# Vegetarian Christmas recipes



## minibatataman (Dec 9, 2018)

Cooking Christmas dinner for my girlfriend's family. Turkey, two kinds of stuffing (pork and classic vegetarian) soup, salad. Very basic. But I want to add something vegetarian thats more substantial than stuffing and soup, to replace the turkey for the family members who don't eat meat. Any ideas?


----------



## RDalman (Dec 9, 2018)

Faux meat/turkey/ham might be something to have a look at, might be worth to ask ahead if that's something they like.
If not then something tofu maybe.


----------



## minibatataman (Dec 9, 2018)

Yea exactly, even thought of using vegan sausage in the stuffing. My issue is what to do with the faux meat in general, don't want to just slap it on a dish haha


----------



## Migraine (Dec 9, 2018)

Girlfriend is Vege, she always has a nut roast for Christmas instead of the turkey.


----------



## Mucho Bocho (Dec 9, 2018)

Nut roast huh? Cheers


----------



## playero (Dec 9, 2018)

try a watermelon roast


----------



## LostHighway (Dec 9, 2018)

As a at least nominal vegetarian I feel like I ought to be able to offer some suggestions here but I'm basically of the bah humbug school when it comes to the holidays. Also, vegetarians are very far from monolithic in their tastes and preferences and I don't know your family. At least in my circle there isn't much interest in faux meat, per se, but their certainty are people who apparently really enjoy it. We also tend to focus more on multiple plates rather than a single main dish but in your context I'd probably be looking for recipes higher in umami ingredients (mushrooms, Shitake or other dark mushrooms especially, soy, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, Bok Choy, Chinese/Korean/Nappa Cabbage, alliums, etc.) and fat (dairy, some cheese also provide umami, and eggs - these assume they aren't vegans).
I tend to like Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes and you might find something in his books, on his website https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes or among his contributions to The Guardian' food writing https://www.theguardian.com/food/series/yotam-ottolenghi-recipes He isn't vegetarian but he does offer quite few vegetarian recipes.


----------



## crockerculinary (Dec 9, 2018)

i would recommend to skip the faux meat, just add in a couple more substantial veggie dishes that everyone can eat. something like roasted root vegetables, beets, or winter squash. i find these work great if you just roast them simply until tender, and then toss with a light vinaigrette or similar dressing and maybe some herbs. pasta/noodle dishes are also good additions.


----------



## parbaked (Dec 9, 2018)

Whole roasted cauliflower is hearty and easy...lot's of recipes online.
I had this a few years ago in NOLA:
https://www.nola.com/food/index.ssf/2015/04/reader_wants_to_roast_a_whole.html


----------



## rickbern (Dec 10, 2018)

Cauliflower is a good idea. If you have a good way to do it slicing them like steaks and grilling them looks pretty impressive


----------



## mille162 (Dec 10, 2018)

Roasted carnival (or acorn) squash. Cut in half, clean the inside, drizzle with olive oil, salt/pepper/rosemary/cayenne/ginger/spices of choice. A light maple syrup with nutmeg/cinnamon dusting is good too...or do one of each. Roast 375, 25-30 min, cut side up. Fill cavity with your stuffing and serve cut side down, or cut into quarters and serve cut side up overtop of another dish.

I like carnival over other options because the skin becomes edible, and when served cut side down mimics a cornish hen on the plate and the skin is colorful and is not unlike cutting into crispy animal flesh.


----------



## minibatataman (Dec 10, 2018)

A lot of good ideas
Most of them I wanna try either way!


----------



## WildBoar (Dec 10, 2018)

I have consulted with the head cook for the Korowai tribe of south-eastern Papua. He has several good recipes for vegetarians. His favorite consists of a long, slow braise with carrots, onions and potatoes. He indicated terroir plays heavily here, so it is best to cook them with ingredients local to where they were raised, and to wash them down with wine made from locally-sourced grapes. Also, he recommended avoiding pescatarians, as they reportedly taste like fish.


----------



## Badgertooth (Dec 10, 2018)

WildBoar said:


> I have consulted with the head cook for the Korowai tribe of south-eastern Papua. He has several good recipes for vegetarians. His favorite consists of a long, slow braise with carrots, onions and potatoes. He indicated terroir plays heavily here, so it is best to cook them with ingredients local to where they were raised, and to wash them down with wine made from locally-sourced grapes. Also, he recommended avoiding pescatarians, as they reportedly taste like fish.



