In the Wicked Kitchen On The Beet: Potato Wellington With “Turkey” Gravy

Potato Wellington With "Turkey" Gravy

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 lbs (1 kg) new potatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• Sea salt
• 5 Tbsp plant-based butter
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp Wicked Kitchen Garlic & Herb Nooch Seasoning (see sub below)
• 1 sheet (11.25 oz/320g) puff pastry, thawed if frozen
• 3 cups (710 ml) King Oyster Mushroom "Turkey" (below)
• 2 cups (710 ml) Kick Ass Gravy (below)
• Fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

1. Scrub the spuds and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks. Drop into a pot of cold water along with the whole garlic cloves, and then season the water with a generous amount of salt. Potatoes love salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and boil until fork-tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well (you want the potatoes pretty dry) then transfer to a bowl.
2. Add the butter to the bowl along with a generous pinch of salt, pepper, and nooch seasoning. Mash it all together while the potatoes are still hot and melting the butter. Let cool, then spoon into a bowl, cover and chill until cold (a few hours, or overnight). You want the filling cold so it'll hold a shape. 
3. Heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) with convection on if you can.
4. Unroll the thawed puff pastry sheet on a large sheet of parchment paper. Tip the potato mash onto the center of the pastry and use your hands to mold the mash into a thick log in the center of the rectangle, about 3-4 inches (7-10 cm) in diameter. Leave a couple inches (a few cm) of pastry around the ends of the log. If you have too much potato filling, chill it to use as a side dish for another meal. Use the parchment to roll one end of the pastry up and over the potato filling. It should completely cover the top of the filling. Brush water along the edge of the other end of the pastry to make it sticky, then lift and fold that end up and over the top. You'll want the seam of the pastry on the top side. Fold up the ends of the pastry toward the top too. It'll look a mess and that's okay – you'll flip the log over to bake so the finished wellie looks nice and neat. Use your hands and the parchment to roll the log back and forth into an evenly round shape, ensuring a good seal all around.
5. Use the parchment to transfer the wellie to a sheet pan. Make sure the seams are down, then sprinkle the top with coarse salt. Bake until beautifully golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Now, make sure you let your big 'ol log cool before cutting or the filling will spill all over the place. It can sit for up to 30 minutes, but 15 minutes is perfect. 
6. Cut the wellie into thick medallions and lay flat on plates. Pile a generous amount of "turkey" on top then spoon on the gravy and garnish lovingly with the thyme. 

• You can replace the Wicked Kitchen Garlic & Herb Nooch Seasoning with 2 tsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. 
• For the plant-based puff pastry: In the UK, Jus-Roll sells a 320 g (11.25 oz) sheet of pastry made with vegetable oils. In the US, Pepperidge Farm sells 2 similar sheets of pastry at 17.3 oz (490 g). Use 1 of the Pepperidge Farm sheets, which will be slightly smaller than the single sheet of Jus-Roll. In that case, just use a little less potato filling.

King Oyster Mushroom "Turkey"

Ingredients

• 7 large King oyster mushrooms (about 1 1/2 lbs/680 g)
• 1/2 cup plant-based butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp Wicked Kitchen Sage, Onion & Garlic Seasoning (see sub below)
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Pull the caps off the shrooms and tear the caps into a few pieces, dropping them into a bowl. Pull the stems into big, long pieces sort of like long pieces of torn turkey breast.
2. Add half the butter and quickly toss to distribute the butter (it'll get soaked up quick). Season with the Wicked seasoning and a good pinch of salt and pepper, then toss to coat well. Tip the shrooms out onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and spread them in a single layer. 
3. Bake until the shrooms are steaming and lightly browned here and there, 20 to 25 minutes. They'll give off a bunch of water. Bake until enough water evaporates that the shrooms start to brown on the tops.
4. Leave on the pan to use with our Wicked Potato Wellington, or serve as a "turkey" sandwich with gravy over toast, or serve them however you like. Experiment!

• You can replace the 1 Tbsp Wicked Kitchen Sage, Onion & Garlic Seasoning with 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground sage, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper

Kick-Ass Gravy

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 3 Tbsp plant-based butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp sherry or marsala wine (or veg broth) 
• 2 to 3 Tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
• Boiling water
• 4 Tbsp Wicked Kitchen Garlic & Herb Nooch Seasoning (Notes)
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• King Oyster Mushroom "Turkey" juices (recipe above)
• 1 1/2 tsp Wicked Kitchen Sage, Onion & Garlic Seasoning (see Notes)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp picked fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp caramel color browning agent (see Note)

Instructions

1. Dice the onion, then melt the butter in a medium saucepot over medium heat and add the onion to the pan. Saute until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring now and then. Some color on the onions helps to darken the gravy and make it super flavorful. 
2. Slice the garlic, add to the pan, and cook a minute or two. 
3. Add the sherry and cook until the pan is nearly dry, 1 to 2 minutes. 
4. Stir in a heaping 2 Tbsp of the flour, then cook a minute or two to cook out the raw flour taste. You should see a brown film (fond) starting to build up on the pan bottom.
5. Stir in about 1 cup of boiling water to deglaze the fond from the pan. The mixture will start to thicken up (called a roux). Keep simmering and stirring now and then until you get a medium-thick gravy consistency, about 5 minutes, adding more water if it gets too thick or boiling it off if it's too thin. 
6. Taste it, then add the Wicked nooch seasoning and black pepper.
7. Use the juices from the King Oyster Mushroom "Turkey" to help season the gravy: Put a strainer over the gravy pot, then tip the pan of mushrooms into the strainer so the juices run into the gravy. Then add about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of boiling water to the mushroom baking pan and shake the pan or gently scrape the bottom to deglaze the fond and flavor from the pan. Pour those juices into the gravy as well. 
8. Add the Wicked sage seasoning and thyme then simmer the gravy on medium-low heat until it returns to a medium-thin consistency, 8 to 10 minutes. Taste the gravy and add more seasonings if needed. It should be tasty AF. 
9. Stir in the caramel color and simmer on medium-low until medium-thin, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. 
10. Blend the gravy in a blender until velvety smooth, a minute or so. Return to the pan, then simmer on low heat. You want a medium-thick gravy here. Add some water to thin it out. Or simmer the gravy to thicken it up. 

• You can replace the 1 Tbsp Wicked Kitchen Sage, Onion & Garlic Seasoning with 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground sage, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper
• If you don't have the Garlic & Herb Nooch, you can sub in 1/4 cup (60 ml) nutritional yeast with 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning and 1/2 tsp granulated garlic.
• For the caramel coloring browning agent, look for Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master in the US or Sarsons in the UK.