Winter Wellington with Beef Gravy

An impressive centrepiece for any winter occasion, this take on a wellington works on the principle of building layers of flavour, encasing those layers in golden puff pastry and serving them with a creamy mash potato and plenty of gravy. While this wellington isn’t vegetarian, with crispy, juicy lardons adding lots of flavour, it holds its own on those occasions when you might not want to splash out on a whole beef fillet. Buttery soft and caramelised carrots, parsnips, spinach and chestnuts make for something incredibly special, with tender lentils and fluffy bread crumbs almost making the filling taste like stuffing.

Once cooked, the wellington keeps its heat for quite a while, so it can sit happily while you finish off the gravy and potatoes, ensuring minimal stress. You can also prep the fillings in advance and cool at room temp before putting them in the fridge to encase in the pastry later.

To make this recipe lower FODMAP, use Borough Broth’s Organic low FODMAP bone broth. The breadcrumbs can also easily be switched for gluten-free, along with the puff pastry and lactose free milk can also be subbed in - no one will be any the wiser.

Written by
Emma Hatcher

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

For the maple and thyme roasted carrots:

450g carrots, peeled

2 tbsp garlic-infused oil

2 tbsp maple syrup

A few sprigs of thyme

For the spiced parsnip layer:

2 tbsp garlic infused oil

1/2 stick celery, finely sliced

1 bunch spring onions, green tops only

350g parsnips, peeled and grated

A few sprigs of rosemary, leaved picked and chopped

¼ tsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tin lentils, drained and rinsed well

65g breadcrumbs, gluten-free work well

1 tbsp miso paste

For the spinach and chestnut layer:

200g lardons

100g cooked whole chestnuts

200g spinach

1 tbsp milk

To assemble:

500g pastry, gluten-free puff works well too

1 free-range egg, whisked

For the beef gravy:

2 tbsp garlic infused oil

Two handfuls of leftover carrot and parsnip skins

4 spring onions, green tops only, roughly chopped

Any leftover maple drippings from the roasted carrots

A few sprigs of thyme

A few sprigs of rosemary

2 tbsp of flour, gluten-free works well

2 pouches of Borough Broth’s Organic, Grass-Fed Beef Broth or Organic low-FODMAP Beef Broth

2 tbsp cranberry sauce

1 tbsp miso paste

For the mash potato:

1½ kg potatoes, cut into chunks

100ml milk

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Method:

For the maple and thyme roasted carrots, heat the oven to 200C, 180C fan. Cut any larger carrots into quarters lengthways, any smaller ones in half, and place on a large baking tray
Drizzle with the oil and season well, then place in the oven to roast for 25 minutes, or until softened and caramelised on the outside.
For the last five minutes of cooking, drizzle over the maple syrup and sprinkle over the thyme. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
For the spiced parsnip layer, add the oil to a large non-stick frying pan and place over a medium heat.
When glossy, add the celery and spring onions and cook for a few minutes to soften. Add in the grated parsnips, rosemary and chilli flakes and season generously, then cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring so that nothing catches on the bottom of the pan. The aim is to cook and soften the parsnips, driving off as much moisture as you can.
Add in the apple cider vinegar to help deglaze the pan, scraping up any parsnip bits that might have gotten stuck, as that’s where all the flavour is.
Add in the lentils, breadcrumbs and miso paste and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring until everything is combined. Spoon the mixture onto a plate to cool.
For the spinach and chestnut layer, place a small frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the lardons and cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden and then crumble in the chestnuts.
Cook for another couple of minutes, before adding in the spinach in batches and stirring to wilt. A small splash of milk will help to bring everything together, but make sure the mixture isn’t too wet or it will make your pastry soggy. Spoon the mixture onto a plate to cool.
Once all of your fillings are cool - if you’ve made these in advance remove them from the fridge - it’s time to assemble! Remove your pastry from the fridge also and divide in half. Roll each piece out to about 35 x 25cm - doing this on a sheet of baking paper will help for easier transportation later.
Spoon the parsnip mixture onto one of the rectangles of pastry, leaving an inch border around the edge. Press down into an even layer, then spoon the spinach layer on top. Add the maple roasted carrots on top of the spinach, placing them like sardines horizontally from top to bottom.
Egg wash around the edges of the layered up pastry before placing your second sheet of pastry on top of the carrots, lining up the edges as best you can and pressing down to seal.
Lightly fold over the edges of the pastry and use a fork to crimp them together before egg washing the pastry all over. Use a sharp knife to score a diamond pattern in the top of the pastry then add a few slits in the middle so that steam can escape.
Place in the fridge to chill while you heat the oven to 200C, 180C fan and then bake on the middle shelf for 35-40 minutes, or until golden, puffed and hot all the way through.
To make the gravy, drizzle a couple of tablespoons of garlic infused oil into a medium saucepan. Add two handfuls of the leftover carrot and parsnip skins and the spring onion tops and fry over a medium heat for a few minutes, or until the veg has softened and is starting to take on colour. Add in any maple drippings leftover from the roasted carrots and any leftover herbs and cook for a few more minutes, stirring so that nothing catches on the bottom of the pan.
Gradually stir in the flour and cook for a further minute, then pour in two pouches of Borough Broth’s Organic Beef Broth. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to simmer.
Stir through the cranberry sauce and miso paste and cook for 10 minutes, or until the gravy has thickened and is glossy. Strain into a jug, making sure to push down on all of the additional bits with the back of your spoon to get out all of that flavour (if it’s going to be messy, strain into a bowl or large jug first and then decant into the jug you’re going to use to serve after).
To make the mash potato, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender and you can slide a cutlery knife into a potato without any force.
Tip into a colander to drain and then tumble the potatoes back into the pan. Leave on the hob for a few minutes to steam and dry.
Mash the potatoes using a potato masher and beat in the milk and butter. Season generously.
To serve, cut the wellington into slices and serve with a generous dollop of creamy mash potato and a good helping of gravy.

Grass-Fed Organic Beef Bone Broth

Our beef broth is made using grass-fed organic British beef bones and slow-cooked for 24-hours. Made up of 40% bones, this is a deep and rich broth with an umami hit.

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