The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Chargrilled Sweet Chilli Mango and Tofu Salad

Mangoes are absolutely delicious and in season at Christmas for us Aussies. This is a very substantial salad that could either be a main or side. Chargrill them to make them even sweeter!

Ingredients
4 firm mangoes, cut into slices 5mm thick
1 block firm tofu cut into thick slices
1 small bunch spring onions, finely chopped
3 carrots julienned
4 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 bunch kale finely shredded
1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce
1/4 cup white tahini
1/4 cup black tahini
1/4 cup sunflower seeds toasted
Gsarlic infused olive oil to drizzle

Method
Toss tofu in sweet chilli sauce, and chargrill, set aside.
Chargrill mango slices, set aside to cool
Whrn ready to serve, toss kale, tomatoes, carrot, and onion with tofu and mango.
Drizzle both tahinis over the top and sprinkle sunfloer seeds over.
Finish with a drizzle of garlic olive oil.
Serve immediately.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Vegan Vegie Ribbon Tart

I have seen vegetable ribbon tarts done a few times but always it is more of a quiche type thing, and not vegan. I can't say I've ever had a really good vegan "quiche" that involves silken tofu. I don't know why, it just doesn't do it for me. This tart is made using a thick silky "custard" using non dairy milk and flour to thicken it, flavoured with onion and thyme. It is based on a very thick white sauce. When baked it sets very well, just allow it to cool a bit before serving. It shouldn't be piping hot - just warm, or it can be cooled completely and served cold. I used sweet potato and zucchini, but you could use any vegetable easily sliced into ribbons like beetroot, parsnips, swedes, or carrots. Bake in a loose bottomed flan tin for easy removal.

Base - Savoury Shortcrust Pastry
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon cornflour
125gr vegan butter, softened and cut into cubes
pinch salt
pinch ground pepper
cold water

Sift flour, cornflour, salt, and pepper into a large bowl.
Rub butter through flour using your finger tips until it resembles large breadcrumbs.
Add 1 tablespoon of water and draw mixture together into a ball. If it is still too dry, add water a teaspoon at a time until it holds together.
Roll out and press into your greased tin. Trim edges.
Place in freezer for at least an hour. If you are making ahead cover in clingfilm and leave in freezer until ready to bake.
Blind bake in a 180C preheated oven for 12 minutes, and then remove, and put aside.

Filling
2 zucchini
1 sweet potato
1 1/4 cups non dairy milk
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 tablepoon dijon mustard
1 small onion
1 heaped teaspoon chicken style stock
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Method
1.Cut zucchini and sweet potato into ribbons using a mandolin or vegetable peeler. Blanch ribbons in boiling water for a couple of minutes until just softening. Drain and set aside to cool.
2.onion and saute until softened, and set aside.
3.Arrange vegetable ribbons in a circular fashion in pastry base leaving a bit of a gap for the custard to settle in between and support the ribbons.
4.In a small sauce pan on low heat melt butter and then add flour to form a roux. Add milk slowly whisking vigorously to ensure no lumps as it thickens. Add stock, mustard, and onion, and using a hand blender puree until onion has blended. Add thyme, and keep stirring for a few minutes on low heat  to cook out the flour.
5.Pour mixture over vegetable ribbons, gently spreading over the top and pushing to ensure mixture falls between ribbons.
6.Bake in 180C oven for 20 minutes until  pastry is golden.
7.Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin and cutting into wedges to serve.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Cranberry and Onion Relish

Ok, so granted, you can buy any old jar of cranberry sauce...but there is something about making your own relish which is a lot more hearty, tasty, and of course made with love. I've made this so many times now I can almost do it in my sleep! there is almost always a pot of it in the fridge to be had with hot buttered toast for a more savoury jam substitute, or to spoon onto savoury tarts. For the omnivores out there you may be wondering why someone who doesn't tuck into a turkey's corpse would be interested in cranberry relish. It tastes divine on crackers with almond or cashew cheese, its scrumptious tossed in fried mushrooms, or spooned over a vegetable terrine with gravy. Make a big batch, bottle it and give it away as Christmas pressies. The longer it sits the better the flavour becomes just like a good sweet fruit mince.

