This is a beautiful dish to make at this time of year as there’s plenty of butternut squash around!

Ingredients

• Neck end of a large butternut squash, about 12.5cm long
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• For the mushroom layer:
• 2 banana shallots finely chopped
• 750g mixed mushrooms, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• small handful thyme sprigs, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp. red miso paste
• 150g cashew nuts
• 150ml vegetable stock
• Plain flour, to dust
• 600g block puff pastry
• 2 tbsp. milk. to glaze
• Maldon Salt

Method

• Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan) gas mark 6 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Peel the squash neck and slice evenly in half lengthways. Lay cut-side down on prepared sheet and brush with 1tbsp oil. Season and roast for 1 ¼ – 1 ½ hr, until tender. Set aside to cool
• Make mushroom layer. Heat remaining 2tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook shallots for 5min, until softened. Turn up heat to high and add mushrooms.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12-15min. until any liquid released by mushrooms has evaporated and they are golden brown. Add garlic, thyme and miso and cook for a further 2min. Remove from the heat.
• In a food processor or using a stick blender, blend cashews and stock until smooth. Stir this into mushroom mixture. Check seasoning and set aside to cool
• To assemble, line baking sheet with fresh baking parchment. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out 1/3 of the pastry to a 30.5 x 15cm (12 x 6in) rectangle. Spread over mushroom mixture leaving a 1cm (1/2in) border around the edges. Lay on roasted butternut halves making sure they join up
• Roll out remaining pastry as before until large enough to cover the assembled filling. Lay over the filling, trim edges and crimp to seal. Chill for 30min. 
• Reheat oven to 200C (180C fan) mark 6. Brush Wellington with soya milk and cook for 50min—1 hr, until golden brown and crisp. Leave to rest for 1Omin before transferring to a board or plate. Serve in slices.

Maldon Salt now comes in grinder and tub formats as well as the much-loved traditional box format. Maldon Salt is available in most stores, delis and supermarkets. They have been master salt makers since 1882.