The big BOSH! veggie Christmas roast
You don’t need a turkey to complete your Christmas lunch.
If you’re looking for a vegetarian option for yourself or to wow your veggie guests, Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, behind plant-based cookbook BOSH!, are here with their show-stopping mushroom wellington, rosemary and thyme roast vegetables and simple veggie gravy.
The big BOSH! roast
Whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving or just a normal Sunday, a roast dinner is the epitome of traditional food. We’ve based ours around a glorious centrepiece mushroom Wellington, one which is rich, full of texture and incredibly moreish, and goes great with any gravy. This meal should satisfy even the fussiest of dinner guests.
Mushroom Wellington
Serves: 4-6 with leftovers
Ingredients
For the mushrooms
4 Portobello mushrooms (about 160g)
1 tsp olive oil
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp light brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves finely chopped
300g chestnut mushrooms
125ml white wine
200g vacuum-packed chestnuts
250g pecans
2 slices seeded bread (about 80g)
2 sheets ready-rolled dairy-free shortcrust pastry
4 tbsp plant-based milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper
Lay the Portobello mushrooms on a lined baking tray with the stems pointing up. Drizzle 1 tsp oil over the gills of each mushroom and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
Divide the chopped rosemary, thyme and garlic between the mushrooms. Put the tray in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add the red onion and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened.
Mix together 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and the sugar in a small bowl. Add to the pan with the garlic, rosemary and thyme and stir everything round for 1 minute.
Put the chestnut mushrooms into the food processor and whizz until very finely chopped. Tip them into the pan, increase the heat to high and cook until softened and all the liquid has evaporated, this will take about 5–7 minutes.
Pour the white wine into the pan and stir it around for about 3 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has cooked off. Tip the mixture into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Put the chestnuts, pecans and bread into the food processor and whizz until they resemble breadcrumbs - you may need to do this in batches. Add to the bowl with the onions and use a wooden spoon to thoroughly stir everything together until you have a thick dough-like mixture.
Lay one pastry sheet on the other lined baking tray. Spread half the chestnut mixture lengthways down the middle of the pastry sheet. Use your hands to mould it into a rectangle shape with a flat top, leaving at least a 3cm gap on all four sides - this shape will dictate the shape of the Wellington so make sure it’s nice and straight and level on top.
Place the cooked Portobello mushrooms neatly on top of the chestnut mixture, stems facing up, making sure the sides of the mushrooms don’t hang off the edges. Layer the rest of the chestnut mixture over the top, encasing the mushrooms. Smooth and shape into a neat, long, rectangular mound.
Using a pastry brush or your finger, brush a little of the plant-based milk around the exposed pastry edge. Lay the second pastry sheet over the mushroom filling and press it all down well, ensuring there are no air bubbles. Seal the edges by pushing down all the way round the filling with your fingers. Trim any excess pastry from the edges, making sure you leave a 1½cm crust around the base of the Wellington. Set the excess pastry aside for later. Use a fork to crimp all around the edges of the pastry to firmly seal the Wellington and to make it look nice.
Roll out the excess pastry if necessary and use a pastry cutter to cut out shapes. Brush the Wellington lightly with the plant-based milk and decorate the top with the pastry shapes. Brush the shapes with the plant-based milk. Pierce some air vents in the top of the Wellington with a fork or sharp knife.
Put the Wellington in the oven and bake it for 40 minutes, checking after 30 minutes - if it looks ready, remove it from the oven. Use a bread knife to carefully cut the Wellington into slices and serve.
Rosemary and thyme roast vegetables
Serves: 4-6 with leftovers
Ingredients
1.2kg Maris Piper or other fluffy potatoes, peeled and cut into thirds or quarters
5 medium parsnips, peeled and cut lengthways into halves or quarters and tough core cut out
5 medium carrots, peeled and cut lengthways into halves or quarters
1 small butternut squash (about 600g), peeled and deseeded and cut into the same six pieces as the carrots
125ml olive oil
16 sprigs fresh thyme
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 garlic bulb + 5 cloves
1 tbsp salt, plus a little extra
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the potatoes into a large pan, cover with cold water, sprinkle in 1 tbsp salt (to make them extra fluffy) and put the pan on a high heat. Bring to the boil and then cook for 5–8 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the parsnips into another pan and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large, deep baking tray to cool down.
Put the carrots and butternut squash into a shallow baking tray and toss in 3 tbsp oil, half the thyme sprigs and half the rosemary. Sprinkle over salt to taste then toss it all together and set aside.
When the potatoes are done, drain them and tip them back into the pan. Put the lid on and shake the pan for 15 seconds to scuff the outsides of the potatoes, then tip them on to the baking tray next to the parsnips and let them cool down to room temperature.
Break the garlic bulb into cloves and lightly squash them with the side of the knife. Nestle the remaining thyme and rosemary sprigs and the squashed garlic cloves in among the potatoes and parsnips. Pour over the remaining olive oil and toss gently to coat.
Put the tray with the potatoes on the second shelf of the hot oven and the tray with the carrots underneath (leave enough space above the top shelf for the Wellington if you’re making the full roast) and cook for 50–60 minutes. Toss the veg every 20 minutes to ensure they are evenly cooked on all sides. They should be golden and crispy on the outside when they’re done. If you want to give them an extra crispy boost at the end, turn on the grill and place one tray at a time under it. Keep a close eye on it, they should crisp up within just a few minutes.
Red wine gravy
A good gravy is the jewel in the crown of a great roast dinner, and this is a really good gravy. Try it drizzled over a plate of hot chips for an indulgent Yorkshire classic.
Serves: 4-6 with leftovers
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stick, peeled and finely diced
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
350ml red wine
1 litre vegetable stock
3 tbsp cornflour
6 tbsp room-temperature water
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp yeast extract (e.g. Marmite)
1 tsp English mustard
1 tsp dark brown sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Method
Pour the olive oil into a hot pan. Add the diced onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and stir everything together. Cook for 2 minutes until you’ve released the aroma of the garlic.
Add the diced carrot, celery and the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Stir everything together on the heat for about 7 minutes, until the vegetables are well softened.
Pour in the red wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Pour the vegetable stock into the pan and turn up the heat so that it’s bubbling nicely, then reduce to a gentle simmer, put the lid on and cook for 10 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and strain the liquid into a bowl through a sieve so that you’re left with a clear stock. Pour it back into the pan and put it back on the heat.
Put the cornflour into a small glass, add the water and mix together with a fork, stirring really well to ensure there are no lumps.
Add the cornflour mixture to the pan and whisk continuously while the gravy bubbles away for 5 minutes, until you have a nice, thick consistency. Add the tomato purée, yeast extract, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper and stir until well mixed. Pour the gravy into a jug ready to serve.
Time plan:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Start with the Rosemary and Thyme Roast Vegetables following the instructions up to the point when they’re on their trays and cooling to room temperature.
Meanwhile, assemble the Mushroom Wellington following the instructions until it is ready to go in the oven, then set it aside while you get on with the roast vegetables.
Finish preparing the roast vegetables and put the tray on the second shelf of the oven, leaving enough space for the Wellington to fit on the top shelf later. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
Start preparing the vegetables for the Red Wine Gravy following the instructions.
When the timer goes off, put the Wellington on the top shelf of the oven and take out the roast vegetables. Gently shake the tray and return it to the oven. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
15 minutes before the timer goes off, finish making the Red Wine Gravy.
Take the roast vegetables and Wellington out of the oven and transfer to serving dishes. Serve!