Ingredients
500 gr frozen cranberries
2 cups raw sugar
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup water
2 large chopped red onions
1 garlic clove crushed
bunch of fresh sage or thyme, chopped
juice and zest of an orange
pinch salt
oil for frying

Method
1.In a large heavy bottomed saucepan gently saute chopped onion and crushed garlic  in a little oil until translucent. Add chopped thyme and fry for another minute or two to release the oils and aroma.
2.Increase to a medium heat and add all other ingredients, and stir until sugar is dissolved.
3.Turn heat down and simmer until cranberries collapse and mixture has reduced to a very thick consistency.
4.Spoon into sterilised jars and leave to cool. Best kept in fridge if you do not seal the jars, and keep in fridge once opened.

Twelve Posts of Christmas: Fresh Mixed Pea Salad in Apple and Mint Dressing

Once again I'm doing the Twelve Posts of Christmas! I hope to have twelve Christmas food related posts up before Christmas Day so you can try them out and maybe make them for the day itself. Of course, you can still see my previous posts from the last two years, and it may not be too late to soak some fruit for a delcious vegan and gluten free fruit mince or  age a plum pudding. 

If it doesn't rain again this Christmas and it is sunny and hot for those of us Down Under, a cooked heavy meal isn't very appetising. Why not try a lovely crisp fresh mixed pea and rocket salad with an apple and mint dressing ? Even if you are having baked potatoes or a vegan potato dauphinoise this should lighten it up for you :)

Ingredients

2 cups snow peas

2 cups sugar snap peas

2 cups rocket

2 granny smith apples

juice and zest of 1 lemon

big bunch of fresh mint

1 tablespoon flaxseed oil

1/2 cup water

freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt flakes to taste

Method

1. Wash rocket and peas, and dry.

2. Tail peas

3. Core apple and chop into chunks, set aside.

4. Zest and juice lemon

5. Using a blender or bamix, whizz up apple, lemon juice and zest, mint, and water,.

6. In a large bowl toss dressing through rocket and peas, drizzle with flax seed oil and add salt and pepper to taste.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Mushroom Pate

My  mum used to make chicken liver pate at Christmas. I used to eat it until I found out what it actually was. The thought of chicken livers didn't sound too enticing. When I gave up meat, I looked for something with the same deep smooth flavour. While everyone else is tucking into chicken liver pate, you can be rest assured your mushroom pate is tasty and cruelty free. Slip it onto a platter and don't tell the meat eaters, the hearty flavour is a winner.

Ingredients

500 gr of assorted mushrooms - swiss brown, buttons, and shittake work well. 

two or three dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in brandy

200gr vegan margarine or butter

2 garlic cloves

1 large brown onion

fresh thyme sprigs

Method

Soak porcinis in 1/4 cup brandy.

Chop onion and garlic, and saute over low heat in olive oil, a tablespoon butter, and tablespoon of balsamic vinegar until very soft. 

Chop mushrooms.

Deglaze onions with soaking brandy, and add butter and sliced mushrooms, chopped thyme.

Saute until mushrooms are well cooked, and set aside to cool.

Put in blender or food processor and puree until smooth. 

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Quinoa & Sweet Potato Pie

This bright multi layered loaf was inspired by two things - a barley and pumpkin pie recipe, and Mrs Bean's favourite sweet potato and quinoa soup. It is definitely a good thing to have on the Christmas table, and wasn't too time consuming. I did the unthinkable and used ready bought shortcrust pastry. Don't tell Mrs Bean, she will throw her hands up in horror -or possibly wave and point a knife in my direction to emphasise her point in exclaiming my foolishness. In any case, it was a winner with or without vegan gravy.

Ingredients
3 sheets of shortcrust pastry
100gr quinoa
Chicken style veg stock for cooking quinoa
200 gr approx sweet potato
500 gr baby spinach
150 gr beetroot chutney this recipe is very good (or you can be lazy and buy it)
2 large zucchini thinly sliced
1/2 cup semi dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
cracked black pepper
pinch of chilli powder

Method
1.Cook quinoa according to packet directions in vegetable stock with chilli powder. Drain, and set aside to cool.
2. While quinoa is cooking, peel and cube sweet potato and cook in boiling water until cooked but still firm. Drain and set aside to cool.
3. Gently wilt baby spinach in a pan with a tablespoon of water, and set aside.
4. Line your tin with baking paper, and arrange pastry to fit, reserving a sheet for the lid.
5.Layer the fillings, and put lid on, pinching around the top.
6. Bake in a 180C preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Allow to cool slightly before removing from tin and cutting into slices.

