Hearty and homely – that’s exactly what we want from our Christmas dinner. A vegan lentil roast in puff pastry – like this one – meets all these requirements. It comes finely packaged in a crispy puff pastry shell with only plant-based ingredients. An environmentally friendly alternative that does not require any animal suffering. But even more important is a vegan lentil roast in puff pastry that tastes great, is easy to prepare, and will absolutely delight your guests! Pure enjoyment, who needs meat anymore.
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Vegan roast with lentils and mushrooms
Holy Guacamoly – it’s Christmas in three days and I haven’t shared a single festive recipe with you this year. “Subtle boos in the background” 🤣 I know, I know… Poor performance… I usually share a whole Christmas menu with you every year. And I promise, next year there will be another one! Yes, next year there will be more posts here in general. True girl scout word of honor. Hopefully, the new website will be up and running in a few weeks and everything will work as usual again.
In any case, I am super grateful that Foodblogs Switzerland has brought the advent calendar back to life this year. I have the suspicion that otherwise I would not have made it at all with a festive recipe. But since I’m allowed to open the 21st door, I got the curve at the last moment and present you “the vegan lentil roast in puff pastry” – perfect main course for Christmas Eve and such 😛.
By the way, be sure to check out yesterday’s little door from vivikocht *. Tomorrow it‘s Steffis-Chuchichistli *’s turn, definitely worth stopping by for a moment.
*both linked recipes are not vegan, but can still be a great inspiration. You can veganize almost anything these days.
Vegan lentil roast in puff pastry
This lentil roast is an absolute classic and simply tastes wonderful. In addition, it is super easy to prepare.
Why vegan roast in puff pastry?
The idea and the motivation to create a roast recipe with puff pastry originated when I was still living at home. On the 25th of December, we often had filet in puff pastry. My father stood in the kitchen all afternoon and put so much love into the dish.
Nowadays I don’t eat filet in puff pastry anymore. So I really wanted to create a recipe that honors my father’s but is plant-based. Tadaaaa 🎉 this is how the idea came up to share a vegan roast recipe with you.
The recipe does not require any complicated ingredients, only three are important – in addition to the puff pastry, of course – lentils, mushrooms, and oatmeal. And if possible fresh herbs and spices. The spices, herbs and the sautéing of the mushrooms and onions give the lentil roast its hearty, aromatic taste.
You can also omit vegan bacon and psyllium husks if you can’t find them or don’t have them at home. I used this vegan bacon for the recipe (I bought it myself).
This is how the vegan lentil roast with oatmeal and mushrooms works
Calm down, the recipe is really simple and sure to succeed. You can do it without many skills. There are only two things to note. That would be…
The roast batter should definitely rest in the fridge for a while before you process it further. First, it will hold together better when you wrap the roast in the puff pastry. Second, the end result becomes more compact. You don’t want to serve a mushy roast, do you? I almost thought so 😊. That is why there is strength in stillness. Take your time and let the roast rest for at least 1 hour. I let mine rest for about 4 hours. Alternatively, you can prepare the roast the day before and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
It is also advisable to shape the roast into the desired shape before chilling. The best way to do this is to use a loaf pan and oilcloth/cling film. I prefer the vegan oilcloth because it’s more sustainable. The loaf pan should be 25cm long. You put your oilcloth/foil in the form and spread the roast mixture over it. Then you wrap the mass in the cloth/foil. It already has the desired shape. Then just put it in the fridge.
The same procedure is also recommended when topping with vegan bacon and wrapping in puff pastry. This time the loaf pan should be 30cm long. I have an adjustable one, so it’s super easy for me. Now you put the puff pastry with baking paper in the loaf pan. Place the vegan bacon slices on the puff pastry. Then place the already formed roast mixture on the bacon puff pastry. Now all you have to do is fold the slices of bacon over the roast mixture. The same goes for the puff pastry. Fold over, carefully lift out of the mold and that’s it.
Is puff pastry vegan?
Sometimes puff pastry is made with butter or non-vegan margarine. This is rather rare nowadays since puff pastry made from vegetable oils – mostly palm oil – can be produced more cheaply. Therefore, many puff pastries are often vegan, but not all of them per se.
When buying puff pastry, it is also advisable to pay attention to the organic seal and at least a fair palm oil seal. If you can buy a brand without palm oil, all the better.
Less waste tips
As always, here are a few smart tips to help prevent waste:
- All fresh ingredients, aka mushrooms, garlic, herbs, and onions can be bought regionally and seasonally at the weekly market.
- Of course, you can also grow your own herbs at home.
- You can find lentils in bulk shops or in larger supermarkets in jars that you can reuse.
- Oatmeal is also available in bulk shops.
- Some bulk shops also stock spices, otherwise buy bulk packs, and fill them in jars at home.
- You can make puff pastry yourself with a little extra effort. You can find the recipe here.
- Alternatively, you can make vegan bacon yourself from rice paper.
Alternatives to the products used
What are the alternatives if I eat gluten-free? Can’t find brown lentils? Or maybe you don’t like and don’t tolerate them?
So the recipe works gluten-free with gluten-free oatmeal and gluten-free puff pastry. The recipe here uses seitan-based bacon. It’s not gluten-free. You can also simply omit the bacon – by the way, that’s also great if you’re not really into it – or you can use another bacon alternative that’s gluten-free. For example, rice paper bacon.
