Delicious mushroom and chestnut stuffed carrots (tree logs) wrapped in shredded phyllo pastry. A unique vegetarian main, perfect for a vegetarian Thanksgiving or Christmas dish or special occasion recipe! Vegetarian (easily veganised), grain-free, paleo, healthy & delicious fun baked carrots recipe!
The main first step for this recipe is obviously carrot selection. I tend to buy them loose in the shop so that I can hand-select the best ones that are large enough and even in shape and size. The main thing you need to watch out for is that they are thick enough to be cored and stuffed - so basically, no baby carrots unfortunately.
To begin the recipe, wash the carrots and cut off the tops and bottoms of each carrot (peeled carrots aren't necessary) and then use the corer to core the carrots.
Next, you need to parr-boil them. Simply boil the carrots for 5 minutes in a pot on med-high heat.
Meanwhile, as the carrots are boiling, you can chop the onion, mushrooms and chestnuts. I used a knife to chop the onion and then blitzed the mushrooms and chestnuts separately in my hand-held blender/food processor.
After the 5 minutes, turn off the heat for the carrots and leave them in the pot for a further five minutes. The point here is to cook the carrots without making them too soft or too hard.**
Next, fry the onion with half the butter over medium heat until they are lightly browned then add the mushrooms, garlic flakes, salt & pepper and cook for a few more minutes until the mushrooms are cooked through.
Add the rest of the butter and the chestnuts for a few more minutes. You should end up with a thick-ish paste.
Now, the fun part - it's time to stuff the carrots. I used a piping bag and nozzle but a nozzle isn't necessarily needed, it may just be slightly more fiddly without.
Wrap the carrots in a layer of shredded phyllo dough (a single layer should be enough, just make sure it's completely covered) and brush lightly with some olive oil.
Place the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet and grill on high heat, turning the carrots every two minutes. Cook until all of the sides are uniformly cooked, browned and crispy.
Video
Notes
In terms of special equipment, there is only one tool you'll need for these delicious mushroom & chestnut stuffed carrots. That is a vegetable corer. Note* I also used a pastry bag with a piping nozzle to help stuff the carrots. However, you could also use a ziplock bag and snip the corner off. It may just be a bit more fiddly.** The exact times this can take will vary depending on the size of your carrots but I've found the above method has worked well for me every time.