Raw Vegan Banana Ice Cream Cake

 

Ahh! It's that time of year again, November has been and gone, and while I am still going strong with my raw vegan endeavours its definitely time to think about Christmas. This year will at our house, and I've decided putting up pictures of snow and mistletoe and singing about reindeer and being white is ridiculous when its hot, hot, hot. So this year it's all about Australia. Even my mum, being a pom thought it stupid to be sitting down to a heavy English dinner with baked ham and turkey when all she could think about was a salad - but Dad can't do without. I do believe one year she cooked christmas lunch in her swimsuit it was so hot!

Anyway, to kick it off this year how about a raw vegan ice cream cake? It is such an easy dessert and nice and cool for a hot Christmas Day. It took me about 15 minutes to put together from start to finsish and I didn't have to use the oven.

Ingredients
Crust-
150gr raw macadamias
100gr soaked dried apricots (water reserved)
50gr dessicated coconut

Filling

5 large frozen bananas

1 1/2 cups mixed berries

1 vanilla bean scraped

meat of a young coconut (or 2/3 cup best quality coconut cream, but this is not raw)

Method

1.Using food processor, pulse macadamias and soaked apricots until coarse large crumbs

2.Add dessicated coconut and a little of the apricot soaking water to bind it together.

3.Press into the bottom of a cling wrap lined spring form or loose base tin (I used a 20cm loose base deep tin). The cling wrap allows you to get it out more easily, but I like to live on the edge ie I forgot until i was pouring the filling. If you have a really good non stick tin yo should be ok if you gently use a palette knife around the edge to get it started.

4. In food processor or blender, puree coconut meat, banana, and scraped vanilla bean. If you can't get a good quality vanilla bean don't use the artificial stuff, try and get the real vanilla paste instead. I didn't add any sweetener because my bananas were slightly overripe when I put them in the freezer and were sweet enough. You could add a little agave nectar but I don't think it needs it.

5. Pour half the mixture over the crust, gently sprinkle berries evenly over the top, and then pout the other half of the mixture over the berries. Tap the side of the tin gently and give a little shake to even out the top, and place in the freezer to set. Since I used frozen bananas to start with mine set in about an hour. 

6.Before serving leave out for 10 minutes on bench to soften slightly. If it is really hot put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes so it doesn't melt too fast. Top with cherries or other fruit of your choice.

You could use unfrozen bananas, just make sure they are really ripe so they are very sweet. when my bananas are getting a bit too ripe I put them in the freezer to use in smoothies, in their skin. To peel frozen, I top and tail, and cut in half before running a sharp knife down the side.

Christmas & New Year Roundup

Happy New Year! I would have loved to have done a couple of posts on New Year party food ideas, but alas, the week got away from me. Hope you all enjoyed a lovely Christmas and whipped up a fantastic vegetarian meal that may have won over a carnivore or two? And if this was your first vegetarian Christmas, I hope you enjoyed it and were surprised at how many more options you have than the standard turkey or ham.

I ate a LOT between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. It started with a dinner with my sisters and the Beloved; followed by Christmas at the Beloved's parents; followed by 'real' Christmas/Boxing Day with some beloved friends. (And the time I spent cooking with you on Boxing Day darling Merry wasn't a chore at all, it was a delightful activity shared with people I love). So if I gave you all a list of all the delicious vegetarian food I ate it would take quite some time. So suffice it to say, I am going to just about live at the gym this January.

So what did you get for Christmas? This year most of mine were food related (not a bad thing) and I was quite spoiled. Some of the highlights I got were...a stack of cooking books, my favourites being the gorgeously presented Tasting India given to me by my loving husband; and the going-to-be- invaluable Cooking Ingredients (with a donation inside to Animals Australia - just lovely) given to me by my sister- in- law Claire. 

The Beloved also got me a canning/bottling kit because according to him, he got sick of me burning myself and my cries of 'oo' 'ow' 'eek' when making jam. So although I now have a set of iron tipped fingers the kit is very much appreciated. 

