Vegetarian Christmas dinner
- Remove mixture from the blender and blend first the onions, then mushrooms – you can mix them up if you wish – until they are perfectly smooth.
- Mix all the blended ingredients together in a bowl, adding the breadcrumbs, ground almonds and the remaining tarragon. The mixture should gently hold its shape when formed with the hands.
- Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Remove the pastry from the fridge.
- Divide the mixture in two and place one lot on a sheet of pastry, shapingwith your hands as you go to make a long rectangular shape about 28cm long, 7cm wide and about 5cm high.
- With the thin point of a sharp knife, make diagonal cuts at a 45-degree angle, starting from the left hand corner of the pastry towards the pate mixture. Repeat on the other side, this time starting at the top right hand corner and cutting down towards the centre. The strips should now be about 2cm apart.
- Fold in the end pieces first. Then draw a strip over from the left, then one from the right, crossing them over (you can tug lightly at the strips if you need to) so the mix is snugly wrapped up. Repeat for the second wellington.
- Either freeze at this stage or glaze generously with beaten egg. Place upon a floured tray, using two fish slices or the loose base of a tart tin to help you. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until golden.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before attempting to lift onto a serving dish. Once again you'll need the help of some implements.
- Allow 2 perfect slices per person, cut with a very sharp serrated or electric knife.
To serve
Place the wellington on your largest platter, surrounded by the roasted vegetables and the braised fennel. The gratin is creamy enough and the vegetables will ooze delicious juices of their own, but you can make a very quick sauce for the wellington if you wish:Combine a few thinly sliced button mushrooms with a few wild ones. Slowly fry them in a knob of butter, seasoned with a little wine, salt, pepper and thickened with a dash of cream. Good old fashioned cranberry sauce goes very well too.
Gratin Dauphinoise
Serves 8–10For this recipe, you can slice the potatoes the day before and keep them in cold water. Just drain them on the day you serve them and proceed with the recipe as set out below. You can even cook the gratin the night before and reheat it in the same oven as the wellington, covered with a piece of buttered foil or baking parchment to stop it from burning. For a really simple side, make Roast Potatoes.
1kg potatoes
300ml double cream
pinch nutmeg
1 garlic clove, crushed
50g finely sliced onions
15g butter
90g grated gruyere
salt and pepper to taste
previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | next
printer friendly
send to a friend
Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Horoscopes| Message Boards | Quizzes | Newsletters | Join
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB
