RECIPE: Camembert Wellington

I have been sent a selection of Pates from the Castle McLellan range to try, and to share some ideas for using them with you.

The first I tried was the smoked salmon variety - I'm afraid this was so delicious that I simply wolfed it down with some brown bread and cucumber slices. Because of Mark's fish allergy, it's a rare treat for me!

Next I tried the Oven Roasted Mushroom Pate with Garlic and Thyme. Since it is suitable for vegetarians, I decided to make a dish suitable for a vegetarian Christmas dinner - Camembert Wellington which both looks and tastes very festive.

Naturally if you are making this for a vegetarian, you need to make sure the Camembert cheese you use is free from animal rennet - it will say on the label if it is suitable for vegetarians.

Ingredients - to serve 2-3

1 pack ready-rolled puff pastry
1 camembert cheese
1 pack Castle McLellan Oven Roasted Mushroom Pate with garlic & thyme
a handful of fresh cranberries (or you could use cranberry sauce)
1 egg, beaten

Unroll the puff pastry and unwrap the cheese. Place the cheese on one end of it and cut all around it about 1 cm from the edge, to give a circle a little larger than the cheese.
Now roughly measure the distance up one side of the cheese, across the top and down the other side, and find a plate or pan lid 2-3cm wider than that measurement, and use it as a template to cut a second circle of pastry.

Place the smaller circle on a sheet of non stick paper on a baking tray. Spread half of the pate over one flat surface of the cheese and place it, pate side down, in the middle of the circle then spread the remaining pate over the top. Arrange cranberries on top (as you can see, my cranberries are enormous!) or dot cranberry sauce over.

Brush the rim of pastry with beaten egg then drape the large pastry circle over making sure it is even all round, smooth down the sides and crimp around the base to seal. Make sure it is well sealed so your cheese won't leak out!  Cut a hole in the top at the centre to allow steam to escape. Brush all over with beaten egg then decorate with leaves cut from the pastry trimmings - I made holly leaves and used some more cranberries for holly berries.

Set aside in the refrigerator to chill for an hour.
Heat the oven to 220 C (200 fan) 425 F gas mark 7. When the oven is ready, bake the Wellington for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is well risen and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before cutting open.

Serve with salad - some baby gem leaves to help scoop up the yummy mixture of pate and cheese are a particularly good accompaniment.

 

 

Note - I was sent the pates to try but all other ingredients and the recipe are my own