Vegetables Wellington Redux

1 Tbs olive oil
1 lb asparagus, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium bell peppers (any color), cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 5oz pkg baby spinach leaves
1 4oz jar prepared pesto sauce
1 large egg
1 17.3oz pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 10oz log goat cheese, softened
1 16oz jar prepared tomato sauce, warmed

1) Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus, bell peppers and onion, sauteing for 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Add spinach, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until spinach wilts. Stir in pesto. Cool.
2) Whisk egg in bowl, and set aside. Cut 15x10-inch piece of parchment paper, and set on work surface. Place 1 sheet puff pastry on parchment paper. Lift parchment paper with puff pastry, and place parchment-side-down in 9-inch loaf pan. Press pastry into pan, being careful not to let folds get caught in parchment, and allow pastry to hang over sides. Cut squares from second puff pastry sheet, and press onto short sides of parchment-covered pan to make dough shell. Prick bottom of puff pastry all over with fork.
3) Spread goat cheese over bottom of puff pastry. Top with asparagus mixture. Fold excess puff pastry over vegetables, and brush edges with egg.
4) Cut 9 1/2 x 5 1/2-inch piece of puff pastry from remaining sheet. Set on top of asparagus mixture, pressing to seal edges. Refrigerate 30 minutes, along with unused pastry scraps and egg.
5) Preheat oven to 425F, and place oven rack on second-lowest level. Brush top of Wellington with egg, and poke 2 or 3 holes in top. Cut decorative leaves and stems from remaining pastry, press onto top of Wellington, and brush with egg. Use tip of small knife to score leaves and top with decorative touches.
6) Bake Wellington 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 350F, and bake 45 minutes more. Cool 15 minutes.
7) Use parchment paper to lift Wellington from loaf pan. Remove parchment paper, and transfer Wellington to flat serving plate. Slice, and serve with warmed tomato sauce.

Review: This was incredibly delicious, though I did not serve it with tomato sauce. The reason being, that I had other chaos to deal with and totally spaced the sauce. I had perfectly timed making this and making pumpkin cheesecake bars. My plan was to slide the bars into the oven right after the Wellington. It all was working so well, until it didn't. Apparently the Wellington created a lot of grease. The parchment paper created a bit of a funnel, allowing the grease to bubble up, and out over the edge of the cookie sheet I had under the loaf pan. It missed the cookie sheet completely and formed a huge puddle of grease in the bottom of my oven (which I didn't see). When I slid the bars in, I had the bars in a 8x8 pan, nestled into a 9x13 pan filled with water. A bit of the water spilled out and hit the grease puddle. I had massively huge flames ensue, which ignited the parchment paper that was used in the cheesecake bars. I was SO scared, as flames seemed to be engulfing everything. I shut the oven door in a panic, and the flames started to die down. But, I panicked that I should get the pans out of the oven. When I opened the oven doors, the flames quickly picked up and took over again. I shut the door and let it die down completely. At this point, my kitchen was filled with smoke. I ran around fanning the smoke out of open windows and doors. It was awful. And, I was home alone. My husband arrived shortly after the flames quit. I was shaking and scared, so of course, warmed tomato sauce was not on my mind!! The Wellington was absolutely amazing, savory and crispy. The cheescake bars were tossed in the trash. The oven was salvaged with cornstarch and a wipe-down. What a night!

Adapted from:

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/vegetables-wellington-redux/