Beyond the nut roast: a meat free Christmas Day

STUFF your vegetarian guests, rather than the turkey, with a spread of innovative meat free dishes that won’t leave anyone missing the pigs in blankets. These dishes can be mixed and matched and tailored to your time limits and tastes, whether you’re cooking veggie for your whole family or just a guest. Merry meat-free Christmas!

Courgette rosti with avocado mash and quail eggs 
These rosti can be served as an hors d’oeuvre mid-morning with a glass of bucks fizz or a vegetarian starter. Runny yolk recommended.
Ingredients- makes 6
2 courgettes (400g in total)
4 spring onions, finely chopped
I large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup of breadcrumbs
Small handful of fresh coriander
1tsp paprika
1tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 large avocado
1tsp cayenne pepper
6 quail eggs

Method:
• Grate the courgettes with a cheese grater and cover in plenty of salt. Leave to drain for 20 minutes in a colander, either        over a bowl or over the sink to catch the excess water.
• Use a clean tea towel or muslin cloth to squeeze the remaining water from the grated courgette.
• In a large bowl, mix the courgette, spring onions, garlic, breadcrumbs, herbs and spices. Mix and season well with salt
and pepper.
• Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Squash the mixture into small, round rosti and fry for 15 minutes on
each side until golden brown and crunchy on the outside. Take care when flipping them as they might be quite fragile.
• Meanwhile peel the avocado, remove the stone and mash in a bowl using a fork, season well with salt and pepper.
• Carefully fry the quail eggs in a separate pan, taking care not to break to yolks.
• Top each rosti with a generous spoonful of avocado, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and a runny quail’s egg.

Stuffed Pepper with mozzarella

A super simple cheat vegetarian option which can be served alongside all the usual Christmas dinner trimmings. If you have the time, make your own nut roast mix at home, or if not use a shop bought one (like I did!). These nut roast mixes can be bought in health food shops or in some supermarkets.

Ingredients (serves 2):
• 2 peppers, any colour
• 1 packet nut roast mix (or homemade)
• 2 tablespoons of ketchup
• Mini mozzarella balls
• Olive oil or oil spray

Method:
• Preheat oven to 180˚c.
• Slice the top off of the peppers to make a lid. Remove the seeds.
• Place peppers and lids on a baking tray and spray or brush with oil. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the nut roast mix as per packet instructions and mix in the ketchup.
• Remove the peppers from the oven and give them a minute to cool.
• Using a fork, make a thin layer of nut roast mix at the bottom of the pepper and press a mozzarella ball in the centre.
Make another layer nut roast and repeat to form a column of mozzarella balls in the centre.
• Place the peppers and lids back in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes.
• Best served hot with gravy or cranberry sauce.

Bean burger, bubble and squeak and stuffing stack with braised cabbage and stuffing

 

 

 

 

 

 

A slightly more complex, but definitely worth it, vegetarian main course that will make the meat eaters jealous. Also a good one for Boxing Day to use up leftovers.

Firstly, prepare a ready-made stuffing mix and shape into ping-pong sized balls, cook according to packet instructions. These can be left to cook while you prepare the other components of the dish. They can be reheated in the microwave when needed or kept warm in the oven.

Braised Cabbage
This dish has no precise cooking time, it can be left bubbling away in the oven for anything between 1 ½ – 3 hours without coming to any harm.
Ingredients:
• ½ a medium red cabbage
• 2 cooking apples
• 1 small red onion
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoon mixed spice
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons of wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• 25g butter
• Salt and pepper

Method:
• Preheat oven to 160˚c
• Half the cabbage and remove the stem and outer leaves, remember you only need to use half of the whole cabbage.
• With the flat side down, shred the cabbage by finely slicing through the layers.
• Peel and chop the apples and onion.
• Using a large casserole dish, layer the cabbage, apples and onion, sprinkling with sugar, seasoning, mixed spice and
chopped garlic as you go until all the ingredients are used.
• Pour over the vinegar. Cut the butter into small knobs and scatter on the top.
• Place the lid on the dish and cook in the oven until the other components of the dish are ready.
• Stir before serving.

Bean burgers
If you are short on time you could buy these ready made, no one has to know! These bean burgers are so simple and will only take you around 40 minutes. They could even be made in advance and chilled or frozen.
Ingredients (serves 4-5):

• 1 can of kidney beans, drained
• Pecans, walnuts, peanuts or nuts of your choice (handful of each)
• 1 handful of diced onion
• 4 heaped tablespoons of plain flour, plus extra for dusting.
• Large handful of fresh coriander (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of ketchup
• ½ tablespoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon of cumin
• Salt and pepper
• Oil

Method:
• Combine all ingredients in a food processer/mixer or in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
• With your hands, shape into patties and place on layer of greaseproof paper on a baking tray. Chill in the fridge for 20
minutes.
• Dip the patties in flour and shake off excess.
• Heat a generous amount of oil in a large frying pan and fry the burgers in batches, over a medium heat, for 10 minutes
on each side. They need to be cooked through without burning on the outside, so you may need to turn down the hob if
they begin to burn.
• Place in a warm oven to keep warm.

