Tom's cheesy festive parcel is the perfect centrepiece for a vegetarian Christmas dinner. Creamy rice, mushrooms, stilton, brie and chestnuts are wrapped in a deliciously buttery puff pastry. This takes a bit of time and finesse so ideally get this started on Christmas Eve. Alternatively, you can layer up the fillings in a pie dish and top with pastry instead.
Ingredients
For the Creamy Dill Rice:
For the Roasted Mushrooms:
For the Pastry:
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180C fan.
Step 2
Begin by preparing the different layers of the parcel filling. For the rice, heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the red onion and sauté gently for around 3-4 minutes. Add the rice and toast the grains in the pan for 2 minutes. Add the wine and stir until the liquid has reduced by half.
Step 3
Next, pour in the vegetable stock and stir well, bring to a simmer, and then reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Continue to cook for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from the heat and leave the lid on to stand for 5 minutes. To finish, stir through the crème fraiche and dill. Season to taste and transfer to a bowl and pop in the fridge to cool.
Step 4
Next, prepare the roasted mushrooms. Remove the stem from each of the mushrooms and discard. Place the mushrooms onto two baking trays, with the undersides facing upwards.
Step 5
In a small bowl, mix the garlic with the chopped rosemary and olive oil, and then spoon over each mushroom. Add a knob of butter in the cavity of each mushroom and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
Step 6
To make the shallot and chestnut mixture, heat a medium sauté pan over a high heat and add the butter and oil. When the butter begins to foam, add the shallots and sauté gently for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid browning. Add the chopped thyme and chestnuts and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, season well and set aside to cool.
Step 7
Once all the elements are cool, you can start to build the parcel. Lay three large sheets of cling film, one on top of the other, onto your work surface.
Step 8
Begin by building a layer of rice down the middle, in a rectangle approximately 28cm long and 14cm wide. Next, add a layer of Brie slices, and then a layer of eight mushrooms in two rows of four, underside facing up.
Step 9
Top the mushroom layer with the shallot and chestnut mixture, and then crumble over the Stilton. Finally place the remaining four mushrooms along the top, underside facing down.
Step 10
Wrap the filling tightly by folding each side of the clingfilm over the filling, and then twisting the ends as tight as possible to form a sausage shape. Tie one end in a knot, and then push the filling tight and tie the other end. Chill in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours, to set.
Step 11
Line a large oven tray with greaseproof paper. Lay one of the sheets of puff pastry on the tray, then unwrap the filling fully and place it directly in the middle of the pastry. Using a sharp knife, make a diagonal cut from each corner of the pasty into the corresponding corner of the filling. Now it’s time to wrap!
Step 12
Bring the end sections of pastry up and around the filling first, followed by the sides. Overlapping the pastry and gently pressing it together will help it hold in place. Brushing beaten egg between any overlapping areas of pastry will act as a glue. Before wrapping the upper part with more pastry, you could add a few more slices of Brie to the top, but it is perfectly cheesy without!
Step 13
Next, cut another sheet of pastry into 4cm wide strips. Starting at one end, cover the remaining filling by laying each of the strips over it crosswise, remembering to overlap the strips of pastry with the lower section and with each new strip. It’s important that there are no gaps or you will get leakage during baking. If you run out of pastry, cut a few more strips from the final sheet.
Step 14
Once fully covered, brush the parcel all over with beaten egg, known as egg wash. With the remaining pastry, cut shapes using pastry cutters and stick over the parcel to decorate. Brush these with egg wash and then sprinkle the parcel with a little salt. Place this back into the fridge to chill until you are ready to bake.
Step 15
To bake, preheat the oven to 180C fan then remove the chilled parcel from the fridge. Place on the middle oven shelf for 1 hour and 15 minutes, turning the tray halfway through. The pastry should be crispy and a deep golden colour.
Step 16
Leave the parcel to rest for a few minutes and then lift carefully on to your serving platter.
Tom's Tip:
If the pastry becomes difficult to work with whilst wrapping your parcel, simply return it to the fridge to chill for 10 minutes and then continue once it’s chilled.
