It's so hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only three weeks away. Time is flying. I won't be cooking this year, but I will be experimenting with a new healthy dinner recipe all this month.
This week's healthy dinner is a savory vegan turnover with yams, mushrooms, vegan sausage and gravy. It turned out quite well, and I thought it had an elegant touch.
You could bake this in flaky phyllo dough like I did or pastry dough.
If you haven't used phyllo before, phyllo dough is tissue thin sheets of dough that are found in the freezer section of your grocery store. Trader Joe's makes a vegan phyllo dough, and another vegan brand called Filo Dough is available at Whole Foods.
Since phyllo dough doesn't have much fat, the sheets need to be brushed together with oil or melted vegan butter, so if you are oil-free, a pastry dough might work better for you.
Unfortunately, vegan puff pastry is hard to find. Although though Pepperidge Farm appears to be vegan, but in my opinion, it has too much oil and additives. Your best bet would be to use a frozen vegan pie crusts or make your own vegan puff pastry.
If you are looking for more holiday ideas, check out Ordinary Vegan's Thanksgiving 2014 and Vegan Thanksgiving 2013. Or check-out the ultimate holiday showstopper, Vegan Roast Wellington with Lentils, Mushrooms and Chestnuts.
And in my humble opinion, here is a recipe for the best vegan gravy you will ever taste!
Hope you enjoy this healthy dinner for the holidays. Don't miss any of Ordinary Vegan's recipes by signing up here. Just getting started on a plant-based diet? Here is a free downloadable list of delicious vegan protein.
- ½ cup vegetable broth for sautéing
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium leek, trimmed and diced
- 1 yam, peeled and diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
- 1 large portobello mushroom, diced
- 2 vegan sausages, casings removed and crumbles
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 package of frozen phyllo dough, thawed
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4-6 tablespoons mushroom gravy (recipe below) optional
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Heat the ½ cup of vegetable broth in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Season with the salt and ground black pepper.
- Add the leek, yam, carrot and fennel. Saute for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the vegetables soften but still has a bite. Add more vegetable broth if sticking.
- Stir in the mushrooms and saute for another 3 minutes. Add the olives, sage and parsley. Mix well and remove from heat. Transfer to a bowl to cool off. Remove the bay leaf.
- In the same pan, heat ¼ cup of vegetable broth. When hot at the vegan sausage and brown for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer the cooked sausage to the vegetable mixture and mix in.
- Put the two teaspoons of olive oil in a small bowl. Lay two sheets of phyllo dough on a large cutting board that has been sprinkled lightly with flour. Using a pastry brush, brush the dough with the oil. Lay another two sheets over that and brush with the oil.
- Now cut the middle of the pastry sheets, longways. Place 3 tablespoons of the roasted root mixture on the end of one strip. Carefully fold the dough over the mixture to form a triangle. Fold again as though you were folding a flag to make a smaller triangle. Repeat with the remaining strip. Then repeat the entire process until you run out of the filling.
- Place the turnovers onto the prepared baking sheets and brush again with the remaining oil or you can brush them with melted vegan butter. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Serve hot.
Woah, these turnovers look really delicious, Nancy. Dinner dishes are still my weak spot, need to get some more great recipes under my belt for that time of the day!
+ I think we also need Trader Joe’s over here in Germany, they seem to have everything!