Mushroom, spinach, pine nut and blue cheese Wellington

SERVES 6-8

600g spinach, washed

30g unsalted butter

1tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped 500g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced

100g whole cooked chestnuts (from a packet), roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

50ml brandy

1 sprig of thyme, leaves stripped and roughly chopped 100g pine nuts

180g Stilton (or other blue cheese)

500g block of all-butter puff pastry, plus 1 sheet of puff pastry to decorate (optional) 1 egg

1tbsp milk

2tbsp plain flour, for dusting Lattice cutter (optional)

1 Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the spinach and blanch for 1min, then drain and press as much water out of it as possible. Set aside.

2 Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for 3-4min, until softened.

Add the mushrooms, chestnuts, garlic and brandy, season well and cook for about 15min.

3 Stir in the chopped thyme and take the pan off the heat, then tip the mixture into a bowl and allow to cool completely. In the meantime, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat until golden brown. Allow to cool before tipping into the bowl with the mushroom mixture.

4 Once the mushroom mixture has cooled, crumble in the blue cheese and add the spinach, and mix thoroughly.

5 Lay a piece of clingfilm about 60cm long on a work surface. Tip the mixture onto the clingfilm and roll it up tightly, shaping the it into a sausage shape about 25-30cm long, twisting the ends of clingfilm as you go. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour (or 30min in the freezer).

6 Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Take the block of pastry out of the fridge so it can come to room temperature.

7 Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl to make an egg wash, then dust a work surface with flour and roll out the block of pastry to form a rectangle measuring about

40 x 35cm. Unwrap the roll of filling and lay it along one long edge of the pastry, leaving a 5-7cm border at each of the shorter sides.

8 Gently lift and drape the pastry over the filling, making sure the seam sits underneath the Wellington. Seal the long edges of pastry with egg wash, making sure there are no gaps. Seal both ends by pressing the pastry together and brushing with more egg wash. Trim off any excess pastry.

9 Decorate the Wellington with the leftover pastry or, for a lovely finish, unroll the sheet of puff pastry and roll the lattice cutter over it. Gently pull the pastry apart to reveal the holes, then brush the lattice with the egg wash and place directly onto the Wellington, covering the first layer of pastry. Glaze with the remaining egg wash.

10 Put the Wellington on the lined baking tray and place in the oven to bake for 30-35min, until the pastry is puffed up and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly, then slice and serve.

Find Tanya’s top tips for Christmas lunch overleaf