The holidays are the best time to cook!  But they’re not always the most vegan-friendly time of year.  With this Seitan Wellington, you can be sure that you are not going to get stuck eating only side dishes when your Holiday feast comes around.   We have to warn you: this dish is so delish that even distant cousins will want to try – so make extra!

Yields two small or one large Wellington. Serves six to eight.

Mushroom Filling Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon non-dairy butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups crimini mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, stemmed and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegan red wine (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

Seitan Filling Ingredients:

• 2 packages “chicken-style” seitan or 3 cups homemade seitan
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, stemmed and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons mustard, stone ground or German
• 2 tablespoons vegan red wine (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 3⁄4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus 1⁄4 cup flour for rolling
• Grated zest of 1⁄2 lemon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1 package vegan frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

Creamy Spinach Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 cups baby spinach, packed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon soy milk creamer

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the mushroom filling: In a large saute pan, heat butter and olive oil. Add mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add thyme, wine, sea salt, black pepper and flour, and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool.

For the seitan filling: In a large food processor, combine seitan, thyme, mustard, wine, maple syrup, flour, lemon zest, paprika, sea salt and black pepper. Pulse until uniform, about 20 times, and set aside.

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry out to about 1/2-inch thickness. To make one large Wellington, overlap two sheets by about 1 inch and press them together at seam. Place mushroom filling in center of pastry and spread out, leaving a 1- to 2-inch border on all sides.
2. Top mushrooms with seitan filling and fold puff pastry border over to form a log shape, completely sealing filling.
3. If making two small Wellingtons, divide seitan and mushroom filling in half before forming each log shape, and proceed as directed above.
4. To bake, place one large or two small Wellingtons seam side down on a greased baking sheet with rims. Make a couple of slits in top of pastry with a small knife.
5. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

For the spinach sauce: Sauté spinach in a large saute pan over low heat with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper, until wilted. In a blender, combine with soy milk creamer, and purée until smooth.

Serve sliced Wellington warm with spinach sauce.

The Sporkie scoop

For your smarts: Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, who helped defeat Napoleon, is credited with the name of this dish. He probably never set foot in the kitch to create this masterpiece — and we can almost guarantee he had never heard the word “seitan” — but we adore this recipe. So thank you, Duke!

For your parts: The crimini mushrooms make this dish so much more healthful than the beefy version. Criminis contain a lot of water and are low in calories but taste amazing, yay! They are also high in potassium, which is great for regulating blood pressure.

Source: oneGreenPlanet.org