Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Vegetarian Christmas – Vegan Stuffing

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Stuffing is very traditional on Thanksgiving in the USA and Canada. Vegan stuffing is a key element in a vegetarian or vegan Thanksgiving dinner. This stuffing doesn’t cook inside a bird, it’s rather a casserole dish. The sweet apple, the crunchy sourdough bread and the sour capers contrast nicely with the herbs: parsley and sage. This versatile stuffing is good on its own or stuffed into winter squashes, or green or red bell peppers. Go on and give it a try!
Vegan Stuffing
Ingredients (serves 2)
– 150 g sourdough bread, cubed
– 1 large onion, chopped
– 2 apples, peeled and diced
– 1 and 1/4 cups vegetable broth
– 1/4 cup capers
– 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
– 10-15 sage leaves, chopped
– salt, pepper
– olive oil
Method
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan and start by sauteing the onions for 3-4 minutes, then add apples. Once the onion and apples are beginning to soften, add parsley, sage, bread and capers. Season with salt and pepper (capers are salty so be careful!). Stir and and spoon it all into a baking dish. Pour the vegetable broth over the mixture and stir well to combine. Bake in a preheated oven at 170-180C (350F) for about 30-40 minutes. You want the top to be golden brown and crunchy. 

More vegetarian Christmas recipes:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange Juice & ZestCheesy Leeks
Mashed Pumpkin Potatoes with Rosemary
Cranberry and Pistachio Nut Roast
Pumpkin Pie

Vegetarian Christmas – Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange Juice & Zest

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Brussels sprouts – the perfect holiday side dish – are simply seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, orange juice and orange zest, then slow roasted in a hot pan until golden brown. They get that nutty sweetness and nicely brown crisp exterior. Yum! It’s simple, easy and quick to make and oh so delicious!
I hope you like them as much as I do! 🙂
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange Juice & Zest
Ingredients (serves 4)
– 400 g brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed, bigger ones cut in half lengthwise
– 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
– 1 orange’s zest and freshly squeezed juice
– 2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
– salt, pepper
– 2 tablespoons water
Method
Heat coconut or olive oil in a roasting pan over medium heat. Place brussels sprouts in the pan and roast for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Add water, place a lid on top and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Add garlic, orange juice and zest, season with salt and pepper. Cook and roast for another 5 minutes without lid until the orange juice will be caramelized on the sprouts.

More vegetarian Christmas recipes:
Cheesy Leeks
Mashed Pumpkin Potatoes with Rosemary
Cranberry and Pistachio Nut Roast
Pumpkin Pie

Vegetarian Christmas – Cheesy Leeks

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Christmas time a stress-free meal needs proper planning. There is no such thing as luck – you have to make it happen. That’s why I decided early what to make for my small family on Christmas Eve. 
Christmas is a private, family holiday in Hungary, we don’t go to parties. The main Christmas celebrations take place on Christmas Eve. The evening is called Holy Evening. Most families decorate the tree together on 24 December, but some families keep the older tradition that tree should be a surprise for children who even believe it was bought by Baby Jesus and angels. Children enter the room only when the small tree bells ring and music arises. Gifts lay around the tree with small labels saying the name of someone in the family. Family-members sing Christmas songs together, then open their gifts and spend the night together. The menu for Christmas Eve is usually fish soup from carp, fried fish with potato salad or French fries. The traditional Hungarian Christmas dessert is called beigli. It’s a pastry roll filled with poppyseed or walnut and it can be made a few days, even a week before Christmas.
I’m vegetarian so we don’t make the traditional menu on this evening. We had cranberry and pistachio nut roast – a rich and savoury vegetarian dish -, mashed pumpkin potatoes with rosemary and also this cheesy leeks (recipe from Jamie Oliver) and a vegan stuffing (I’ll share the recipe with you soon). It was the best vegetarian Christmas dinner we ever had.

Cheesy Leeks

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 2 large leeks, trimmed and washed
– 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
– 3 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
– 100 ml cream
– 100 g cheddar, grated
– 100 g brie, cut into small pieces
– sea salt
– black pepper
– olive oil

Method

Slice the leeks on an angle, about 2 cm thick. Put a pan on a medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme and garlic. As things begin to bubble and fry (3-4 minutes), stir in the leeks. Leave to cook and check on it every few minutes to stir (make sure it doesn’t catch). After 10-15 minutes turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients (cream, brie, salt, pepper), stir and spoon it all into a baking dish, sprinkle over the cheddar. Pop in the oven and bake at 170-180C (350F) for 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbling.