Don’t like lentils? First of all, you can of course also use other types of lentils. For example green, red or yellow if you like them better. If you want to avoid lentils entirely, you could simply make the roast mushroom-based. But you need a lot more mushrooms for that. Or you can add finely chopped nuts. Additionally, you could add kidney beans or cooked rice for binding and a moister texture.
You can replace the ground psyllium husk with ground flaxseed. Or leave it out completely.
The only thing I wouldn’t do without is the onions and garlic because of the roasted aromas. The mushrooms are interchangeable with other varieties, such as king oyster mushrooms.
If you don’t like puff pastry, you can alternatively use pizza dough or just bake the roast without a crispy coating. You might then pack tomato sauce on your roast to keep it from becoming too dry.
Meal prep tips
You can easily cook the lentils in advance. Likewise the roast. It can be prepared well in advance and has to rest in the fridge anyway.
I would serve and eat the roast per se fresh. So don’t bake the day before. Otherwise, the puff pastry will no longer be really crispy.
But what you can do is form the whole roast, then wrap it up well and freeze it unbaked. Then simply take it out of the freezer and bake it straight away.
What goes with the lentil roast?
The question of all questions is, what do you serve with the vegan lentil roast?
All side dishes that are hearty go well with it. For example dumplings, mashed potatoes, red cabbage, boiled potatoes, creamy mushroom sauce, and vegan gravy. But of course also a delicious lukewarm root vegetable salad.
Why you should try this lentil roast in puff pastry:
It is:
- vegan
- hearty
- rustic
- nostalgic traditional cuisine
- nut-free
- animal cruelty free
- eco-friendly alternative
- grown-ups and the little ones love it
- simply prepared
- perfect for Christmas
More vegan ideas for the Christmas feast:
If you try this vegan lentil roast in puff pastry with mushrooms and oatmeal, I would really appreciate your feedback here in the comments. If you share your creation of this recipe on Instagram, please don’t forget to link @velvetandvinegar and use the hashtag #velvetandvinegar. So my community and I will definitely not miss your contribution.
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Bye for now
Your Sarah
Vegan lentil roast in puff pastry
Equipment
- Food Processor
- box shaped baking tin 25cm
- box shaped baking tin 30cm
- vegan oilcloth or cling film
- star-shaped cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 100 g brown lentils organic
- Vegetable stock* organic
- 2 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil organic
- 3 small onions or 1 large onion organic
- 150 g Mushrooms organic
- 3 Garlic cloves Organic
- 50 g Oatmeal* organic
- 2 tsp ground psyllium husks* organic
- 2 tsp dried parsley* Organic
- 1 tsp Paprika powder* Organic
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2-3 Branches Rosemary* Organic
- 3-4 Branches Oregano* Organic
- 2 tbsp Tomato puree Organic
- 4-5 tbsp Water
- 160 g vegan bacon*
- 320 g vegan puff pastry* Organic
- a little bit of Soy cream Organic
- 1 a dash ground turmeric Organic
Instructions
- Cook lentils in vegetable broth according to package directions and drain well.
- Finely chop onions. Cut mushrooms into small pieces. Squeeze garlic cloves. Melt margarine in a pan. Add onions and mushrooms and sauté until golden brown. Just before the mushrooms and onions are ready, add the garlic. Put aside.
- Pluck the rosemary needles and oregano leaves. Place rolled oats, ground psyllium husk, spices, rosemary and oregano in your food processor and finely grind. Add the lentils, tomato puree and mushroom mixture. Mix briefly again until a homogeneous sticky mass is formed. If necessary, add some water if the mixture is too dry.
- Line a 25cm loaf tin with oilcloth and spread the roast mixture over it. Form and wrap tightly so that the mass already has the desired shape. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Better even for 3-4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius. Enlarge the loaf pan to 30cm. Line the tin with parchment paper and place the puff pastry in the tin. Lay bacon strips on the puff pastry so that the ends protrude over the loaf pan. Carefully remove the roast from the oilcloth and place in the loaf tin. Fold over the strips of bacon and place on the roast mixture. It should now be completely coated with strips of bacon. Now fold over the short ends of the puff pastry and place on the roast. Then fold in the long ends of the puff pastry. The roast is now completely wrapped. Cut off excess puff pastry.
- Carefully lift the roast lentils out of the tin and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Mix some soy cream with ground turmeric and brush the roast with it. Carefully carve a diamond pattern with a knife. Use a cookie cutter to cut out stars from the remaining puff pastry, brush them with some soy cream and place them on the roast.
- Bake the roast in the center of the oven for 35-40 minutes. Then again for 5 minutes on the lowest groove of the oven. If the roast is browning too much on top, simply cover with a cloth.
Notes
*If you are on a gluten-free diet, choose gluten-free oatmeal.
*You can replace the psyllium husks with ground flaxseed or leave them out if necessary.
*You can substitute the herbs as you like, instead of oregano e.g. take thyme, etc.
*Try the roast mass after mixing & season with salt & pepper if necessary.
*You can also use smoked paprika instead of the regular paprika powder.
* This vegan bacon was used for this recipe.
* If you are on a gluten-free diet, choose a gluten-free puff pastry.
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