Christmas Dinner

RE: Christmas Dinner

I often go for the easy option of buying a festive nut roast that all the supermarkets seem to stock at this time of the year. M&S and Sainsbury's usually have nice ones. Or sometimes I have a lentil and vegetable pie. It has to be something that will go with all the lovely xmas veggies, ie. not the vegetable lasagne that xmas set meals always seem to serve up for vegetarians!

This year we are really treating ourselves and going to Lancrigg Vegetarian Hotel in the Lake District where the food sounds amazing. Have a look here at their sample Christmas menu for ideas..

I'm sure what ever you have you will really enjoy your first vegetarian Christmas. Thank goodness xmas puds and mince pies are now all veggie!

Sarah x

RE: Christmas Dinner

Yes, thanks Sarah, hope you have a wonderfull time at your Hotel, sounds wonderfull. 🙂

RE: Christmas Dinner

Hello Rainbowheart

I had my first veggie christmas last year 😀 I have the Quorn Roast which is great as you can keep the leftovers in the fridge and use them in sandwiches etc.. yum yum!!

Sarah hotel sounds wonderful you will have to post a review when you get back. ask them if we talk about it enough on here will we get a discount hee hee i'm only kidding!!

XF xx

RE: Christmas Dinner

I haven;t actually decied yet what we shall be having this year. Like Sarah htough I usually try and get some kind of nut roast, the only problem is that as well as being veggie we are also both wheat free, and most of the ones I have come across seem to contain at least small amounts of wheat also. One of our local health food stores though does sell rather scrummy wheat free nut burgers which might be one option. After working right up until Christmas Eve and with just 2 days off work, to be honest I won't feel like doing anything too elaborate. I shall watch this post also then for some more inspiration.

June

RE: Christmas Dinner

Try adding some apricots to your favourite nut roast and wrapping in Filo pastry to make crackers. Chestnuts and cashews are good for a good light white result.

Don't forget the stuffing balls.

You can easily get vegan christmas pudding and custard and christmas cake.

Make a chocolate pancake and roll up with chocolate mousse to make a vegan chocolate yule log

More ideas here

and here

If you don't feel like cooking from scratch you can find it all in a packet ready to pop in the oven here vegan turkey, pigs in blankets and gravy all ready for Uncle burt and Auntie Irene

RE: Christmas Dinner

Just found this ~ From Delia.

This recipe is in specific response to a letter I received from a vegetarian who asked if I could devise something that had stuffing, sauce and all the trimmings - so that he could feel as Christmassy as everyone else.

Well, here it is, and I would add that it also goes very well with Traditional Bread Sauce or Cranberry and Orange Relish. (The Sage Derby cheese gives a lovely flavour but I know that some of you may have difficulty getting hold of it, so Lancashire is my suggested substitute with your own chopped, fresh or dried sage leaves.)

Vegetarians might like to know that a vegetarian parmesan-style cheese is available from Twineham Grange Farms*.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serves 4

For the roulade:
4 oz (110 g) Sage Derby cheese, grated
1.5 oz (40 g) butter
1 oz (25 g) plain flour
10 fl oz (275 ml) cold milk
3 large eggs, separated
1.5 oz (40 g) hazelnuts, chopped and toasted
1 level tablespoon grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano); see recipe introduction
Salt and freshly milled pepper

For the stuffing:
1 level teaspoon chopped fresh sage
8 oz (225 g) onions, chopped
1.5 oz (40 g) butter
1 level tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3 oz (75 g) white breadcrumbs
Salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the filling:
12 oz (350 g) parsnips (prepared weight)
1 oz (25 g) butter
2 tablespoons double cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly milled black pepper

You will also need a Swiss roll tin 13 x 9 inches (32 x 23 cm), lined with silicone paper (baking parchment).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

First make up the stuffing by melting the butter in a small heavy-based saucepan, then add the onions and cook them for about 6 minutes or until they are transparent. Next add the herbs, breadcrumbs and seasoning, stirring well to combine everything, then sprinkle the mixture evenly all over the lined tin.

Now for the roulade: place the butter, flour and milk in a saucepan and whisk them together over a medium heat until thickened, then season with salt and pepper and leave the sauce to cook over the gentlest possible heat for 3 minutes. After that draw the pan off the heat to cool slightly, then add the egg yolks, whisking them really well in. Next add the grated Sage Derby cheese and taste to check the seasoning.

In a large bowl (and with a spanking clean whisk) beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gently fold one spoonful of the egg white mixture into the cheese mixture - to loosen it - then spoon this mixture, a little at a time, into the rest of the egg white. Now spread the whole lot evenly into the prepared tin over the stuffing mixture, and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until it feels springy and firm in the centre.

Meanwhile cook the parsnips in a steamer for 10-15 minutes until they're soft, then cream them together with the butter, double cream and a seasoning of nutmeg, salt and pepper (this can be done by hand or in a food processor). When they're ready, keep them warm while you lay a sheet of greaseproof paper (slightly longer than the roulade) on a work surface and sprinkle the hazelnuts all over it.

When the roulade is cooked, turn it out on to the hazelnuts and carefully peel off the base paper. Spread the creamed parsnip evenly all over the sage and onion stuffing. Then roll up the roulade along the longest side, using the greaseproof paper underneath to help you pull it into a round (it's not difficult, it behaves very well). Transfer the roulade to a serving plate and sprinkle the surface with a dusting of grated Parmesan.

This recipe is taken from Delia Smith's Christmas and Delia's Vegetarian Collection.

RE: Christmas Dinner

Hi all[sm=xmas-smiley-007.gif]

This will also be our first Xmas Meat Free, I have got my son's Xmas dinner at his school tomorrow, as i am a governor there, their Vegetarian meal is Cheese Flan instead of Turkey, How much thought went into that i wonder?

Thank goodness xmas puds and mince pies are now all veggie!

I wish they were, i have missed out on a few deserts recently as the puddings and pies were not meat free! NO FAIR i love my xmas pud.

Love & Light

Mark
[sm=FIFangel.gif]

RE: Christmas Dinner

We used to have the 'beef' roast, but a while back they changed the recipe and it went all soggy and horrible, so I think this year it'll be the turkey version or the dried 'chicken' roast mix.
We used to have the Realeat turkey and stuffing one but it has egg in so no more for me! OH is veggie but he won't have it cos I can't eat it - bless! 😀

RE: Christmas Dinner

I think i would like to make a nice nut roast, that way it wont have so much artificial stuff in it, but havnt made one before, can anyone recommend a good recipe that they have tried.

RE: Christmas Dinner

Can't recommend recipes unfortunately, as after spending most of my time at Sainsbury's selliny everyone else'e I won't have much energy to cook anyway! I have the feeling that world war 3 is about tio break out at work next week! I shall probably send Colin over to our local health food shop that does wonderful wheat free nut burgers. Failing that I have a packet of nut beanie burgers in the freezer as a back up. Foir Boxing Day at the mother in law's I shall probably get the quorn roast and just not eat the stuffing. That's the bit with wheat in it. To be honest as long as it's not another stuffed pepper (or wheat free lasagne) I really don't care what I eat!

RE: Christmas Dinner

🙂 usually when i'm with my folks we have a traditional veggie nut roast / potatoes / veggie gravy / chestnuts / veg arrangement, but this year I was staying with my boyfriend so we decided to have a Tofurkey for entertainment value.

It was so highly processed that it gave us both digestion problems and turned us into fart-machines (d'oh...) but I have to say that i was pretty surprised to find that it's actually pretty darned tasty indeed ! And really filling, too !