Pork, sage and chestnut wellington recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

London chef Calum Franklin has a cult following for his beautiful pies and pastry work. His pork, sage and chestnut wellington is great for entertaining

Calum Franklin

Executive head chef of the Holborn Dining Room in London, Calum Franklin is a self-described ‘pastry deviant’, specialising in intricately decorated pies and Wellingtons with unusual fillings. The restaurant sells over 200 of his creations a day.

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1. Unroll the puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface, and roll out a bit more to get a 35cm x 30cm rectangle. Transfer to a large baking tray lined with baking paper and chill.

2. Trim out the thickest part of the stalk from the cabbage leaves, trying to keep the leaves mostly intact. Blanch in salted boiling water for 3 minutes, then refresh in iced water until cold. Drain really well, pat with kitchen paper and roll out the leaves between 2 tea towels with a rolling pin to flatten and remove any moisture. Lay them out on a sheet of baking paper to form a 20 x 25cm rectangle, trimming off the edges with a knife.

3. Heat half the oil and fry the onion in a frying pan over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until soft. Add the sage and cook for a minute or so, then transfer to a bowl and leave to cool. Add the chestnuts to pan with the remaining oil and cook until starting to caramelise, then add the butter at the end to give a final bit of colour, drain with a slotted spoon and add to the onion mix.

4. When the chestnut and onion mix is cold, mix in the sausage meat and breadcrumbs and salt and mix well. Spread one-third of this mix across the bottom third of cabbage rectangle (along a short side) and lay the pork fillet on top; season. Pat the remaining stuffing mix over the pork to seal it in and roll the cabbage away from you into a cigar shape, tucking in the ends.

5. Remove the pastry from the fridge on its tray, dust off any excess flour and brush liberally with the egg yolk mixture. Transfer the cabbage roll to lay along one of the short sides of the pastry and roll up away from you so the seam ends up underneath, with a 3cm overlap of pastry. Trim off any excess and keep it for decorating.
6. Carefully crimp down each end of the wellington and trim so there is just enough pastry to tuck back under itself. Brush all over with egg yolk, adding any decorative shapes that you wish, and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.
7. Remove the wellington from the fridge and brush a final time with egg yolk. Sprinkle with the fennel seeds and a little sea salt.
8. Bake until the internal temperature is 70°C measured with a temperature probe (around 55-60 minutes, but the timing will depend on the shape and thickness of your pork fillet). Rest the wellington on a cooling rack (remove the baking paper first) over a tray, for at least 25 minutes – don’t skip this step, as the meat is both finishing cooking, and resting so it is succulent when carved. Carve with a sharp serrated knife and serve with colcannon and mustard, if you like.

   Watch our video below to see how to make the Wellington.

9. Watch this...

   How to make a pork, sage and chestnut Wellington