And the piece de resistance - not one, but a whole set of Japanese chef's knives. Plus a knife sharpener for good measure. The Beloved told me (about 50 times) that I must look after them, so I'm a little afraid to use them! But it must mean the Beloved loves me very much, and /or he is anticipating lots of new dishes made with said knives this year. In either case it's a pretty darn good present!

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Gluten Free Polenta Tarts with Creamy Mushrooms and Tarragon

I love polenta. I love how versatile an ingredient it is, and how it turns into perfect tarts with minimum of work. This would be really nice as an entree, or as a main part of the meal. A bit of cranberry relish on the side wouldn't go astray either...and it's gluten free! Serves 4

Ingredients

For the tarts
2 cups of polenta
3 cups water
1 tablespoon of massel vegetable stock concentrate
pepper to taste

For the sauce
1 punnet of mushrooms - Swiss browns are beautifully flavoured
1 cup soymilk
1/2 cup white wine
1 heaped teaspoon maize cornflour (not wheaten kind)
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Method
In a saucepan place polenta, water, and stock. Stir on low heat until polenta thickens into a stiff porridge.
Smooth equal portions into tart tins with removable bases, smooth, and leave aside to cool.

To make the sauce, gently saute chopped onion and crushed garlic until translucent in vegan margarine. Add mushrooms and white wine, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add soymilk and chopped tarragon. Dissolve cornflour into a little extra soymilk, and stir into mushrooms, until sauce thickens slightly, the consistency of cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Invert tarts onto plates, and reheat -either in the microwave on high for one minute each tart, or covered in the oven for about 15 minutes 180C.

Spoon mushrooms over polenta tarts, and top with more tarragon and cranberry relish, if desired.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Vegan Ice Cream Christmas Trees

I snatched the idea from an issue of Delicious magazine last year, but of course, veganised it. It is such a simple yet fantastic way to style dessert, and you can use whatever flavours you like. For this one, I used finely chopped fruit mince and a splash of brandy. Just add to slightly melted bought vanilla ice cream and mix well. Other flavours you could try mixed through...

Smashed candy canes

Glace ginger

Candied orange peel and dried cranberries

Dried cherries

Coconut and chopped vanilla glazed almonds

Grated chocolate and hazelnuts

Cut rectangles of greaseproof to fit an equally sized piece of paper. 

Wrap around a narrow glass with the greaseproof on the inside to get consistent sizes, and turn into a cone. Tape together to hold.

Put into a glass to hold the cone, and spoon ice cream mixture into the cones. Place in freezer overnight.

When ready to serve, unwrap cones, and then invert onto a plate. Decorate with toasted nuts or fresh fruit.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Gluten Free Canellini Bean Roll with Olive & Herb Stuffing

This recipe is designed to replace seitan mock meats. The use of Xanthan gum acts as the binding agent, which means it is gluten free. This also works really well made into small sausages (without the stuffing of course). I really don't like seitan, at least not on a regular basis. This is digested much more easily. Serve thick slices with onion gravy. 

Ingredients
2 cans cannellini beans, drained
1/2 cup polenta
1 small onion
1 tablespoon vegetable stock concentrate
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
salt and pepper to taste

For the stuffing
1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
handful of fresh herbs, I used parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme
1 tablespoon finely diced onion
3 sundried tomatoes
small handful of pitted kalamata olives

Method

Process the beans, stock concentrate, lemon juice, xanthan gum, salt and pepper until smooth. Tip into a bowl and add chopped onion and polenta, stirring thoroughly. Set aside for about 15 minutes until polenta has soaked up excess liquid from the beans and the mixture has thickened.

Put all the stuffing ingredients into a processor and pulse until combined. Add a little hot water at a time until stuffing comes together. Roll into a sausage about 20cm long.

Grease a length of tinfoil, and thickly spread bean mixture.Place the stuffing sausage in the centre, and gently bring up sides of foil to cover the stuffing with the bean mixture. Smooth and touch up to cover all stuffing, and then roll foil and twist ends to form a bonbon. Make sure you make this to fit into a steamer basket - my largest steamer basket is about 20cm long. Place in steamer basket and cook for about 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly, then unwrap and cut into slices. Easily reheated in oven or microwave, if made the day before, or steamed again to heat.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Gluten Free Vegan Yule Log

My mother in law makes this, as a very non vegan non gluten free dessert. It is very decadent and the Beloved loves it. I think this version is pretty close to the mark, maybe a bit firmer. Only a small slice, it is very rich! You can save time by buying gluten free chocolate biscuits (Freedom Foods make really good ones), but making your own isn't that much work. This makes a small log of about 12 serves - unless you're a piggy of course!

