As the usual ‘Designated Vegan’ at holiday celebrations, (that is, if I’m not with my mom, cause if  I am, there’s a vegan party goin down!) I know it can often be underwhelming to eat a bunch of sides…if they aren’t drenched in butter that is.

So I wanted to make something that I would be thrilled to get at a holiday party… even if there was absolutely nothing else I could eat!

What you’ve got is a layer of stuffing, followed by kale sautéed with garlic, then lentils cooked with mushrooms, another layer of stuffing (this one I added on because the whole family agreed more stuffing is always better! But leave it out if you don’t agree), then oven roasted butternut squash with sage and a dash of whole cane sugar….All wrapped up in puff pastry! I mean come on!

It looks like a lot of steps, but they are really easy and come together quickly. Make it the day before and pop it in the oven before your event.

I tried to make it super-easy to make something special for all those Vegans you love, but I bet you the non- Vegans will love it too!

Vegan Layered Holiday Loaf in Puff Pastry

Yield:8 servings

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups Butternut Squash. small diced (approx. 1.5 lb squash)

1 teaspoon of salt, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons sage, divided

3 Tablespoons +1 teaspoons olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons whole cane sugar (alt: brown sugar)

3 cups onions, divided (about 2 medium onions)

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed

6 cups Kale leaves, deveined and torn into bite sized pieces (approx. 1 bunch)

1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced

3/4 teaspoon thyme, divided

1/2 cup diced carrots, (approx 1)

1 cup diced celery, divided (approx 4-5 stalks)

1/4 green lentils

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1/4 teaspoon fresh)

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon soy sauce

4 1/2 cups vegetable broth, divided

1/4 teaspoon marjoram

1 teaspoon garlic powder

6 cups dried, cubed bread (I just used purchased stuffing cubes)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 piece packaged puff pastry

Procedure:

For the Butternut Squash:

Yield: 1 1/4 cup

Preheat oven to 425. Cover a baking pan with silpat, or lightly oil.

To chop butternut squash into small dice, first cut the squash into 2 more manageable chunks. Take the peel off by standing them upright and slicing the outer layer off in thin strips. Then slice it into planks…then sticks…and voila you have small dice!

In a large bowl, mix butternut squash, 1 teaspoon sage, ¼ tsp salt and 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat well and pour out onto pan in a single layer. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until tender but not mush.

Set aside to cool. When cool, toss with 2 teaspoons of whole cane sugar.

For the Kale:

Yield: 1 cup

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over low/medium. Saute 1/2 diced medium onion until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Add 2-3 garlic cloves,  and cook 1 minute more.

Turn up heat to medium and add the  bunch of torn and washed kale, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 tsp salt. Stir. Cover pan and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes, tossing and checking once or twice . If needed add water or broth to the pan in Tablespoons.

Taste and season. Set aside.

For the Mushrooms and Lentils:

Yield: about 2 cups

In a large pan, warm 2 teaspoons of olive oil over high heat.

Add 8 oz sliced mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and pinch of salt. Saute until lightly browned and softened.

Set aside.

In the same pan heat an additional teaspoon of olive oil.

 Saute 1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup diced carrot and 1/2 cup diced celery until softened, about 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup lentils, sautéed mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary (crush this up in your palm first), 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 2 cups vegetable broth.

Cover, lower to a simmer and cook 30-40 minutes or until lentils are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.

Set aside.

For the Stuffing:

Yield: 6-7 cups

*Note: As is, this recipe will make about 6-7 cups of stuffing. Much more than is needed for this dish. But as I said before, in my family, more stuffing is better! However, if you don’t want the leftover stuffing, just half the recipe.

In a pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Add the other half of the onion diced, and 1 cup of diced celery. Cook 5-7 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.

Add 1/2 teaspoon sage, 1/4 teaspoon marjoram, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon thyme and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 1 minute more. Add 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth, and 1/2 cup chopped parsley and bring to a boil. Then add all of the bread cubes and mix quickly and thoroughly.

Turn off heat, cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

To Assemble:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a large bread pan (I used 9.25 x 5.25) with 2 pieces of plastic wrap, one layed horizontally and 1 piece layed vertically, in a criss cross pattern.

In the prepared pan, pour the cooked butternut squash and press it down firmly.

(*Tip- just cover your hand in a plastic bag if you don’t like to get messy)

Continue with 1 1/2 cups of the stuffing, the lentils, then the kale and end with a final 1 1/2 cups of the stuffing, pressing down firmly with each layer added.

Refrigerate while you set up the rest.

*Note: If you can refrigerate it overnight (fold in the plastic wrap, then place another bread pan on top with a couple of cans evenly placed inside to weight it) its the best way to get more distinct layers when you cut into it after baking. If you don’t have the time, don’t sweat it. It will hold together fine when wrapping it in the puff pastry and its delicious no matter what!)

On floured wax or parchment paper, roll out 1 puff pastry sheet until about 13 x 11.

Cut 10 approximately-1 inch strips, 3-4 inches deep on each side. Leave a border of about *2 inches on the top and bottom.

*Note: Don’t score it like I did! The puff pastry is too thin and you may cut through unintentionally in places.  But I did want you to see the basic outline you will be working with. And I learned that its probably easier to make the border at the top and bottom 2 inches not just 1 as it is in the picture.

Remove the bread pan from the refrigerator.

 Make sure to open the plastic wrap before inverting the wax paper with the puff pastry on it, so that the pastry lays on top of the fillings in the bread pan. Lay a silpat or piece of parchment paper on top of the pastry, then an upside down baking sheet.

Invert the entire thing so that the pan is on the bottom, then the silpat or parchment paper, and the plastic wrapped loaf is sitting on the open pastry.

Stretch the top and bottom edges up over the top and bottom ends to cover at least 1 inch of the top. Then begin criss-crossing the strips from the side stretching them so that they cover all the way across.

After the dough was on, I used my hands to mold it into a more rounded loaf. As you see I didn’t do a perfect job, but it still comes out pretty!

Put into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

*Note: I didn’t use any here, but if you want,  you can dice and pan fry 2 links of Field Roast Apple Sage Sausage (approx. 1 ½ cups) and add a layer on top of the kale!

Enjoy!