Mini Mushroom Wellington Bites Recipe

The first Wellington dish was the classic beef Wellington, which legend says was created to honor the Duke of Wellington after he helped to secure a British victory at the Battle of Waterloo. In more recent years, however, "Wellington" has been appropriated as a term for pastry-wrapped savories other than beef, so you'll also find recipes chicken and salmon Wellingtons. Here, developer Deniz Vergara fills puff pastry cases with sauteed mushrooms to make miniature mushroom Wellingtons. As she enthuses, "The umami flavor of the mushrooms, paired with the buttery and flaky texture of puff pastry, is a great match and super easy to make."

While this recipe makes 16 pieces, these mini mushroom bites are small enough that you needn't save the recipe for entertaining. Vergara assures us these bites should last in the refrigerator for four days, which means they can make for a great any-day snack. You can also prepare them in advance by shortening the baking time to about 15 minutes, then freeze them. When you feel like snacking on mushroom pastry bundles, thaw as many as you'd like and give them just 5–10 more minutes in the oven for that fresh-baked taste.

The pastry casing for these mushroom bites is made from frozen puff pastry (thawed, of course), while the filling is made from mushrooms and shallots. Additional ingredients required for cooking and seasoning the filling include butter, oregano, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, thyme, and Dijon mustard, while you'll also need an egg if you want to give the pastries an egg wash before cooking them.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat,

Add 1 tablespoon butter and the mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are shiny and wet.

Add 1 tablespoon butter and the shallots, and saute until the shallot is translucent (about 2–3 minutes).

Add the thyme, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 5 more minutes, or until the mushrooms have released their liquid and it has evaporated.

Add the balsamic vinegar. Reduce until the liquid has evaporated.

Remove the mushrooms from the heat and allow to cool. Remove the thyme sprigs from the pan.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Lay a piece of parchment paper on the counter and roll out the puff pastry sheet so that it is about 10x14 inches.

Cut the dough into 16 squares.

Spread a small dot of Dijon mustard in the center of the square, and then add a spoonful of mushroom filling in the center of the mustard.

Bring up two opposite corners of one square and press them together, then bring up the other two corners and press all of the seams together. Place the pastry seam-side down on the sheet pan, and repeat with the remaining squares.

Brush the Wellingtons with the beaten egg. If desired, sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on top of each Wellington.

Place in the preheated oven and bake until the puff pastry is golden brown, about 20–25 minutes.

Serve with fresh thyme sprigs and your favorite dipping sauce.

As this recipe is such a simple, straightforward one, it's pretty easy to tweak it to suit your own tastes. For starters, you don't need to use baby bella mushrooms, since just about any kind of mushroom will be fine. (Non-poisonous ones, of course!) As Vergara tells us, "Whatever you have or is on sale will work," and yes, this includes standard supermarket button mushrooms.

Yet another thing you could do is to play around with different herbs, spices, and seasonings. Vergara is going with a combo of thyme and Dijon mustard, but she suggests that you could swap the former for rosemary, while you could replace the latter with a different kind of mustard, if you prefer. You could also leave out the mustard entirely and add some cheese to the mix — Vergara's suggestions are fontina, goat cheese, and gouda, but Parmesan, feta, and even cream cheese can also complement the savory mushroom flavor.

Vergara likes to make a dipping sauce for her mushroom Wellington bites by combining mayonnaise and mustard in equal amounts and then adding some black pepper to the mix. She also suggests using horseradish sauce as a dip because, as she says, this condiment "has a nice zing to it." A simple sour cream dip would also taste great with these puffs, especially if you add a squeeze of lemon juice and some snipped chives or fresh herbs.

If these mushroom bites are being used as part of an appetizer buffet, they'd make a nice vegetarian alternative to meatier offerings, such as shrimp cocktails or Swedish meatballs. If they're to be used as the starter course for a main meal, Vergara suggests serving them alongside classics like brisket or roast beef, while they'd make a cute accompaniment for beef (or chicken or salmon) Wellington. As this dish can be vegan if you skip the egg wash and replace the butter with oil, it could also be part of a meat-free meal with a plant-based entree, such as vegan filé okra gumbo or quinoa and lentil stuffed peppers.