He has a great recipe for swedes


----------



## Badgertooth (Dec 10, 2018)

- the biggest portobello mushrooms you can find, turned upside down and topped with butter, garlic and provolone or raclette or sharp crumbly aged English cheddar. Roasted until they are steaming, gooey cow-pats of umami love
- forego the duck fat and do your roasties with olive oil
- an indulgent, festive pilaf where you can riff on the crossover point between western Christmas confection and middle-eastern spicing (cinnamon, nuts, raisins, cloves etc)
- a zippy, verdant platter of bitter leaves dressed with a palate-cleansing vinaigrette for all the fatigued palates
- Another salad. It’s grape salad. Okay it’s grapes. Well more like the juice of a grape. The fermented juice of a grape. It’s wine.
- take an orange, stuff it with 33 cloves, put it 1L of rum with 33 cubes of sugar. Place in a sterilised jar now and re-open on Christmas. Quietly unleash this hooligan-juice on your guests before ice-cream
- pour them into bed


----------



## minibatataman (Dec 10, 2018)

Badgertooth said:


> - the biggest portobello mushrooms you can find, turned upside down and topped with butter, garlic and provolone or raclette or sharp crumbly aged English cheddar. Roasted until they are steaming, gooey cow-pats of umami love
> - forego the duck fat and do your roasties with olive oil
> - an indulgent, festive pilaf where you can riff on the crossover point between western Christmas confection and middle-eastern spicing (cinnamon, nuts, raisins, cloves etc)
> - a zippy, verdant platter of bitter leaves dressed with a palate-cleansing vinaigrette for all the fatigued palates
> ...


I was already thinking of doing something mushroom - based 
Also I'm middle eastern so the pilaf is a bit too everyday for me haha, it's good stuff 
Love the grape salad though


----------



## panda (Dec 10, 2018)

Grilled balsamic marinated Portobello stuffed with roasted mushroom ragout (saute with butter some wild shrooms, spinach, shallots, sun dried tomato, garlic, pine nuts, fontina, deglaze red wine), herb bread crumbs on top
With roasted butternut squash mousse underneath


----------



## refcast (Dec 11, 2018)

ratatouille:
(1) eggplant, italian squash, onion, tomato,
(2) in one pot, reduce down the tomatos. you can use those small grape tomatoes cuase they're sweeter. you can cut them before hand or crush them so they turn into sauce faster. never cover!
(3) in a pan, brown the other ingredients. you want them to be browned so don't crowd the pan. after each batch is done, add to the tomato pot.
(4) you're done when you've browned everything.
(5) variations: use bell peppers too. zucchini. add garlic. maybe do squash too, but it tends to break down in to a sauce coatinig everything. either brown each vegetable separately or mix them all and brown assorted. depends how you like it. expect this to take 1 hr.

carmelized sweet potato rounds
(1) cut them into rounds and add a tone of olive oil onto a sheet pan and add the rounds. bake at 400F until they turn golden, so may be 40 min. they leak sugar and turn mocha - ish.

sauteed kale or spinach with garlic
(1) self explanatory

roasted king trumpet mushrooms
(1) self explanatory. they get a super nice stuck on crust that is reminscent of meat. these mushrooms are quite textured and meat-like stiff instead of watery.

steamed tofu
(1) not fancy at all, but it gets the dang job done. the best method is to put the tofu on a plate over a spacer over a water bath. this way there is only indirect and more even steam. wok steaming uses this stuff.

butter bananas
(1) cook bananas in butter. good for dessert, if you needed something more savory

even as a non vegetarian, if i had this for dinner, with rice or with a potato, i'd be good.


----------



## Chef Doom (Dec 11, 2018)

I have been working on the perfect recipe for cooking vegetarians. The hard part is fattening them up before slaughter. Humans don't pack on weight as quickly as your standard domesticated animal.


----------



## JoBone (Dec 11, 2018)

I’ve been a vegetarian for 30 years and Christmas was never a problem. Growing up of Italian descent, we always had a cheese lasagna for the holiday. It’s a standard in our home up to this year. If you want vegan, you can go with Aglio Et Olio

There’s been a few years that we deviated with a cheese/nut loaf, mash potatoes with shiitake gravey, green beans, brussel sprouts...

We did tofurkey roast one year, it’s easy and may go with your other items.


----------



## SeattleBen (Dec 11, 2018)

It seems that there's a lack of beans being suggested here. Some sort of bean plus bitter green braise is filling plus healthy as well as being a fairly blank canvas on which to work flavorwise.


----------



## WildBoar (Dec 11, 2018)

Chef Doom said:


> I have been working on the perfect recipe for cooking vegetarians. The hard part is fattening them up before slaughter. Humans don't pack on weight as quickly as your standard domesticated animal.


Especially when they will only eat vegetables...


----------



## parbaked (Dec 11, 2018)

WildBoar said:


> Especially when they will only eat vegetables...



Can't you fatten them up on nuts...same as pigs?


----------



## panda (Dec 11, 2018)

make them eat nothing but acorns like iberico pigs


----------



## LostHighway (Dec 11, 2018)

Chef Doom said:


> I have been working on the perfect recipe for cooking vegetarians. The hard part is fattening them up before slaughter. Humans don't pack on weight as quickly as your standard domesticated animal.



Well first of all you have to go with confinement feeding like veal. A recliner and a television will keep them from getting anxious and possibly injuring themselves. The nice thing about vegetarians is you don't get those off flavors and odors that often accompany carnivores, especially those that have had a steady diet of fast food burgers.


----------



## Chef Doom (Dec 11, 2018)

WildBoar said:


> Especially when they will only eat vegetables...


