Vegan Christmas: how to make plant-based dishes the centrepiece of your festive feast
Nut roast wreath
Squash, chestnut and hazelnut nut roast wreath
If you’re after a fantastic centrepiece for your festive feast then look no further. The squash adds some sweetness to the mix and when combined with hazelnuts and chestnuts it is really delicious.
Servings
12Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
50 minsTotal Time
60 minsCourse
MainIngredients
2 large onions, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small squash or ½ butternut peeled and cut into small cubes
100g mushrooms finely chopped
2 big handfuls of kale
300g hazelnuts
4 tbsp pine nuts toasted or pumpkin seeds if preferred
4 tbsp sunflower seeds toasted
180g chestnuts chopped
2 tbsp tamari
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp sea salt
Zest 1 lemon
Black pepper
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Add the onion and oil to a medium pan and fry gently on a low heat for around 10 minutes until soft and browning.
Add the garlic and fry for a further minute.
Next add the squash and mushrooms and fry for 10 minutes until soft. Stir in the kale and. Turn off the heat when wilted.
Toast the hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and pine nuts in a dry pan until slightly golden. Add them to a food processor. Pulse a few times.
Add them to the pan along with the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
Chop the chestnuts roughly and add them to the pan.
Stir everything to combine.
Transfer the mix to a medium greased bunt tin of choice – I used a silicone one as it's easier to remove the nut roast.
Press the mix down firmly into the bunt tin.
Bake for 40 minutes – the nut roast should be a little brown on top.
Allow to cool then carefully flip onto a plate.
Top with vegetable crips, herbs or whatever you like.
My Vegan Year by Niki Webster published by Welbeck is out now, find more of Niki's recipes at rebelrecipes.com
Roast celeriac steaks with celeriac purée, sauteed greens, caramelised leeks and toasted nuts
Celeriac is the perfect vegetable to cook as a steak. It's flavour is greatly enhanced by roasting, and when served with greens and toasty nuts is a wonderfully festive meal.
Servings
2Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
45 minsTotal Time
55 minsCourse
MainIngredients
½ celeriac cleaned and sliced into steaks
2 tbsp olive oil
Big pinch sea salt flakes
½ celeriac peeled and cut into cubes
2 large leeks, sliced and cleaned
2 tbsp olive oil
Pinch sea salt
For the purée:
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tsp sea salt and black pepper
½ tsp garlic granules
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Squeeze lemon juice
½ the cooked leeks
For the sautéed sprouts and greens:
1 tbsp olive oil
200g sprouts, sliced into quarters
100g greens of choice
Juice ½ lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Big pinch sea salt flakes and black pepper
Toasted hazelnuts
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Cut half the celeriac up into steaks.
Add to a large roasting pan with olive oil and salt. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn. Continue to roast for a further 20 -25 minutes or until the veg is cooked and golden brown. Remove from the oven.
To cook the leeks, add the oil and chopped leeks to a frying pan and fry gently for 10 minutes until soft and caramelised.
Set aside half for the purée. Put the cubed celeriac into a pan of boiling salted water and boil for 15 minutes or until tender.
Drain and set aside.
Now add it along with all the other purée ingredients to your food processor and blitz until very smooth and creamy.
To cook the sprouts and greens, add the olive oil to a frying pan along with sprouts, fry for 2-3 minutes until a little tender then add the greens.
Fry for a further minute until soft then add in the lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.
To serve, top the purée with the celeriac streaks, greens, caramelised leeks and toasted hazelnuts.
My Vegan Year by Niki Webster published by Welbeck is out now, find more of Niki's recipes at rebelrecipes.com