More vegetarian Christmas recipes:
Mashed Pumpkin Potatoes with Rosemary
Cranberry and Pistachio Nut Roast
Pumpkin Pie

Vegetarian Christmas – Mashed Pumpkin Potatoes with Rosemary

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Hey, it’s still Christmas time on my blog! I want to share a few more recipes that I cooked and baked at Christmas time. The main meal was the nut roast and there were several side dishes like this mashed pumpkin potatoes. The addition of pumpkin to ordinary mashed potatoes gives the dish a nice earthiness that goes well with roasted meat and vegetarian nut roast too. Rosemary tops up its simplicity!

Mashed Pumpkin Potatoes with Rosemary

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 450 g pumpkin, peeled, cut into small cubes
– 450 g potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes
– 100 ml cream or sour cream
– 20 g unsalted butter
– 1 sprig rosemary, leaves chopped
– sea salt
– pepper

Method

In a large sauce pan cover potatoes and pumpkin with water. Bring to boil and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20-25 minutes. Drain potatoes and pumpkin. Mash with a potato masher, mixer or immersion blender. Add cream/sour cream and butter to thin a bit and make mash creamier. Season with salt, pepper and rosemary. Serve it warm with the cranberry pistachio nut roast.

More vegetarian Christmas recipes:
Cranberry and Pistachio Nut Roast
Pumpkin Pie

Vegetarian Christmas – Cranberry and Pistachio Nut Roast

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A nut roast is a rich and savoury vegetarian dish consisting of nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, cashew nuts, pistachio, chestnuts, peanuts), grains, vegetables, vegetable oils, broth or butter, and seasonings formed into a firm loaf shape or long casserole dish before roasting and often eaten as an alternative to a traditional British style roast dinner. It is popular with vegetarians/vegans at Christmas, as well as part of a traditional Sunday roast. 
I made a similar nut roast (Mrs. Myrtleberry’s roast) nearly a year ago. It was love at first sight or love at first taste! 🙂 The main adjustment is to toast the nuts, which brings out a wonderful flavour. This is rich, satisfying and chockfull of protein. 
Even if you are a meat eater you need to try one of them. It is definitely a festive meal with mashed potato and salad.

Cranberry and Pistachio Nut Roast (Jamie Oliver recipe)

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

– 50 g pistachio, toasted
– 50 g almond, toasted
– 20 g dried porcini
– 100 g button mushroom, sliced
– 100 g cheddar cheese, grated (omit to make vegan nut roast)
– 100 g pearl barley
– 1 red onion, finely chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
– 2 small celery root, peeled and finely chopped
– 300-400 ml vegetarble stock
– 1 organic/free range egg, beaten (omit to make vegan nut roast)
– 1-1 teaspoon of sage, rosemary and thyme, leaves picked and chopped
– small handful of whole wheat breadcrumbs
– 1 teaspoon chili flake
– grated zest of 1 lemon
– 4 tablespoons olive oil
– sea salt
– pepper
– 150 g frozen cranberries
– 1 tablespoon brown cane sugar

Method

In a dry non-stick pan roast pistachio and almond for 8 minutes, let cool, chop roughly and set aside. Soak the dried porcini in a little boiling water (enough to cover) for 8-10 minutes. Drain the porcini (keep the soaking water!), chop it roughly and set aside. Butter a 20-23 cm loaf tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Cook the sugar and the cranberries in a pan over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, then tip into the tin and spread evenly.
Make the risotto base first. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over low heat. Add the chopped celery root and onion and cook for 10 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Turn up the heat and add the pearl barley. Cook for a minute or so until you hear it snap, crackle and pop, then add the porcini soaking water and stir until absorbed.
Add the drained, chopped porcini to the risotto and the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring each one in until it has been completely absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir as much as you can – this is what will make it creamy. Once the pearl barley is al dente, transfer to a bowl to cool. 
Preheat the oven to 190C (360F). In a pan fry the sliced button mushrooms in a little olive oil over medium heat for 5–8 minutes, until they are just starting to crisp. 
Once the risotto has cooled, add all other ingredients (button mushrooms, pistachio, almond, grated cheese, egg, sage, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, breadcrumbs and chili flake), season, and mix well. Pile the nut-roast mixture in the tin and pack it down with the back of a spoon. Cover it with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes. Once it’s golden brown on top, remove the nut roast from the oven and leave to settle for 10 minutes. 
Use a knife to loosen the tin, then place your serving platter or board on top. Cover your hand with a tea towel and courageously flip the whole lot over, then carefully lift the tin off. 

More vegetarian Christmas recipe:
Pumpkin Pie