mushroom nut roast

November 26, 2012

vegetarian mushroom nut roast in puff pastry

Mushroom Nut Roast is the perfect vegetarian Thanksgiving main dish! Hearty, with all the rich, warm flavors of fall and none of the meat. Lentils, mushrooms, cashews, almonds, walnuts, onions and more are wrapped in buttery puff pastry and served with vegetarian mushroom gravy.

In my junior year of college, I lived in a house with two other girls, one of whom was also a vegetarian. This was before the food blog era. Most of my recipes during this time came from bargain vegetarian books, printouts from FoodNetwork.com, or Everyday Food Magazine. From time to time, I would look through my roommate’s cookbooks.

The very first Thanksgiving I cooked was during this year. I did roast my first turkey, which I was told was good, but I was a vegetarian and didn’t try it. For my main course, I came across a recipe that sounded really great. It was a mixture of celery, leeks, lentils, mushrooms, and nuts, all stuffed between layers of phyllo dough. It sounded very similar to the vegan nut roast served in the cafeteria (which I was introduced to my freshman year, which was awesome!)

vegetarian mushroom nut roast in puff pastry

I decided to try this mushroom nut concoction out and LOVED it. A light, crunchy phyllo layer surrounded an herbed, earthy mixture that went perfectly with gravy and cranberry sauce.

Why I didn’t photocopy the recipe or write it down is beyond me, because for the next five years I tried over and over again to replicate it. I’d come close, but there was always something that just wasn’t right. Finally I decided to ditch the messy phyllo dough and use puff pastry. Somehow the stars finally aligned, because with that change, I’d also found the perfect combination of the rest of the ingredients, a simple mushroom gravy recipe, and I’m finally content.

vegetarian mushroom nut roast in puff pastry

This recipe takes some time, but it’s mostly time spent prepping the ingredients. It’s a great main course for a vegetarian holiday meal or any time during the winter. It’s excellent served alongside green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and sweet potatoes.

Tips: To save calories (and a few dollars), you could even bake the mixture in a loaf pan without the puff pastry.

This recipe is forgiving. If you want to do a cheaper version, use white button mushrooms and yellow or brown onions in place of the wild and portobello mushrooms and leeks.

vegetarian mushroom nut roast in puff pastry

mushroom nut roast

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

mushroom nut roast

Recipe for a vegetarian mushroom nut roast in puff pastry and mushroom gravy. Packed with walnuts, almonds, cashews, wild mushrooms, and lentils!

Ingredients

  • MUSHROOM NUT LOAF
  • 1 sheet of puff pastry
  • 1/3 cup green lentils
  • 1/2 cup raw almonds
  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped leeks OR 2 finely chopped onions
  • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 6 medium white button mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 ounce (3/4 cup) dried wild mushrooms (porcini, oyster, portabello, morel) OR 5 ounces white button or portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon sage
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable broth

  • MUSHROOM GRAVY
  • 4 ounces white button mushrooms
  • 4 ounces portabello mushrooms
  • 1 cup reserved mushroom water
  • 1 can vegetable broth (add 1 cup plain water if not using reserved mushroom water)
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch or flour
  • Dried sage
  • Dried thyme
  • salt and pepper

FOR THE MUSHROOM NUT LOAF:

Allow the puff pastry to thaw for about 40 minutes.

Cook the lentils according to package instructions.

If using, soak the dried wild mushrooms in a bowl of 1 1/4 cups hot water for about 20 minutes. Squeeze the excess water out of the mushrooms and into the bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the mushroom water and set aside to use for gravy. Finely chop the mushrooms.

In a pan over low heat, toast the nuts until fragrant, stirring frequently to keep from burning. Remove from heat and place in a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are ground into small pieces. Transfer to a large bowl.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the leeks (or onions), celery, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, until everything begins to soften. Add all the mushrooms and saute until soft. Add to the bowl of ground nuts.

Add the lentils, vegetable broth, breadcrumbs, oregano, thyme, sage, and basil. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Crack one egg into a bowl and beat. Pour over the mushroom mixture and mix well.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray.

Roll out the puff pastry. It should be wide enough to fit inside your loaf pan, covering both long walls, with enough overhang on each side to fold back over the filling we put inside.

Place the puff pastry in the loaf pan. Evenly spread the mushroom mixture into the pan, pushing down to compact it if it seems like there’s too much. Stretch and fold the flaps of pastry over the filling, enclosing it.

Beat the second egg in a small bowl. Brush the egg over the top of the pastry. You won’t need to use all of it, just give it a nice, even coating. This will help the loaf to brown.

Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 40 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown. Slice and serve with the mushroom gravy.

FOR THE MUSHROOM GRAVY:

Saute the mushrooms in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil until soft.

In a saucepan, mix the vegetable broth and mushroom water (or regular water) with the cornstarch or flour until smooth. Add the mushrooms and the herbs, to taste.

Heat the gravy over medium-high heat until your desired thickness is reached, adding cornstarch or flour as needed to thicken it. If it’s too thick, add some water or vegetable broth.

https://www.nowyourecook.in/2012/11/26/mushroom-nut-roast/

17 comments

    • Melissa

      I’ve actually never had a beef wellington (I’ve only just started eating meat again over the past year or so) so I can’t compare the two, but I can vouch for the deliciousness of this one on its own! Hope you and your husband enjoy it 🙂

    • Melissa

      Yes! The different varieties give it a deeper flavor, but I’ve also made it with all plain old white mushrooms and it still holds up as a tasty dish!

  1. Chris

    i just finished eating this. it turned out quite well. i was very happy w how it held up inside the pastry (it was my first time using PP) because it is fairly dense.

    i made one mistake, forgetting to season before placing the filling inside the pastry. i added s+p after cutting, but it would have been better had i followed directions properly.

    overall, though, a big winner and something i will definitely make again.

  2. Carole

    Hi there. The current Food on Friday on Carole’s Chatter is all about meatloaf. I do hope you link this nice vegetarian one in. This is the link . Please do pop back to check out some of the other links. Have a great week.

  3. inger

    This is amazing, when i gave some to my dad he was like mmm lentil…he called to say he has never tried anything with such an different taste..he loved it..next was my sister she had the same reaction…mmm lentils…so i said try it it will surprise you, and she just called that her and her work colleagues all want the recipe. i do it with button mushrooms only and no pastry…with some gravy mmm thank you would like to sign up for more of your recipes

  4. Tannis

    I am not a vegetarian but needed to find something nice to serve my vegetarian guest. This was delicious and enjoyed by both vegetarian and carnivores. This is most definitely a meal that is Christmas or Thanks Giving worthy. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Cindy

    I would love to make this for my brother who is coming in for Christmas and is Vegan. Can I prep this recipe a day or two ahead up to a certain point on the recipe and finish it off in the oven on Christmas Day. Would greatly appreciate a reply. This looks absolutely delicious and he would love this.

    • Melissa

      Yes Cindy!
      To make this recipe vegan you’ll want to use a vegan puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm frozen Pastry sheets are vegan) and use an egg replacement for the egg that goes into the filling. If you really want to you can probably skip it, the inside just won’t be binded together so it may be a little crumbly. Won’t affect the taste though! And for the egg wash on top of the pastry you could instead dot some vegan butter/margarine on it.

      You can make the filling a day ahead of time, cover, and refrigerate. Then the next day continue with rolling out the pastry and filling it with the mixture.

      I originally posted this recipe 5 years ago and still make it nearly every year. I hope you love it too!

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