CUISINE & CULTURE | ANGELINA@ANGELINALARUE.COM
Puff pastry instantly turns any meal into a special occasion. It feels festive. One can prepare puff pastry from scratch, or simply purchase the prepackaged raw dough from the freezer section at the local grocery.
The number of sweet or savory dishes that can be created with puff pastry is just about endless. I’ve used prepared puff pastry to top chicken pot pie, to wrap baked apples, to fill with ham and cheese, to wrap around spears of asparagus, and to cover a round of brie cheese. This list just scratches the surface.
If you pick up a box of premade dough, each box consists of two sheets of pastry. The sheets are folded into three sections. I like to lightly roll the sheets with a rolling pin to smooth out the folds.
When I want to feel like I’m having a main entrée that isn’t heavy, such as all the options we often consider a necessity during the holidays like roasted turkey, baked ham, and beef tenderloin, I love serving this recipe. Sure, the pastry is decadent—but filled with light ingredients like mushrooms, spinach, and caramelized onions, it doesn’t make me fill stuffed.
The dish resembles Beef Wellington, which is a tenderloin wrapped in pastry. We can even use large, thick mushrooms to make it “meaty.” But I use any mushrooms I have on hand; any I’ve tried have worked well.
This recipe is also good served as a side dish, or appetizer. It can be offered warm, or room temperature. And it only takes a few minutes to prepare; perfect for the busy holiday season. But it will look and taste like it took all day, leaving you time for shopping, wrapping, or relaxing!
Wrap up the gift of Mushroom Wellington, and enjoy food made fresh!
Mushroom Wellington
1 standard sheet prepackaged puff pastry 2 onions, peeled and diced 12 ounces fresh spinach 2 large portabella mushrooms, or 8 ounces other mushrooms, cleaned 1½ tablespoon Dijon mustard Cracked black pepper ½teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or a 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves Let pastry thaw at room temperature for about 40 minutes.
Place onions in a large, dry skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until transparent, browned, and caramelized. This will take about 10 minutes. The natural sugars of the onion will caramelize the diced onion without sugar or oil. Place them on a plate or tray to cool.
Add spinach to the skillet and wilt over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of water. This will take 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from skillet to let cool.
Next, remove stems from mushrooms. If using portabellas, slice each one in half horizontally to create 4 large, flat pieces. (For a meatier version, use 4 full portabella mushroom caps – or you can also use other varieties of mushrooms, sliced or chopped.)
Place the prepared mushrooms in the dry skillet and cook over medium heat, flipping after a couple of minutes to lightly brown each side. This will take a total of 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat to let cool.
Note: All the veggies can be placed in the refrigerator for a few minutes to cool quickly, or even prepared and stored in the fridge ahead of time to save time when you are ready to prepare the rest of the recipe.
Place cooled spinach into a couple layers of paper towels, or a clean kitchen towel. Gather the edges of the towel up over the spinach and twist it, ringing out as much liquid as possible, squeezing to press out even more. This is a very important step to keep the dough from getting soggy.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place thawed dough onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Roll out slightly, to smooth the fold creases.
In the middle third of the dough, layer half of the cooled onions, then half of the cooled spinach. Top with the sliced mushrooms then spread the mushrooms with Dijon mustard. Next, top them with the remaining layer of onion and spinach.
Season with cracked black pepper, to taste. Sprinkle on the thyme leaves. Then using the edge of the parchment, flip the edge of the dough that’s closest to you, away from you and up over the layers of veggies, and roll over to the far edge, leaving the seam under the roll/log.
Tuck the two short ends of the dough up underneath, sealing them so there are no openings. Cut several slits in the top of the dough with a sharp knife.
Pick up edges of parchment paper and place onto a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until puffed, and golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Make 4 servings, or 8 appetizer-size servings.
Tip: For extra “wow,” you can use an egg wash over the top of the dough before baking.
Angelina LaRue, author of “The Whole Enchilada: Fresh and Nutritious Southwestern Cuisine,” grew up at White River Lake, lives in Idalou and writes a weekly food column for local newspapers.
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