Vegetarian recipes for your Christmas dinner

This vegetarian Christmas dinner is a real feast for your veggie guests... something to look forward to, to enjoy and to remember well! It's also quite easy to prepare. I found this lovely menu in a newsletter I got last year from Rachel Demuth's Cookery School in Bath and I really want to share it with you. You will surprise your guests - and yourself - with this extraordinary menu. Enjoy!

"This year at the cookery school we have plumped for traditional Christmas recipes that everyone will like, that are simple to make, can be made in advance and can be served as a centrepiece vegetarian dish or if needs be the vegetarian alternative to the bird".

Mushroom, Chestnut & Brandy Paté

Dietary: Wheat free, Vegan
Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium parsnip, peeled & diced
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 250g cooked chestnuts, chopped
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 150g shitake or wild mushrooms, sliced
• 25g butter (optional)
• 2 tbsps tamari or shoyu
• 2 tbsps brandy
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• handful of flat parsley, chopped
• freshly ground black pepper
• sea salt

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark6.
• Roast the parsnip in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 20 minutes, until soft and beginning to colour.
• In a large frying pan, fry the onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, until soft, but not browned. Add the garlic and fry for a minute.
• Add the shitake or wild mushrooms and fry for another minute, then add the chestnut mushrooms and fry until the mushrooms are all an even dark colour.
• Stir in the cooked parsnips, chestnuts, butter, tamari, brandy and lemon juice.
• Gently fry for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
• Leave to cool and then puree in a food processor to a chunky consistency.
• Season to taste and add the parsley just before serving.
• Serve with oatcakes, melba toast or rye bread.

Tips: This recipe makes a big bowl of pate, which will keep in the fridge for 3 days. Best not to freeze, as mushrooms turn watery when unfrozen.

Cashew & Root Vegetable en Croûte

Dietary: (Vegan)
Serves: 8

Ingredients

Pastry

• 225g plain white flour
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 175g chilled butter or block margarine
• 4 tsps lemon juice
• 6-8 tbsps cold water
• 1 egg, beaten or soya milk for brushing

Filling

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled finely chopped
• 300g carrot, grated
• 300g parsnip, grated
• 200g spinach, washed
• 150g cashews, roasted & finely chopped
• 50g pumpkin seeds, roasted & finely chopped
• 50g sunflower seeds, roasted & finely chopped
• 75g fresh breadcrumbs
• small handful of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• generous grating of fresh nutmeg
• sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
• sunflower oil

Method

• Make the pastry. Place the flour in a bowl with the salt, thyme, grate in the butter/margarine.
• Add the lemon juice and enough water to quickly mix to a soft dough.
• Gather into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least a hour.
• In a large saucepan heat a little sunflower oil & fry the onion until soft, add the garlic fry until fragrant.
• Add the carrot & parsnip, pop the lid on and allow to soften.
• Add the spinach & let it wilt, turn the heat off.
• Mix in all the remaining ingredients and check the seasoning.
• Pre-heat oven 200°C/Gas6
• Remove dough from fridge and roll out into a rectangle on a floured surface. By eye divide into thirds and fold the two sides over the centre third, gently press the edges of the dough with the rolling pin to seal in the air and then turn the dough by a quarter. Repeat the rolling, folding and turning three more times.
• Divide the dough into two thirds and a third.
• Roll out the larger piece into a rectangle approx 20cm x 30cm and place on a greased baking tray. Put the filling on top leaving a 3cm border all around, wet the edge & roll out the remaining dough so that it fits over the filling, Seal the edge (crimp/make decorative). Make some diagonal slits through the top & brush with beaten egg or soya milk.
• Bake for 40-50mins until golden & puffed up.

Serve hot with gravy and all the trimmings.

Tips: Make in advance and freeze before cooking. If you haven't got time to make the pastry buy ready made puff pastry.

Chocolate Hazelnut Parfait

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 200g hazelnuts, roasted & roughly chopped
• 100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 tbsps hazelnut liquor (Frangelico) or other liquor
• 50g runny honey
• 120g caster sugar
• 120g unsalted butter
• 65g cocoa powder
• 300ml double cream

Method

• Line a 2lb loaf tin with clingfilm.
• Gently heat the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.
• When melted whisk in the egg yolks, sugar & honey.
• Beat the cocoa powder into the butter, along with the frangelico, whisking this mix into the chocolate/egg mix.
• Whip the cream to soft peaks.
• Fold into chocolate mix using a spatula, followed by the hazelnuts.
• Decant mix into loaf tin & freeze overnight.
• To serve invert & peel off clingfilm, cut into slices. Best got out of freezer 10 minutes before serving. Lovely on it's own or with fresh fruits & extra cream.

Tips: This parfait can be made in advance!

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 | Posted in: Recipes | Posted by: Georgette Henson

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