Celebrate World Vegetarian Day with this amazing Sunday dinner! Our tasty Vegetarian Shredded Hoisin Duck with spinach and fresh herbs, baked into a spectacular pastry Wellington. Serve with plenty of roast potatoes, veg and a nice vegetarian gravy. Maybe even a Yorkshire pudding or two…
This Wellington is easily made vegan – just swap the egg for a ‘flax egg’ and use soya milk for the glaze. Many pre-made pastries are suitable for vegans, but make sure you check the label.
Preheat the oven to 220℃.If making this dish vegan, prepare your flax egg – mix the ground flax seed with 1 tbsp water and set aside to thicken for 10 minutes.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat until hot. Add 1 tbsp oil, then the Vegetarian Shredded Hoisin Duck. Cook the duck, stirring frequently, until cooked through and a bit crispy in places (this adds extra flavour!) – about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients (save the pan for the spinach). Mix the cooled duck with the egg or ‘flax egg’ until well combined.
Add the spinach to the hot pan with a splash of water and cover. Cook until the spinach has wilted, then remove the lid and continue cooking until the spinach has reduced in size and most of the water has evaporated. Remove the spinach from the pan and cool a little, then squeeze the spinach with your hands to get out as much water as possible. This will stop your Wellington getting soggy.
Lay your pastry sheet out flat on a piece of baking paper. Layer the cooked spinach over the middle over the pastry sheet, leaving a 10cm gap all the way around. Pile on the duck mixture, leaving the same pastry edge. Top with the fresh herbs.
Fold the short edges of the pastry over the filling, then the long edges. Make sure the pastry covers all of the filling. Lay a baking tray over the Wellington and carefully turn the whole thing over so the pastry seam is now at the bottom. Remove the baking paper and brush the Wellington with milk. With a sharp knife, make long thin slits in the top of the pastry so hot air can escape during baking.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
1 tbsp oil
1 packet Vegetarian Shredded Hoisin Duck (frozen)
300g fresh spinach
1 egg or ‘flax egg’ (1 heaped tbsp ground flax seed)
1 puff pastry sheet or 300g puff pastry rolled about 35cm x 25cm
handful fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, basil and parsley all work well)
milk or soy milk, to glaze