Ingredients

2 cups gluten free dark choc biscuits crushed fine

1/2 cup almond meal

1/3 cup dark chocolate, melted

2 tablespoons melted vegan margarine

splash of brandy, or whatever you please that's sweet

water if needed

2 tubs tofutti (or equivalent in whipped coconut cream)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tsp pure icing sugar (not the mixture, it isn't gluten free)

Method

Put the biscuits and almond meal in the food processor and pulse to combine.Tip into a bowl and add margarine, melted chocolate and brandy to form a dough. Add a little water if it is too dry and not sticking together. 

Roll into a log and cover in greaseproof and clingwrap. Leave overnight to set. 

Just before serving whip tofutti, lemon juice, and sugar until fluffy and spread over log. Decorate with fresh fruit if desired.

The tangy tofutti gives a welcome relief to the sweetness of the chocolate, but you can just use sweetened coconut cream instead. After I made this I thought a hazelnut variation with Frangelico would have hit the spot...guess I'll have to make another one and call it the New Year Log LOL!

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Slow Roasted Tomato & Peach Salad with White Wine Vinegar

You may be thinking peaches would not go very well with tomato, but tomatoes are so lovely and sweet when slow roasted, I think the peaches go rather well with them! Back off the sweetness with some white wine vinegar, and a sprinkling of  onion and fresh basil, and some cracked black pepper and salt. Easily made the day before so there's less to do on Christmas Day. Delicious! If you drain this well, the salad would go beautifully in a tart with some pine nut parmesan.

Ingredients

Equal amounts of tomatoes and peaches (1 each per person for a side dish)

olive oil

sliced onion

fresh basil

cracked black pepper

white wine vinegar

Method

In a roasting pan, put quartered tomatoes and chunky slices of peach. Drizzle with olive oil and cover with foil. Roast at 130C for about an hour. Fruit should still hold together but be soft. Take out and allow to cool. toss some raw sliced onion, fresh basil, a splash of vinegar, and the salt and pepper to taste. Voila! 

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Vegan Pumpkin & Cranberry Ravioli with Brandy Butter & Toasted Pistachios

Look at the lovely colour as you bite into these...mmmmm

And in a spoon as a canape. 

I'm not exactly sure what prompted this one. I guess I was thinking about traditional Christmas ingredients. I think of it like a biteful of Christmas. This would be lovely as an entree, or fold gow ghee pastry to make small ones and serve in Chinese spoons as an appetiser or canape. It will definitely be making the carnivores wishing they had these too!

Ingredients

1 cup butternut pumpkin

1 small onion

Handful frozen or dried cranberries

1275g packet gow ghee pastry

1/4 cup vegan margarine

splash brandy

pistachios, lightly toasted for decoration

Method

Pan fry or roast onion and pumpkin. Allow to cool and then puree together.

When completely cold, put a small teaspoon pumpkin mixture with a couple of cranberries on a round of pastry. Wet the edges and carefully place another round on top, pressing firmly to seal. Continue until you have the number desired (this quantity makes one batch from one packet of gow ghee pastry, which is 15 ravioli, or 5 entree serves).

Steam or cook ravioli in boiling water, until tender (this only takes a couple of minutes).

While ravioli is cooking, in a small saucepan melt butter and add brandy, and a little salt and pepper to taste.

Toast crushed pistachios lightly in a hot frying pan without oil.