Tried mixing a lot of coconut oil. Only curbs the appetite. I'm working on legislation to reverse the anti-force feeding laws.


----------



## Chef Doom (Dec 11, 2018)

LostHighway said:


> Well first of all you have to go with confinement feeding like veal. A recliner and a television will keep them from getting anxious and possibly injuring themselves. The nice thing about vegetarians is you don't get those off flavors and odors that often accompany carnivores, especially those that have had a steady diet of fast food burgers.


 Those odors pack extra flavor. Vegetarian based fat doesn't have that Umami flavor I crave.


----------



## Moooza (Dec 11, 2018)

Vegans/vegetarians are generally always given mushrooms, vegie stack or poorly done tofu - we get very sick of it. I recommend trying something different. Jamie Oliver has some really great vegetarian recipes on his website. Check it out


----------



## Chef Doom (Dec 11, 2018)

panda said:


> make them eat nothing but acorns like iberico pigs


Humans don't process acorns the same. Laziness with over eating equal mixture of fat and sugar is key. Limit raw vegetables as much as possible and cook all vegetables with bacon grease. 

But with these new cage laws, it is very difficult to promote growth. Movement is anti fat.


----------



## LostHighway (Dec 11, 2018)

Perhaps some sort of modest proposal could address some of our burgeoning social problems and our dietary needs?


----------



## panda (Dec 11, 2018)

how about lots of old romaine??


----------



## SeattleBen (Dec 12, 2018)

Moooza said:


> Vegans/vegetarians are generally always given mushrooms, vegie stack or poorly done tofu - we get very sick of it. I recommend trying something different. Jamie Oliver has some really great vegetarian recipes on his website. Check it out




HAHAH. I can't count the number of times that that idea would have to be shut down for the vegetarian option when menu planning. It's so lazy and boring.


----------



## minibatataman (Dec 13, 2018)

Yea exactly, just wanted something a bit different. 
@panda your mushroom recipe is going to be used on another dinner because I was planning to do something similar now I have meat and vegetarian versions of it


----------



## foody518 (Dec 13, 2018)

Dunno how holiday themed this is, but I tend to do this for end of year potlucks at work. Entree, not side dish (more balanced macros, not relying on oil for calories).
Stir fried rice noodles (maifun/mifen) with fresh and reconstituted shiitakes, carrot sticks, and thinly sliced bias cut green beans. Soy sauce, chili oil, white pepper powder, sesame oil. Cilantro garnish. Dish gets eaten.


----------



## rickg17 (Dec 13, 2018)

Something like this https://food52.com/recipes/76238-whole-roasted-cauliflower-with-turmeric-tahini-sauce-pistachios might be nice. Looks impressive, isn't hard and avoids the faux meat thing


----------



## Edge (Dec 14, 2018)

WildBoar said:


> I have consulted with the head cook for the Korowai tribe of south-eastern Papua. He has several good recipes for vegetarians. His favorite consists of a long, slow braise with carrots, onions and potatoes. He indicated terroir plays heavily here, so it is best to cook them with ingredients local to where they were raised, and to wash them down with wine made from locally-sourced grapes. Also, he recommended avoiding pescatarians, as they reportedly taste like fish.





LostHighway said:


> Well first of all you have to go with confinement feeding like veal. A recliner and a television will keep them from getting anxious and possibly injuring themselves. The nice thing about vegetarians is you don't get those off flavors and odors that often accompany carnivores, especially those that have had a steady diet of fast food burgers.



I'm chuckling about these two posts. I am loving the serious ideas also.


----------



## rickbern (Dec 14, 2018)

Back to the original q... 

Never made it but this looks pretty good 

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes...e-plant-based-vegan-holiday-roast-recipe.html


----------



## Mucho Bocho (Dec 14, 2018)

Just read the recipe and ingredient list. I dare anyone to try to make it there are more steps and ingredients in this veggie loaf then I’ve ever seen in any recipe.


----------



## bprescot (Dec 14, 2018)

Maybe it's just not "Christmas"-y enough, but surprised we don't have any dal's mentioned.

Similarly, it's easy enough to make a vegetarian (or even vegan) Hoppin' John or equivalent bean dish, by subbing in some mushrooms, or crispy fried shallots (i usually add an additional smidge of black miso as well) for the bacon.

I'm not a fan of meat substitute, but that's only because there are plenty of delicious dishes out there that naturally lack meat...

Stuffed mushrooms, a showpiece roasted pumpkin/gourd stuffed with a delicious meat-less misxture of mushrooms, bread, gruyere, cream, etc. I wouldn't try to do a dish just for the vegetarians, i'd just try to make something awesome that everyone will fight over.

Also, remember that some vegetarians are cool with eggs. Ain't NO ONE can say that a delicious souffle isn't fancy enough for any holiday!


----------



## rickg17 (Dec 14, 2018)

Here's a list of 19 vegetarian mains... https://www.seriouseats.com/roundups/festive-vegetarian-main-dishes


----------

