A golden puff pastry plait filled with sundried tomato pate, topped with roasted vegetables and vegan parmesan. The perfect dish for Sunday dinners or other special occasions like Christmas dinner. 

Butternut, Red Pepper & Potato Puff Pastry Plait 

I'm trying out new recipes for Christmas. 

I already have a mushroom wellington recipe, which I love, but my brother-in-law will be having Christmas dinner with us and he hates mushrooms, so that's out.

I decided to stick with a puff pastry recipe and try a plait (pastry braid) with very different flavours to my Wellington.

It's just like a giant sausage roll for Christmas.

Roasted butternut squash, red onion, red peppers and potatoes and sat them on a sundried tomato pate.

Topped the whole lot off with vegan Parmesan before plaiting the pastry around the filling.

I serve it with roast potatoes, a selection of vegetables and onion gravy. It was as good as it sounds and got a big thumbs up from everyone.

You could also serve it with homemade cranberry and orange sauce instead of gravy.

2024 UPDATE 

Shrinkflation has hit. Ready rolled puff pastry used to be a standard 375g across big brands and supermarket own brands.

It's now shrunk to 320g (Jusrol, Tesco & Asda, maybe other supermarkets too) which can make a big difference (you end up with too much filling).

So be aware you may need extra pastry or you will have leftover filling (don't try and add it all to these smaller sheets of pastry).

What you need to make a Christmas puff pastry plait

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this gorgeous vegetarian Christmas dinner main course.

1. Olive oil - or rapeseed oil
2. Garlic
3. Red onion
4. Butternut squash
5. Red pepper - or a mixture of red, yellow, and orange bell pepper
6. Baby potatoes - or standard potatoes
7. Almonds
8. Oats - porridge oats or rolled oats
9. Sundried tomatoes - plus some oil from the jar
10. Vegan Parmesan - try this homemade vegan parmesan
11. Fresh basil
12. Puff pastry - ready rolled or a block
13. Salt 
14. Black pepper

Love Butternut Squash? Also, try my butternut squash and lentil stew with potatoes.

You will find the full recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page.

Variations

Here are a few tweaks you can make to this vegan alternative to a beef Wellington, which is perfect to serve for Sunday dinner or for Christmas dinner.

• Aubergine (eggplant) - roasted with the other veg
• Courgette (zucchini) - also roasted
• Sweet potatoes - are good roasted too
• Vegan cheddar cheese - instead of parmesan to top the vegetables
• Fresh Coriander - or parsley instead of basil
• Sage leaves - or dried sage are good options for flavouring the butternut squash as it roasts
• Chickpeas - added to the roasted veg layer

Also, try my butternut squash wellington with lentils and chestnuts.

Can you make this butternut squash pie gluten-free?

It's super easy to make this butternut squash pastry plait gluten-free.

Just use gluten-free puff pastry and gluten-free oats.

It's as simple as that.

Sundried tomato pâté

The pâté spread in the base of this vegan wellington is based on a sundried tomato pesto recipe I sometimes make to serve on spaghetti. 

It's super tasty and I knew it would go well with flavour of the butternut squash and red pepper.

I whizzed up sundried tomatoes, garlic, basil, almonds, and some of the oil from the sundried tomato jar in a food processor (you could also use a blender or an electric stick blender in a jug).

I finished it off by seasoning it and adding vegan Parmesan and oats. The oats turn it from a pesto to a pate.

There is a thick layer of this delicious thick pate in the plait, which is topped with the roast veg. 

It takes this Christmas plait to another level.

Other ways to use tomato pate

The pate would also be good served with oatcakes or on a veggie sausage sandwich. 

Yep, just thought that one up but it sounds good doesn't it? 

Come to think of it, you could also top a veggie burger with the pate.

Porridge Oats

I used porridge oats (rolled oats) with bran to make the pate, but you could just use plain porridge oats.

My cupboards are full of a variety of different oats, which are great for so many dishes and sweet bakes.

The one I use is high in fibre and has added wheat bran added to it.

Of course, you can make this gluten-free by using gluten-free oats.

Ready rolled or block puff pastry?

Ready-rolled pastry is my top choice for making a Christmas pastry pie with golden, flaky pastry like this one.

Store-bought puff pastry sheets are ready rolled to a perfect rectangle, which makes it ideal for making a pie like this Christmas plait.

However, you could use block pastry and roll it out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin.

Try to roll dough evenly, into a large rectangle.

