegetable Wellington to cool just for a couple minutes, then slice and serve.

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Love,

TVCL xx