Butternut Squash, Blue Cheese & Pine Nut Wellington (v)
This simple and uncomplicated puff pastry Wellington, is quite the show stopper and so quick and easy to make. With a delightful filling of butternut squash, spinach and pine nuts and a hit of creamy, oozy blue cheese, this is a sure-fire way to tantalise the tastebuds.
Served with roast potatoes and veg, or new boiled potatoes and sautéed greens, it makes an ideal vegetarian main as a Sunday roast alternative. It’s also delicious cold, for a light lunch with a dollop of chutney and a glass of ruby port.
Happy cooking, N x
Cooking time: 1hr15 | Serves 6 | Can be eaten hot or cold
Ingredients
2x 500g packs of frozen or fresh butternut squash chunks
125g fresh baby spinach leaves
2 banana shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsps olive or rapeseed oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
175g stilton cheese or blue cheese of choice
500g pack of all butter rolled puff pastry
plain flour for rolling out
2 tbsps cranberry/port chutney or cranberry sauce
1 tbsp ruby port (optional)
125g pine nuts, toasted
6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsps fresh thyme leaves
1 egg beaten, for glaze
1/2 tsp of white sesame seeds
1/2, tsp of poppyseeds
Salt & pepper seasoning
Method
If using frozen squash (defrost) and drain away the excess water. Toss the squash pieces with a tablespoon of oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast on a baking tray in the oven 180C Fan or Gas Mark 4 for 15minutes. You just want the squash to slightly soften and colour.
In a frying pan sauté the shallots in a tablespoon of oil until soft, add the sage, thyme and garlic and cook for a few minutes. Then add the chutney, port if using, and spinach leaves. Let the ingredients cook down for a few minutes and turn off the heat. Add the squash pieces to the pan. Let the whole thing cool down for at least 30mins.
Whilst the filling is cooking down, dry fry your pine nuts till toasty. This will take a minute or two. Add the pine nuts to the filling.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the sheet into a slightly larger rectangular shape. Don’t roll it to thin, you just want it slightly wider to be able to wrap round your filling.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper or lightly grease the tray.
Crumble the blue cheese into the cooked filling, start with biggish chunks, as they will melt slightly when baking.
Season with black pepper only, as the cheese is already salty. Place the filling down the centre of your pastry sheet. Allowing for a inch gap either end.
Using the beaten egg, brush the glaze around the edge of the pastry sheet.
You can either roll it up like a sausage roll, one side into the middle then the other, folding in the ends. Pop a few slits in the top to let out the steam. If you have a bit of soars pastry left from the ends, you can decorate with pastry leaves.
Or you can create a lattice top, by cutting one inch strips down each length from the centre of the filling out to the edge of the pastry sheet on a right angle either side.
Start by alternating the pastry strips, folding over the top of the filling working down through the whole length to cover the filling creating a plait. Once cooked it makes a fancy lattice open plait.
Brush the top with the remains egg glaze and scatter with white sesame and poppyseeds.
Slide the Wellington on to the lined baking tray.
Cook in a hot oven 200C or Gas Mark 6 for 30/40 minutes until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling.
Serve with a selection of vegetables, a dollop of cranberry chutney and a glass of ruby port.
Enjoy!
