If you have followed me for a while, you know by now that I love a good stuffed roll on Christmas Day. So, this year, I prepared a sweet potato and chestnut puff pastry roll that will make the perfect centerpiece for your festive table!
Vegan, gluten free | Serves 6 | MAIN
Ingredients:
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100g cooked chestnuts
- 100g walnuts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 300g vegan mince
- Salt and pepper
- A pinch of oregano, garlic granules and chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 300ml liquid vegetable stock
- A handful of fresh (frozen) chopped parsley
- 120g sweet potato cooked
- 1 sheet of rolled vegan puff pastry (425g)
- 2 tablespoons of plant-based milk
- 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
- Sesame seeds
- Dried rosemary
- Dried anise
Steps:
1.Peel the onion, carrot and garlic cloves and cut the carrot and onion in large chunks.
2.Add them in a food processor and blend, add the mixture in a bowl.
3.Then, add the chestnuts and walnuts in the food processor and pulse them few times until you get small pieces, and set aside.
5.In a wide pan, in a medium heat, add the olive oil and vegan mince and sauté for few minutes, until it gets a nice colour.
6.Add the carrot-onion-garlic mixture into the pan, along with a pinch of salt and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7.Then add the spices along with the soy sauce and tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes.
8.Add the crushed nuts, give it a stir before you add 300ml of vegetable stock and let it cook on a medium-slow for 3-4 minutes.
9.Finish with some fresh parsley and the flesh of the cooked sweet potato and set aside to cool down.
10.Place the defrosted puff pastry on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, cut the long sides on the pastry, creating 2cm wide and 10cm stripes both sides leaving the middle of the pastry untouched.
11.Spread the filling in the middle of the pastry, and start the braid by crossing the stripes over the filling alternating from side to side.
12.Pinch and tackle the pastry at the sides of the roll.
13.Mix the milk and maple syrup and brush the roll, to give it a nice colour while baking.
14.Spread some sesame seeds, rosemary or anise on top and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for an hour.
15.Let it cool down for few minutes before you cut it.
Enjoy!
Notes:
*I thoroughly washed my sweet potato, then cut it in half lengthwise and roasted it with the flesh side down at 180°C for 40-50 minutes.
*Use gluten free puff pastry and tamari (instead of soy sauce) if you prefer to keep the dish gluten free.
*The filling and the puff pastry, must be cold when you prepare the roll.
*You can prepare the filling up to 3 days in advance and store it in the fridge.
*You can also prepare the roll up to 3 days in advance, and store it in the fridge or freeze it (it might require 5-10 minutes extra baking time), just remember to brush the milk mixture just before baking.
*Once baked, you can store it up to 3 days in the fridge.