– Dried brown or green lentils – Olive oil – Yellow onion – Garlic cloves – Mushrooms – Fresh thyme leaves – Rosemary leaves – Sweet or hot paprika – Black pepper – Kosher salt – Walnuts – White or yellow miso paste – Nutritional yeast – Tomato paste – Lemon juice – Panko bread crumbs – All-purpose flour
First, cook the lentils and then the mushrooms. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add the onions and saute until soft. Then add the garlic, mushrooms, herbs, paprika, and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are soft.
Toast the walnuts. Afterward, transfer to a food processor and pulse until they look like fine crumbs. Set aside. Finish the filling. Add the cooled lentils and mushroom mixture to the food processor, along with the miso, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, and lemon juice.
Mold the filling. Pour the filling out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use your hands to form it into a log shape. It should be roughly 7 inches long and 4 ½ to 5 inches wide (18cm x 11.5-12.5 cm), and no taller than 1 inch.
Bake the filling. Bake the mushroom log in the oven until it’s somewhat firm to the touch and slightly brown and crisp on the outside. Defrost the pastry. Once thawed, use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangular shape. It doesn’t need to be perfect, and you can trim off the excess dough with a knife.
Cut the dough. Move the cooled mushroom log into the center of your pastry. Start on one end of the pastry and use a paring knife to cut 1-inch strips about a fourth of the way into the dough. Brush with “egg wash”. Whisk the milk and oil together in a small bowl to make a vegan “egg wash”. Use a pastry brush to brush it onto each small strip of dough.
Braid the pastry over the filling. Starting at one end, braid one strip of dough on top of the log, then do the same on the other side. Repeat with alternating strips on top of the log until you reach the end.
Prick the dough with a fork all over to encourage steam venting. Finish by brushing the rest of the egg wash all over and sprinkling flaky sea salt on top. Refrigerate. Pop the loaf into the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes.
Bake the wellington. Once it’s done chilling, carefully transfer the wellington to a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Bake the loaf at 375ºF (190ºC) for 25 minutes, then up to 425ºF (218ºC) for 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown, flaky, and puffed.