This buttery, flakey Phyllo Pastry Roll is layered with maple butternut squash, herbed mushrooms and lentil pecan meat. It's rich and savoury, combining all of the herbs, smells and flavours of a traditional Fall or Winter holiday meal. Celebrate plant-based abundance and impress your guests this holiday season by adding this delicious centrepiece to your vegan dinner table.
Pecan soaking time: 2 hours
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 90 minutes
Yields approximately 8 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 package phyllo pastry (approximately 12 sheets), defrosted in the fridge for approximately 4 hours
- 1/3 cup vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
Maple Squash:
- 1 small/medium butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (I use avocado oil, but canola or any other oil with a high smoke point will work)
Sage and Thyme Mushrooms:
- 8 crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped (approximately 2 cups)
- 8 shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed and roughly chopped (approximately 1 cup)
- 1 cup kale, finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pecan Lentil Meat:
- 1 cup lentils, cooked or canned
- 3/4 cups pecans, soaked for approximately 2 hours
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 1/2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried savoury
INSTRUCTIONS:
Maple Squash:
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Cut butternut squash in half, length-wise. Remove seeds with a spoon. Rub oil on the flesh of both halves. Place cut side down on a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 45 – 60 minutes, until tender. Allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh from shell with a spoon and put in a bowl. Add maple syrup. Mash with a fork until smooth. Set aside.
Sage and Thyme Mushrooms:
- Melt vegan butter in a pan on medium heat. Add the minced onions and sauté until they begin to turn translucent. Do not brown the onions. Add mushrooms, garlic and kale, and cook on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and cook for a couple more minutes. Set aside.
Pecan Lentil Meat:
Soak the pecans for approximately 2 hours. Drain and rinse when complete. Pour pecans into food processor with all other ingredients for the Pecan Lentil Meat and process until mostly smooth. Set aside.
Assembly:
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Phyllo pastry dries pretty quickly once the package is opened, so set up assembly area before opening the package. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a clean countertop. Melt vegan butter and set beside parchment paper with pastry brush. Place Maple Squash, Sage and Thyme Mushrooms and Pecan Lentil Meat in separate bowls near the parchment paper.
- Open phyllo pastry package and (delicately!) lay the stack of pastry sheets flat beside your workspace. (You may wish to cover the stack with a clean damp kitchen towel to keep the sheets moist while you work. Also, if the top few sheets are a little dry or torn, discard them and start a little further into the stack.) Take the top pastry sheet from the stack and place it on the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, evenly spread a very thin layer of melted vegan butter onto the pastry sheet. Add a second sheet on top of the first one (so that you have a layer of two sheets), then add another thin layer of butter. Top with a third pastry sheet, this time spreading butter only on half of the sheet (lengthwise). Now fold your layered pastry sheets in half lengthwise so that you have 6 layers instead of 3.
- Evenly spread approximately two thirds of the Maple Squash onto your layered phyllo pastry. This will be the innermost layer of the roll. Then roll the pastry from one end to the other as pictured below. As you roll, pinch the edges together slightly. Set aside.
- Make another 6 layers of phyllo pastry using 3 sheets, as described above. On it evenly spread all of the Sage and Thyme Mushrooms. Place the Maple Squash roll on the edge of this and roll as pictured below, creating the next layer of the Holiday Phyllo Roll. Set aside.
- Make another 6 layers of phyllo pastry using 3 sheets, as described above. On it, evenly spread all of the Pecan Lentil Meat. Place your ever-thickening roll on the edge and roll as you did with the previous layer. Set aside.
- For the outermost layer, make another 6 layers of phyllo pastry using 3 sheets, as with each previous layer. On it evenly spread the remaining Maple Squash. Place your roll on the edge and roll as you did previously.
- Carefully place the roll on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Cook for approximately 90 minutes, or until nicely browned on the outside.
- Transfer the roll to a cutting board or serving dish, slice with a bread knife and serve along with your favourite holiday side dishes!
- Enjoy!