Sabrina Ghayour’s spicy potato Wellington is the vegetarian showstopper you didn’t know you needed

Golden puff pastry, spiced potato and peas – this vegetarian Wellington is as bold in flavour as it is in looks - (Kris Kirkham)

“While it might sound strange to wrap a potato in pastry, trust me, this recipe will win you over,” says chef Sabrina Ghayour.

“Think of it as a marriage of East and West – all the good things I like about a veggie samosa or even an aloo (potato) paratha filling but rolled into pastry.

“This is absolute perfection achieved and I can enjoy this quite happily with a rocket salad and some chilli sauce on the side for extra fire.”

Spicy potato Wellington

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 generous handfuls of frozen peas

600g potatoes, peeled and left whole

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 heaped tsp garlic granules

1 heaped tsp pul biber chilli flakes

1 heaped tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 small packet (about 30g) of fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 x 320g ready-rolled puff pastry sheet (about 350 x 230mm)

Olive oil, to glaze (optional)

Maldon sea salt flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Sabrina Ghayour’s latest cookbook proves that Persian-inspired recipes can be simplified without losing any of the magic (Mitchell Beazley)

1. Put the frozen peas into a saucepan, pour over boiling water and leave to soak for about 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.

2. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water for about 20 minutes until cooked all the way through. Drain and leave to cool. Once cool enough to handle, cut into 1cm (½ inch) cubes and place in a mixing bowl. Add the cooked peas, red onion, garlic granules, spices, a generous amount of salt and pepper and the coriander and mix everything together (don’t worry if you end up crushing some of the potatoes in doing so). Leave to cool completely.

3. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 220C, 200C fan (425F), gas mark 7. Line a large baking tray with baking paper and lay the puff pastry sheet on it.

4. Spoon out the potato mixture along one long side of the pastry, use your hands to form it into a sausage shape, then flatten it to about the width of your hand. Fold the other side of the pastry over the potato, then seal the pastry edges using a fork to press the edges together. You can score patterns into the pastry top if desired, but do it gently to avoid piercing the pastry.

5. Brush the pastry lightly with the olive oil to glaze, if using, then bake for 25 minutes until nicely browned and puffed up. Serve immediately.

‘Persiana Easy’ by Sabrina Ghayour (Mitchell Beazley, £28).