Block puff pastry does tend to give you a better rise, but it's harder to roll it quite as evenly into such a perfect rectangle.

You decide.

Most shop-bought puff pastry is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, but the 'all butter' versions are not suitable for vegans.

For more delicious puff pastry recipes, check out 50 BEST Plant-Based Puff Pastry Recipes for Vegans.

Puff pastry tips

1. Buy ready rolled pastry - for an even base and good shape to start your recipe with. Admit it, it's hard to roll a perfect rectangle.
2. Check the back for the ingredients - most puff pastry is suitable for vegetarians and vegans but it's best to check.
3. Take the pastry out of the box and film and leave it on a plate to come to room temperature - before unrolling it, or it could rip.
4. Leave the pastry on the baking paper (parchment paper) it is wrapped in - you can place it straight onto a baking sheet and use the paper to prevent the pastry from sticking to the tray.
5. For the best results and a golden finish on the pastry - vegetarians can use an egg wash (beaten egg) for that golden finish and vegans can brush the pastry with olive oil for a similar golden brown finish. 

 

 Making a pastry plait

Here's how easy it is to make this vegan Christmas main course or Sunday dinner main course.

1. Place a generous amount of tomato pate on the middle third of the pastry (down the centre of the pastry.
2. Top with roasted vegetables
3. Sprinkle grated veggie or vegan Parmesan (or cheddar) over the vegetables.
4. Make diagonal cuts in the surrounding pastry (to make thick strips) with a sharp knife from the vegetable mound to the edge. You will end up with what looks like a feather cut. 
5. Cut a piece out of either side of the top of the pastry at either side leaving a rectangle.
6. Fold the rectangles over the ends of the vegetables to tuck them in.
7. Brush a little water at the edges of the long strips, then fold them over the filling.
8. Any extra puff pastry can be used to decorate the plait. Pastry leaves or stars always look fab.
9. Brush the finished pastry with either egg wash or olive oil, depending on your diet.

Make it ahead

Although this Christmas vegetable Wellington is easy to make, you can prepare it ahead of time.  Let's face it, Christmas Day can be frantic.

Chill it - Roast the vegetables and make the pate and chill them in the fridge for a couple of days, then make up the plait on Christmas morning and pop it in the fridge to bake later in a preheated oven.

Freeze it - Make the whole plait (don't cook it) and flash freeze it on a tray before popping in a freezer bag and freezing for 2-3 months. Bake from frozen, brushing with olive oil or egg wash (depending on your diet).

pin it for later

Puff pastry plaits

The flavours in this Christmas plait can be changed to suit your taste.  Here are a few alternative ideas.

Mushroom & Chestnut Plait 

1. Lay the pastry portrait and spread the centre third of the pastry (puff pastry sheet) with miso, then top with a mushroom pate (try this mushroom & chestnut pate).
2. Add a layer of mashed potato.
3. Top with a mushroom mixture of garlic mushrooms, chopped chestnuts and spinach, finished with some grated cheese (or vegan cheddar, then topped with the strips of pastry.

Pizza Plait

1. Spread the centre of the sheet of pastry (portrait) with pizza sauce.
2. Top with roasted vegetables.
3. Finish with a layer mozzarella (vegetarian or vegan)
4. Add a few basil leaves, then top with the diagonal strips of pastry.

Morrocan Plait

1. Spread the central third of the sheet of puff pastry (keep it portrait, so you have the length) with Morrocan pate.
2. Top with a roast vegetables mixture, chickpeas, and couscous mixed with hummus & zataar.
3. Finish with fresh herbs and a drizzle of pomegranate syrup on top of the filling, then add the strips of pastry.

Pastry pies are the best! Perfect for a Sunday dinner or Christmas lunch main dish.

I'm sure you will come up with some great ideas too.

If you like puff pastry pies and tarts, also try my Garlic Mushroom & Spinach Puff Pastry Tart or my Shallot Puff Pastry Crown.

How to serve a Christmas butternut squash puff pastry tart

If you are serving this butternut tart for Sunday dinner or Christmas dinner here are a few ideas of what to serve with it. 

I serve this pastry plait with roast potatoes, vegetables, and onion gravy. After all it's a Christmas tradition!

Choose from this selection.

1. Roast potatoes
2. Mashed potatoes
3. Roast parsnips - coated in honey or maple syrup before they are roasted
4. Mashed turnip or swede - or neeps as we call them in Scotland, here's how to cook neeps
5. Vegetables - your favourite veg
6. Onion Gravy
7. Cranberry sauce - try this easy cranberry sauce made with frozen cranberries and orange juice
8. Roasted red pepper sauce 

The perfect meal to serve over the Christmas period.

