With Dijon Béchamel Sauce
Makes 2 large pastries
Our take on a British classic, with a Wee Bit Peckish Spin. This recipe was definitely on the more challenging side. There is a lot of prep work involved. One thing you could do to cut back on the amount of chopping is blitz the vegetables in a food processor. BUT we believe it was WELL worth the effort. Great for a special dinner, or heck...even leftover for breakfast the next morning! Sunday brunch anyone?
Served with scrumptious Dijon cream sauce.
Ingredients (for the “Wellington”)*
1 small sweet potato
1 large white or red potato
3 stalks celery
2 large carrots
1 small zucchini
1/2 an onion
4 cloves garlic
1/4 head of cauliflower
10-12 cremini mushrooms *Finely dice all vegetables listed above
Continued below photo...
1/2 cup Dry red wine
1 tablespoon mushroom broth (from bouillon cube) or beef broth
1-1/2 cups breadcrumbs (preferably Panko) 1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp olive oil 1 egg (separate yolk and white) 1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 package softened cream cheese
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp dried rosemary
Garlic powder (to taste)
Salt and Pepper
Dijon Béchamel *
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 tbsp garlic powder
Zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your work surface with parchment paper and have flour on hand for dusting.
Turn on your stovetop to medium heat. Cook 1 lb of ground beef in a non stick frying pan until just browned (do not overcook as it will continue in the oven later). Add to large bowl. Set aside
make the potato mixture. Start by adding 1/4 cup butter to the same pan and melt. Add finely diced potatoes and cauliflower to pan and cook until soft, approximately 5 minutes. Salt and pepper each step for optimal seasoning and flavour. Stir often to avoid sticking ( potatoes are starchy). Once softened, add your carrot, celery and continue to cook for about 10 minutes until all the veggies are soft. Move from the heat into the large bowl with your cooked meat.
make the mushroom mixture. The pan will now most likely have the delicious brown flavourful bits at the bottom from the previous veggies. These are pure gold. Add about 1 tbsp of olive oil and add your diced onion and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent. Now add mushrooms and zucchini to the pan. Don’t forget S&P as you go! Cook until all veggies are softened. This will probably take 5 minutes total. Add your broth, red wine, rosemary and mix, scraping up the bottom with a wooden spoon. Cook until wine has reduced by half.
add the mushroom mixture into the bowl with the potato/ beef mixture. Add panko crumbs and stir. At this point, you will want to taste to see if more salt and pepper is needed. Allow to cool slightly before adding 1 egg yolk. This will help everything form into a loaf
make cream cheese mixture. In a stand mixer or with an electric whisk, beat your cream cheese with more dried rosemary, about 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tbsp Dijon mustard. Set aside
assembly! Unfold your first pastry sheet onto the floured parchment paper surface. Dust a little extra flour on to your hands for easy handling. Spread half of cream cheese mixture onto sheet with a spoon, leaving space around the whole sheet. Drop half your beef and vegetable mixture into the centre and shape into a loaf. Fold one side of the pastry over the loaf, followed by both ends, and than the second side...like a burrito! (pictured below)
Note: This will be the bottom of the pastry but I used a fork to crimp the seams and help it from opening.
Carefully flip onto its bottom and repeat steps with your second Wellington. Put both your pastries onto your baking sheet and brush with egg white we separated earlier. Sprinkle with coarse salt and chives (or dried rosemary).
Cook for 1 hour or until golden brown and there is no longer a “soggy bottom” as they say on British Bake Off. We recommend rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time to allow for even baking. The back of your oven is often hotter than the front. Other than this initial rotation, avoid opening the door too often because heat will escape. If your crust is becoming quite dark but you are worried the inside pastry is not cooking fully, you can tent with foil or turn down the oven slightly for the remainder of the baking time. Once finished, remove from oven and allow to cool for a brief moment before slicing.
* While the Wellington’s are baking, you will want to make your béchamel.
Method
Start by heating a pot over medium low heat and add butter. Melt. Slowly add flour, one tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated into a thick paste. Allow to cook for 1 minute to remove flour taste. Add your seasoning and mustard. Mix. Slowly add milk while whisking vigorously. You want to remove any lumps!
Adid lemon zest and taste to see if more salt is required. Set aside
Serve slice of ”Wellington” with Dijon Béchamel and enjoy! We know you will :)
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