Vegan Wellington Roast

Perfect for wintertime or Christmas !

This is hearty, meaty and savoury! Nutty flavours lifted by the leeks and the meatiness from the soy granules gives an authentic meaty feel to the roast.

Wrapped with puff pastry, this roast is packed with flavour and a great substitute  for meat dish on a special day

Ingredients:

• a packet of ready made vegan puff pastry
• 350g vacuum packed chestnuts
• 180g ready made, unmarinated soy granules
• 1-1.5 cups bread crumbs
• 2 leeks
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable stock
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp dried rosemary
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• pinch of ground nutmeg

Glaze:

• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp soy sauce

Method:

In a pan add the finely chopped onions and garlic, soy granules, soy milk, oil, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, dried rosemary, thyme and nutmeg. Turn the heat on high and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally.

Wash the leeks and take out the first outer layer off. Chop off both ends. Chop it down the long side, then finely chop the leek all the way down. Add to the pan when it's simmering. Turn the heat to medium and continue to cook. Stir occasionally.

Put the chestnuts in a food processor and blend until it has a texture similar to that of bulgur. Then add to the pan. Let it simmer for 5 minutes while stirring. The texture should be quiet thick in the end before putting in a bowl.

In the bowl with the mixture, add in the bread crumbs and use spoon to mix in as much as possible. Add in the bread crumbs as needed, you might not use all of the bread crumbs. This depends on how watery the mixture is from the leeks. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or overnight.

When the dough is ready to handle, knead it with your hand on a table top. Form a longer breadshaped mass with rounded edges.

Roll out the puff pastry. Place the roast in the middle.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven.

Cut 14-16 straight lines from where the roast starts. Do the same on the other side. Fold in the outer part. Then take one strand and fold over the roast, then one from the outer side. Continue until the roast is fully braided. Transfer to a baking paper. Below is how to braid the pastry around the roast meat

Mix the marinate in a small bowl and brush it onto the roast.

Bake in the  middle of the oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Optional: Fry some fresh sage leaves. Take the leaves of the sprigs. Put in a pan with generous amount of oil and salt. Fry until crispy. Lay on a plate with kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. 

Take the roast out from the oven when golden brown. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.