Mushroom and Chestnut Parcels

I love this time of year, with all the celebrations, events, nights out and great company. But of course, let’s face it, food can be the star of show! When I initially became vegetarian Christmas dinner was a little awkward, my family of die-hard meat eaters not really knowing what to cook for me and to be honest I didn’t really know either! Since then we’ve found new and tasty ‘alternative’, meat-free, Christmas faire and in fact my mum and sister both enjoy that more than the Turkey!

This year I’ve come up with something new, a tasty little filo pastry parcel, full of earthy flavours, perfect for a roast dinner and gravy. Filled with mushrooms, chestnuts and a little spinach, then flavoured with sage and rosemary for that festive feel.

Filo is not like your regular pastry, for one it’s incredibly thin, but it’s also vegan! It also goes really crispy when cooked, perfect to add some bite to our soft filling. Be careful when you’re making these parcels make sure to keep the moisture down to a bare minimum so that the pastry doesn’t become soggy.

Vegan
Makes 6

250g Mushrooms, we used chestnut mushrooms, chopped into small chunks
150g Cooked Chestnuts, chopped into small chunks
2 Shallots, very finely chopped
150g Leek, chopped into small pieces
150g Spinach, washed and really thoroughly dried
100ml Coconut Milk or Cashew Cream
Filo pastry, enough to create 18 9″ x 6″ sheets (1 packet of Jus-Rol Filo)
2 tsp finely chopped Fresh Sage
2 tsp finely chopped Fresh Rosemary
2 Tbsp Groundnut oil, or any other oil you prefer

1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan (we used a wok!)  to a medium-high heat and fry the shallot until it just starts to soften and turn translucent, then add the leak and cook until everything just starts to colour.
2. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for about 8-10 minutes, you want the mushrooms to colour, shrink and release their water now so they don’t do it later and make your pastry soggy! Once ready add the herbs, combine everything together and then add the coconut milk. Turn the heat down and keep stirring, cook  until the mixture is thick and there is virtually no excess moisture, about 8-10 minutes.
3. Put the spinach in the pan and stir slowly to help it wilt down, the spinach will release some water during this time so again make sure you cook off any excess moisture, leaving you with a thick filling. Once ready put the filling in a bowl and allow to cool.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Next you need to prepare the pastry, lay out 1 of your sheets and brush with a very light coating of oil, lay another sheet on top of that and brush again, finally lay a third and final sheet on top and repeat until you have 6 layered sheets.
5. Lay all 6 layered sheets out on to a clean work surface and spoon the mixture evenly between them into a sausage shape in the centre  of each one.
6. Now you’re ready to make the parcels, start by folding the bottom edge nearly all the way over the filling. Next fold the sides in and finish by rolling the parcel up tightly. Repeat for all the parcels and then transfer each one to a baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

If you wanted you could prepare this recipe up to step 4 and then fill, roll and bake your parcels when your’re ready. If you fill them the pastry will become wet and will split and do all sorts of bad things!

Enjoy,
Dave!

• chestnut
• christmas
• festive
• filo
• food
• holiday
• mushroom
• pastry
• phyllo
• recipe
• rosemary
• sage
• vegan
• vegetarian