Remove ravioli with a slotted spoon, and place on serving plate (three is sufficient for an entree). Drizzle brandy butter over ravioli and sprinkle crushed pistachios over the top.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Vegan Pavlova

I have been looking for a product that will do exactly what it says it will do, and that is, to create a vegan meringue. And it has to be economical.  I have tried the Angelfoods Marshmallow fluff mix, but I thought it was a bit overpriced considering the ingredients, and the texture was a bit wrong. So I thought I would give the Orgran No Egg another try, as they now have a recipe for meringues on the back. Wowee! It worked beautifully!The Orgran recipe is absolutely perfect. It does take some time (two hours in the oven plus another hour cooling) but it was easy to go and do other things in the meantime, so it was no biggie. It took about 15 minutes to prepare, it's basically a lot of beating, but it wasn't complicated. I think the use of pectin rather than agar gives the meringue a much better consistency. I would like to have another go at these from scratch, without the packet - if I succeed there will definitely be another post. The finished meringues were crispy on top and lovely and soft and fluffy on the inside. You can make them a day or two ahead and put them in an airtight container, so what about a fantastic vegan Aussie pavlova for Christmas?! I topped this one with some Tofutti cream cheese, some blueberry sauce and fresh fruit. You could also try whipped coconut cream, or the Soyatoo stuff in a can. Let your imagination run wild!

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Vegan Potatoes Dauphinoise

These potatoes are the perfect comfort food on their own, not to mention going brilliantly with a vegie roast. My mum makes a similar version of these which we always called scalloped Christmas potatoes, although she never cooked the potatoes in milk first. She would finish the top of this incredibly cheesy dish with parsley and paprika for Christmas colours. There was always a fight, especially with my Dad and sister Rachel, as to who got the biggest serve, and who could have seconds. No such thing as leftover potatoes in out house! I never thought there could be a creamy enough vegan version of these, as all the other recipes I've tried involve making a sauce from tofu, which I find goes a bit grainy. So this is my version, made with coconut cream, which I find just as satisfying as the dairy version. The coconut can't be tasted when the potatoes are cooked, by the way! Allow at least two good sized spuds per person for a generous serve.

Ingredients

8 medium sized potatoes

1 can coconut cream

200 ml water or soymilk/ricemilk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 brown onions

1 large garlic clove - if you like garlic, have two!

2 tsp nutritional yeast

ground black pepper

1 log cheezly cheddar or other vegan cheese of your choice

vegan margarine

Method

Wash and peel potatoes and slice thinly - I used my mandolin which makes short work of this, but a sharp knife is fine too! Drop into a basin of cold water if it takes you a while to slice, or if you are doing a large batch. Drain well when you are ready to use.

Chop onion.

Grate cheese.

Using a blender, blend half the coconut cream, and half the water with garlic, Dijon mustard, ground black pepper to taste, and nutritional yeast.

I use a heavy bottomed iron casserole dish that can go from stove top to oven, but if you don't have one, use a saucepan for this next step, and then transfer to an oven dish.

Put potatoes in pot with chopped onion, and then pour blended mixture over the top to cover. Cook gently on medium heat until about half the liquid is absorbed, or the potatoes have softened (not cooked, just softened they shouldn't fall apart!

Mix the remaining liquid, and pour over potatoes. Add two thirds of the cheese, and turn through potatoes gently.

Cover with foil or a lid and place in oven on 180C for about 45 minutes. Check to see if the potatoes are fully cooked, and liquid level. the potatoes should not be dry, they should be saucy, and move around a little bit. Remove the foil or lid, and then dab blobs of vegan margarine over top of potatoes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over, and add paprika and parsley if desired. Place back in oven for 10 -15 minutes until top is golden.

Perfect Vegan Onion Gravy

Just because you're a vegetarian doesn't mean you can't have the best gravy. I've played around a lot with this to get a nice deep flavour. This gravy can easily be made the day before and kept in a sealed container. Just reheat and give it a whisk to remove any lumps formed by the "skin." 

Ingredients

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup vegan margarine

1/2 brown onion, chopped finely

1/2 cup red wine

approx 500ml water

1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce (Spring Gully makes one, easily available at Franklins or Coles)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tsp tamari

two or three porcini mushrooms, or a few dried shittake mushrooms

few sprigs of fresh thyme, finely chopped.

ground black pepper to taste

Method

In a small saucepan melt margarine, and add flour. Stirring constantly, form a roux, and add onion. Fry gently until deep golden. Slowly add the water a splash at a time, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add all other ingredients, and add more water if necessary to reach the consistency desired. Leave for five minutes. At this point I use my bar mix to remove any lumps and blend in the mushrooms and onion to a puree. Leave on simmer, stirring and adding a bit more water if necessary, for about half an hour. This allows the flour to cook out thoroughly. Nothing tastes worse than gravy that reminds you of dough! Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve piping hot over anything you like!