Bubble and Squeak – ingredients can be prepared while the burgers are chilling.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 kg potatoes
• Large knob of butter
• 500g’s of Brussel sprouts or other leftover veg such as carrots, cabbage or peas.
• 100g roasted chestnuts (these can be bought precooked in a tin or a packet from some supermarkets to save you roasting    your own).
• 5 chives
• 1 handful of fresh parsley
• 50g grates cheddar cheese
• 1 heaped tablespoon of horseradish sauce (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• Plain flour for dusting

Method:
• Peel potatoes and cut into inch thick chunks, boil for 15 minutes or until soft enough to mash.
• While the potatoes are cooking slice the sprouts in half and removed the outer leaves and any hard stalks. Boil for 5
minutes so they are still on the crunchy side. Boil any other fresh vegetables that you are planning to use, or slice up
any left-over, already cooked ones.
• Once the potatoes are cooked drain the water and add the butter. Mash until soft and place in a large mixing bowl with        the prepared vegetables, chestnuts, cheese and all other ingredients. Season well.
• Mix the ingredients and shape into think, round disks, slightly wider than the burgers.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan.
• Dust with flour, shake off excess and fry for 10 minutes on each side. Transfer to a warm oven to keep warm.

Cranberry and red wine jus
This is dead simple and can be bubbling away while you are assembling the rest of the dish.

Ingredients:
• 250ml red wine
• 4 tablespoons of cranberry sauce
• 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Method:
• Combine ingredients in a small saucepan, stir and leave to simmer for at least 10 minutes to reduce.

Serving suggestion:
Begin with a warm plate, place a bubble and squeak cake in the centre of the plate then stack the rest of the ingredients on top, burger first, then braised cabbage, top with a stuffing ball and a sprig of rosemary for garnish. Drizzle the cranberry jus around the outside as artistically as you can! And you are ready to serve. Tastes best accompanied by a generous glass of red wine.

Complete ingredient checklist for this dish:
Fruit and veg
• Red cabbage
• 2 cooking apples
• Onions, 1 white, 1 red
• Brussel sprouts
• Garlic
• Potatoes
• Chives
• Fresh coriander
• Fresh parsley
• Chestnuts (if cooking from scratch)
Dry or tinned
• Red kidney beans
• Mixed spice
• Stuffing mix (vegetarian)
• Cranberry sauce
• Horseradish
• Plain flour
• Pre-cooked chestnuts
• Peanuts/walnuts/pecan/mixed nuts of your choice
• Ketchup
• Ground nutmeg
• Chilli powder
• Cumin
• Brown sugar

Dairy
• Butter
• Cheddar cheese

Other
• Red wine
• Balsamic vinegar
• Red wine or cider vinegar
• Olive oil

Desert

Stewed apple and pear with a pecan crumble topping

 

A beautiful and simple, light crumble which can make a fresh change from stodgy Christmas pudding. Proven crowd pleaser!

Ingredients- serves 5-6
• 2 eating apples
• 2 pears
• 1 pint sweet white wine or cider for pouching
• 150g light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 125g Butter
• 150g plain flour
• 2 satsumas, peeled
• Drizzle of maple/golden syrup
• Large handful of pecans, chopped. Plus 8 whole for decoration
• Custard or crème fraiche for serving

Method:
• Preheat oven to 180˚c
• Peel the apples and pears and cut them length ways into quarters for the pears and 8ths for apples. Cut out the cores.
• In a large frying pan, evenly spread out the fruit and pour over the wine or cider and ¼ cup of water.
• Sprinkle with mixed spice and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl or food processor, combine the flour and butter (cut into small cubes) and mix or
rub into breadcrumbs.
• Add the sugar and pecans and mix.
• In a greased flat tray, arrange the fruit by removing it from the liquid with a holed spoon and spreading evenly over the
base. Cover with 4 tablespoons of the pouching liquid and discard the rest.
• Cover with the crumble topping and spread out evenly with a fork.
• To decorate, arrange satsuma segments in a ring surrounding the centre, overlapping evenly until all the segments are        used. Use whole pecans, arranged like a clock face, around the outside of the satsumas (see photo).
• Drizzle with maple syrup.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Serve with either custard or crème fraiche.

Check out Zoë’s Christmas banana bread HERE

SOURCE – Zoë Francis – See more and follow food blogger:  Zoë at https://nutritionistzoe.wordpress.com/