Butternut Squash Wellington

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 390°F fan-assisted.
2. Trim the top off the butternut squash, carefully slice it in half lengthways, then peel and remove the seeds. 
3. Cut off the bulbous part from each half of the butternut squash (where the seeds were) leaving you with two long pieces and 2 bulbous pieces. Roughly chop the bulbous parts and transfer all the butternut squash to a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the tray from the oven, add the walnuts and roast for another 5 minutes.
5. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. Peel and dice the shallots, then add to the pan and fry for 8 minutes.
6. Slice the mushrooms, and peel and dice the garlic. Add both to the frying pan and fry for 10 mins.
7. Pick the leaves off the thyme and add to the frying pan, along with the soy sauce. Fry for 5 mins.
8. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a food processor along with the dijon mustard, generous pinches of salt and pepper, as well as the walnuts and roughly chopped pieces of squash from the oven (leave the long pieces of squash to one side for later). Process until mostly broken down.
9. Add the spinach along with a tbsp of water to a pan on a medium heat. Cook for a few minutes until wilted, then drain any excess water from the spinach.
10. Before assembling the wellington make sure the mushroom mixture has mostly cooled.
11. To assemble the wellington, roll out the first roll of pastry onto a large baking tray. Spoon 2/3rds of the mushroom mixture down the middle of the pastry, around 3 inches wide, leaving a couple of inches clear at the top and bottom.
12. Pop the wilted spinach over the mushroom mixture and place the long roasted pieces of butternut squash on top. Spread the remaining mushroom mixture over and around the butternut squash, filling in any gaps.
13. Roll out the second sheet of pastry and place it over the wellington.
14. Press down with your fingers to seal the two sheets of pastry together. Trim the excess pastry with a knife and use a fork to crimp the edges (you can use the excess pastry to decorate the wellington and store the excess for a couple of days in an air-tight container to reuse in desserts or pies). Then make three cuts to the top of the wellington to allow the moisture to escape.
15. Brush the wellington with plant-based milk and bake for 35-45 minutes at the same temperate (200°C / 390°F) or until the pastry is golden brown.
16. Serve with your favourite sides and a good helping of gravy! Happy Crimbo!