Veggie Sunday Dinner or Christmas main courses

Here are a few more Sunday dinner or Christmas main courses to choose from. 

These delicious recipes are all easy to make.

• Easy Vegan Haggis - serve with mashed potato, mashed neeps and creamy whisky sauce (or like a roast with roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy
• Miso Mushroom Nut Roast - Serve with roast or mashed potatoes, veg and red pepper sauce
• Mushroom, Lentil & Nut Wellington - serve with roast potatoes, veg and mushroom gravy (serve ot chunky or blend smooth)
• Shallot Puff Pastry Crown - serve with roast potatoes, green veg and cranberry sauce

For a more comforting Christmas lunch recipe, try my cheesy vegetable puff pie, which is a bit like a vegetable pot pie.

Serve it with mashed potato and green veg.

Not a Christmas main course, but I have to mention my Christmas sausage rolls. These mushroom and chestnut sauce rolls in golden, flaky puff pastry are one of my most popular Christmas recipes.

They are perfect to enjoy on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

For more delicious and easy vegan Christmas recipes check out my page Vegan Christmas.

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dinner

British, Christmas, vegan, vegetarian

Yield: 6 - 8 slices

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Butternut, Red Pepper & Potato Puff Pastry Plait

A golden puff pastry plait filled with sundried tomato pate, topped with roasted vegetables and vegan parmesan. The perfect dish for Sunday dinners or other special occasions like Christmas dinner.

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

Sundried Tomato Pate

• 50g whole almonds
• 1 clove garlic (more if you like)
• 15g (a generous handful) of fresh basil
• 25g (2 rounded tablespoons) porridge oats with bran (or plain porridge oats or rolled oats
• 150g (5 1/3 oz) sundried tomatoes
• 6 tablespoons sundried tomato oil (from the jar)
• 15g (1 tablespoon) grated vegetarian Parmesan
• A good grinding of salt and pepper

Plait

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
• 6 baby potatoes, chopped into chunks
• 1 red onion, peeled, halved and cut into wedges
• A good grinding of salt and pepper
• 15g (1 tablespoon) vegetarian or vegan Parmesan, grated (or cheddar, more if you like)
• 375g (13 1/4 oz, a little more is ok) ready rolled puff pastry
• Olive oil (or an egg wash) for brushing the pastry

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7.
2. Toss the prepared vegetables in olive oil and season.
3. Once the oven is hot, add the vegetables to a large baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.
4. Whizz up the pate ingredients in a food processor or blender until you have a smooth pate.
5. Take the pastry out of the fridge, a few minutes before you are ready to prepare the plait.
6. Once the vegetables are roasted, unroll the pastry on a baking sheet and add the pate in a flat sausage shape up the central third of the pastry, lengthwise (portrait).
7. Heap the vegetables on top of the pate.
8. Sprinkle the Parmesan (or cheddar) over the vegetables.
9. Slice diagonally through the pastry at each side of the filling to the edge in strips. It should look like a feather. Leave a piece at the top and bottom uncut.
10. Fold the top and bottom pieces of the pastry over the vegetables, then brush a little water on the tips of your pastry strips, then fold them one at a time across the middle until the filling is almost completely covered, with just a little showing.
11. Brush the pastry with an egg wash or olive oil and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and crisp.
12. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Decorate the plait - You can cut off a small portion of the pastry to make shapes to decorate the plait. Stars or leaves always look good. Rub a little water on the back of each to stick them to the pastry.
2. Serve with - roast potatoes, veg, and gravy or red pepper sauce.
3. Make it ahead and freeze it - You can make this plait ahead. Make the plait, but don't cook it then flash freeze it on a tray, before transferring it to a freezer bag.
4. Bake from frozen
5. Chill leftovers in the fridge - for 2-3 days, then wrap in tinfoil and reheat in the oven.

Calories

6 slices = 691 calories per slice

7 slices = 593 calories per slice

8 slices = 518 calories per slice

Nutrition Facts

Calories

518.49

Fat (grams)

27.1 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

6.35 g

Carbs (grams)

61.54 g

Fiber (grams)

7.8 g

Net carbs

53.76 g

Sugar (grams)

11.81 g

Protein (grams)

12.09 g

Sodium (milligrams)

329.21 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

2.54 mg

https://www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2018/11/butternut-red-pepper-potato-puff-pastry-plait.html