Carrot Wellington

Is this the year the vegetarian main dish makes the biggest splash on your holiday table? In this meat-free Wellington, whole roasted carrots coated in a honey–curry powder glaze sit atop a spread made of more carrots, roasted shallots, toasted walnuts, and a bit of cheese for richness, which all get encased in puff pastry. Either of the two major frozen puff pastry brands—Pepperidge Farm or Dufour—will work here, but I prefer all-butter Dufour, which browns readily and evenly. As cozy as it is elegant, it’s a company-worthy celebration of cold weather produce.

Seek out small- to medium-size carrots for this dish—too thick and they won’t get tender in time and will be too bulky in the middle of each slice. And feel free to use whatever curry powder blend you can find for this recipe; everything from Japanese S&B to French-Indian vadouvan shines alongside carrots’ vegetal sweetness.