Pies are truly the ideal vegetarian option for holiday meals, and this vegetarian wellington is perhaps my best yet. There are no nuts, berries, or capers here – the mushroom base is almost the same as a traditional duxelles and I don’t want to move away from that delicious flavour combination. It’s made only with olive oil and no butter.

The centre of the wellington is roasted butternut squash, which might seem a little bland, but the mushrooms are so flavourful here that they’re really the star of the show. The slight sweetness of the squash pairs very nicely with it. Herbs, white wine, and plenty of olive oil are added to very finely chopped mushrooms, which are cooked, cooled, and used to surround the squash (or as a base only, see more below). The puff pastry can be vegan or made with butter depending on dietary preferences.

For a fantastic veg holiday spread, serve this with dairy-free mashed potatoes, vegan gravy (I prefer the mushroom-free version here), and lingonberry sauce. If you want to go all-out on carbs you could do vegetarian stuffing, too. I like simple peas and some kind of seasonal salad like this winter kale salad. Even if the full meal isn’t vegetarian, your veggie guests will be thrilled to have something that isn’t just a plateful of side dishes!

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Puff pastry: it is very easy to find vegan puff pastry, and that is what I use (dairy allergy). There’s a pretty good quality option at the organic shop that I always buy and it puffs up nicely. If you or your guests can eat dairy, an all-butter puff will be richer.
• Wine: choose a dry white wine. Red can be used in a pinch. There is no substitution unless you can find a high quality alcohol-free alternative.
• Mushrooms: so far, every time I’ve made this, I’ve used plain old button mushrooms as pictured. You could use a mix of mushroom varieties if you’d like but I don’t think it’s necessary to pay extra for that for this recipe.
• Oil: do not reduce the amount of oil added. Remember that this is a special meal, and not something you eat every day, and it’s okay to use extra oil sometimes. If you try to reduce it, the duxelles will be bland and fall apart easily. If you can eat butter you can replace half of the oil with butter.
• Squash: choose a good butternut or honeynut squash that feels heavy. The best ones will have been cured properly – test this by pressing into the skin with your thumbnail. If it doesn’t pierce the skin, the squash is cured, and will taste better (it will also last longer if you plan on storing any winter squash).

Step by Step

Step 1: very finely chop the mushrooms and onion and add to a hot frying pan with the oil.

Step 2: cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3: add the seasoning, herbs, and wine, and cook for another ten minutes.

Step 4: roast and cool the squash (this can be done in advance).

Step 5: roll out the puff pastry and cut a piece about 24×12 cm. Add a layer of the duxelles.

Step 6: place the roasted squash half on the mushrooms and (optionally) coat with more.

Step 7: top with the other piece of puff pastry and seal the edges. Chill.

Step 8: score and bake for about 40 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

This has been the pie of the year for us, and I’ve made it many, many times this autumn already. There are a few things to keep in mind for a very successful wellington.

Making elements ahead is not only possible here, but recommended. Roast the squash and cook the duxelles a day in advance so that they’re fully cool and ready to go. Otherwise, find somewhere cold, like an unheated room or sheltered outdoor area, so that they can cool quickly without ruining your refrigerator. They must both be fully cool, preferably cold, before sealing in the pastry.

Don’t skimp on the baking time. You want the pastry to be very golden to avoid the dreaded soggy bottom. On the same note, placing the pie a bit closer to the bottom of the oven for the first bit of baking will help to ensure that the base is crisp (this makes more of a difference if you don’t have a fan-forced oven).

A decoration on top of the wellington is lovely, but you can score it simply if you prefer. Crimping the edges isn’t really visible after baking but as it needs to be sealed anyway, you may as well – I always do. You could press with a fork instead if you’d like.

The duxelles is a bit softer than a traditional one as it’s not made with butter. If you find that it’s too tricky to coat the top of the squash with it, simply skip this step and only do a layer underneath the squash. It will be a bit too thick but that’s all right.

The size that you cut the pastry base to will vary depending on the size of your squash. If the butternut squash is a very large one, you might want to cut it down a bit to fit – or make the wellington bigger, but adjust the cooking time in that case.

How to Store

Storage: this is best fresh, but can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days. I recommend reheating in the oven to crisp up the pastry again before serving.

Freezing: while you can freeze assembled beef wellington and then bake from frozen, my concern here is that the squash would be watery after freezing and then ruin the pastry base. I have not tried freezing it, either before or after baking.

Expert Tips

• Chill before baking: the squash and the duxelles must both be cold before assembling the pie. If they’re warm, the fat in the pastry will start to melt before baking, and you won’t get lamination (flaky layers in the pastry). Chilling the whole wellington again before baking does make a difference as well, as the pastry warms up a bit when handled.
• Really chop those mushrooms: the mushrooms and onion should be very finely chopped, no more than a centimetre in size. I use a mini chopper but be careful if using a food processor of some kind not to turn it into a paste – pulse rather than blending, and scrape down the sides as needed.
• Choose good ingredients: when you look at it, there aren’t loads of ingredients needed for this recipe. If you try to sneak a sweet wine in there, or sub sunflower for olive oil, you’ll notice.
• Don’t skip the scoring: if you don’t score the top of the wellington in some way or another – it doesn’t need to be decorative – the steam won’t have anywhere to escape during baking. For a good crisp pastry, don’t forget this step.

More Holiday Mains

Vegan Holiday Pie with Hot Water Crust
Winter Nut Roast
Mushroom Pot Pie
Caramelised Onion and Mushroom Wreath Pie