There are a lot of reasons why people choose to not eat meat, morally, ethically, simple preference or to just eat more vegetables, to name a few. We don’t sway heavily to one side but completely understand the importance of getting enough vegetables in your diet. Sometimes in order to get enough, you just have to say no to meat. This holiday season why not switch things up a bit by leaving the ham at home and surprise your family with a meat-free holiday dish.
Move over meat, this holiday season is going to be full of vegetables and everything but meat. From the main dish to a side dish to a breakfast morning dish, we have your plate covered for a meat-free day!
Whole Roasted Cauliflower
recipe by Jamie Oliver
Ingredients
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ a bunch of fresh thyme
olive oil
1 lemon
1 large cauliflower, with outer leaves
4 tablespoons dry sherry
1 x 400 g tin of quality plum tomatoes
40 g flaked almonds
½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas
- Peel the garlic, then add to a pestle and mortar with the paprika and half the thyme leaves.
- Bash well to a rough paste, then muddle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season.
- Zest the lemon into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Trim the outer cauliflower leaves. Trim away and discard the stalk so the cauliflower can sit flat, then cut a cross into the base.
- Rub the paprika paste all over the cauliflower, then place in a medium casserole pan. Drizzle over the sherry and squeeze the lemon juice on top.
- Cover and pop in the hot oven for around 1 hour 20 minutes, or until tender, removing the lid for the final 20 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, then pour in the tomatoes, tearing or slicing them up into chunks. Sprinkle over the lemon zest and pick over the remaining thyme leaves.
- Return the pan to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is golden.
- Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a dry frying pan over a medium-low heat until golden, then leave to cool.
- Once ready, take the pan out of the oven. Scrunch over the toasted almonds, then pick, roughly chop and scatter the parsley leaves on top.
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, then carve up and serve with pilaf rice and steamed greens, or as part of a bigger spread.
Parsnip, Mushroom & Barley Wreath
recipe by BBC Good Food
ingredients
150g pearl barley
1 vegetable stock cube
330g parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp ground linseeds (or flaxseed)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
1 onion, halved and sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
400g mixed mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 rosemary sprig, leaves stripped, plus extra to decorate if you like
3 sage leaves, shredded
100g blanched hazelnuts, toasted until golden
50g vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese, grated
small pack flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
a good grating of nutmeg
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
handful parsnip crisps with sea salt & black pepper, or similar
instructions
- Cook the pearl barley with the stock cube according to pack instructions. Reserve 4 tbsp of the cooking stock, then drain the grains well. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then add the parsnips, and cook until really soft. Drain well, tip back into the pan to steam dry for a few minutes, then roughly mash. Mix the ground flax or linseeds with the reserved stock water, and leave to go gluey.
- Put the butter and oil in your largest frying pan with the onions and garlic. Fry gently until soft and golden, then stir in the mushrooms, rosemary, and sage. Fry the mushrooms until golden too, and any liquid that comes out has evaporated. Scrape into a big mixing bowl and set aside to cool.
- Grease a 22-24cm savarin or ring tin generously with butter, then line with thin strips of overlapping baking parchment if it’s not a non-stick tin. Add the mashed parsnip, cooked pearl barley, gluey seed mix, grated hard cheese, chopped parsley and whole hazelnuts to the fried mushroom mixture. Season generously with salt and nutmeg, then mix everything together really well. Spoon the filling into the tin, and press down firmly to fill the tin and flatten the top. Keep in the fridge for up to 24 hrs before baking.
- Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cover the tin with foil. Bake for 45 mins, until a skewer poked into the center of the mixture, comes out piping hot. Use a small palette or cutlery knife to release the filling all the way around, then sit a serving plate on top and flip over. Carefully lift off the tin, and top the wreath with some parsnip crisps and whole pumpkin seeds to serve – plus some extra rosemary sprigs if you like. Slice into wedges and enjoy.
Vegan Coconutty Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
recipe by One Green Planet
ingredients
The Egg
1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
2 Tbsp. cold water
The Cinnamon Filling
4 Tbsp. vegan butter, room temperature
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
The Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil, melted
2 Tbsp. coconut milk (carton, I like Silk)
1/2 tsp. Kahlua or vanilla extract
The Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (optional)
1 cup carton coconut milk (I like Silk)
1 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil, melted
instructions
- Flax is first. To make the flax egg combine the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and whisk very well. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
- To make the cinnamon filling, add all of the ingredients to a small zip-lock bag and squeeze/knead until well mixed. Careful not to let it burst out the top! Once it is well mixed, cut a very small hole in one of the corners and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- To make the icing, add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until very smooth. Add additional milk if needed. Set aside until ready to use.
- To make the pancakes, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Then add the milk, the flaxseed egg, and the oil. Mix until just combined.
- Over medium-high, heat a large frying pan and coat with a nonstick cooking spray. Add 1/4 cup of pancake batter to the pan. Allow the pancake to cook until the edges start to form bubbles, about two minutes, then “pipe” a swirl of the cinnamon filling onto the pancake, as such. Careful not to let it get too close to the edges of the pancake.
- Then, flip the pancake over and allow the other side to cook for about 30 seconds. You don’t want to leave it flipped for too long or else the filling may begin to burn. Some of the melted fillings will seep out from beneath the pancake and that’s okay. Remove the pancake from the pan once cooked through and place on a plate.
- Before making a new pancake, take a paper towel and whip the pan, taking care not to burn yourself! This will help get some of the remaining fillings off the pan so it doesn’t burn. Continue with the rest of the batter.
- Serve the pancakes stacked high, hot and drizzled with the coconut icing. No need for maple syrup or butter!
