Lentil and mushroom Wellington
A savory filling of lentils, browned mushrooms, walnuts and thyme wrapped in golden puff pastry and sliced at the table, a vegetarian centerpiece for a special dinner.
- 110 min total
- 50 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 6
- About $2.31 a serving
- 580 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 2 puff pastry sheets
- ¾ cup lentils, brown or green, rinsed
- 1 lb baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp milk
From your pantry
- 2 cups water
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 580 calories, 16 g protein, 56 g carbs and 33 g fat, and costs about $2.31 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No baby bella mushrooms? White mushrooms work.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Take the puff pastry out of the freezer to thaw on the counter for about 40 minutes.
Timer: 40 min
While the pastry thaws, put the lentils, water and of salt in a and over high heat.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
22 to 25 minutes, until very soft. .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Medium heatTimer: 23 min
While the lentils simmer, heat the oil in a large over medium-high heat and cook the mushrooms, stirring only now and then, 10 to 12 minutes, until and completely dry.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 11 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep going until there’s no liquid left in the pan. Wet mushrooms make soggy pastry.Add the shallots, garlic and thyme and cook 3 minutes, then stir in the soy sauce.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Mash the lentils in a big bowl, then mix in the mushrooms, walnuts, panko, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper.
Let it cool 15 minutes.
Timer: 15 min
the oven to 400°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Lay one pastry sheet on a -lined . Shape the filling into a log down the middle, leaving a 1½-inch border.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Dolly’s tip: Squeeze the filling together with your hands so the log is tight and even.Lay the second sheet over the top, press the edges together all the way around, and them into a neat border. Crimp the edges with a fork.
Trim. Trimming means cutting off the parts you don’t eat, like stem ends, tough bits or thick fat. It keeps chewy or bitter bits out of the finished dish.
How you’ll know: What’s left is the good part, with no dry ends, woody stems or thick white fat.
Brush with the milk, cut a few shallow slashes in the top, and 35 to 40 minutes, until deep and puffed.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 37 min
Let it rest 10 minutes, then cut into thick slices with a serrated knife.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