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Pumpkin Wellington

On the first day of Christmas my vegie lover made for me...A Pumpkin Wellington with Onion Gravy...

I will admit, I stole the idea from Jamie Oliver for this one. Last year he did the vego spread for Delicious magazine, and this year he has done another one - including a vegan option God bless him. I have tweaked his version considerably to be a bit more Australian, but it's still  Christmassy and above all, absolutely delicious.

Ingredients
2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry
1/2 butternut pumpkin
1 small red chilli
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp coriander seed
two rosemary sprigs
1 large brown onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup button mushrooms
3 chopped figs
1/2 cup chopped macadamias
1/4 cup pinenuts
 handful fresh sage
1 cup baby spinach leaves
splash of white wine (or lemon juice if you don't use alcohol)
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Peel and chop pumpkin inot bite sized chunks.
Chop onion into small chunks.
Chop 1/2 of the mushrooms into thick pieces.
In a food processor, chop rosemary, garlic, chilli, cinnamon, and coriander finely. If you don;\'t have a food processor, a mortar and pestle will do, or chop with a knife, and then bash between two pieces of greaseproof with a rolling pin.
Combine onion, and chopped herbs and spices and toss through olive oil on a baking tray. Cover with foil, and bake for approximately 1/2 hour to 45 minutes until onion and pumpkin is soft.
set aside and allow to cool.
Chop macadamias and figs, and add to pumpkin mix.
in a frying pan, saute remaining mushrooms and pinenuts in some olive oil until soft, and add the splash of wine, and sage. Allow to cool slightly and puree with spinach and breadcrumbs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool completely. This can be done a day or two ahead and kept covered in fridge until ready to use.

Thaw puff pastry sheets.
Overlap two sheets by about 1 cm, and press firmly to adhere. Spread the mushroom and spinach mix over the pastry. Spoon pumpkin mixture over centre, allowing space for pastry to overlap when folded.
Pull up one side of the pastry to cover some of the filling, and keep rolling, to completely cover. Brush with water to create a seal between the two edges, and tuck ends under so filling won't spill out.
Carefully put onto baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Cut into thick slices to serve, with cranberry relish and onion gravy.

Vegan & Gluten Free Plum Pudding

Christmas! It's just around the corner, and I have just enough time to whip up a really good vegan gluten free plum pudding to age and it has actual plums in it...well...prunes. Sadly, many of the 'plum' puddings seen on supermarket shelves have no plums in them whatsoever (dare I say, not much fruit either!) Not to mention a great deal of suet...would you like some cow fat with your dessert? Erk. This has just as much flavour, cruelty free.  All the sweetness comes from the fruit, too. Don't tell anyone its vegan, just serve it and let everyone be none the wiser! The Beloved, once it was made, wanted to know when 'we' could eat it, and was very disappointed when I told him he would have to wait for Christmas! Sigh...

Ingredients

1 cup pitted prunes

1 cup mixed dried fruit with peel

ground cinnamon

ground ginger

1/2 cup re hydrated dried apricots pureed

1/2 cup apple juice

2/3 cup almond meal 

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup flaked almonds

2 tsp baking powder

40gr vegan butter or margarine

rum

Method

Chop prunes roughly, and put into a ceramic bowl with dried fruit and peel, spice, and at least 1/2 cup rum. Mix thoroughly, cover tightly with cling wrap and set aside for at least 3 days.

When fruit is ready to use, mix dry ingredients into a separate bowl. Add juice and melted butter, and pureed apricots. Mix well.

Add fruit and mix again.

Grease a pudding tin, and fill leaving about 1.5cm room at the top. Fit the lid, and put into a deep saucepan. Fill 1/2 way up the pudding tin with water, and put the saucepan lid on.  Allow to simmer for approximately 4 hours, checking the saucepan occasionally to ensure there is enough water -do NOT let it boil dry! Once cool, remove from tin and keep covered somewhere cool - in Australia I recommend the fridge! 

Over the next few weeks you can give the pudding another splash of rum when you remember to, just make sure you cover it well again when you are done. 

To reheat, steam again for 1- 2 hrs, or microwave for about 5 minutes. Serve with vegan custard of course!

Vegan Fruit Mince for Christmas

Christmas! I can hear you exclaim. Already? It gets earlier every year... Well, yes, while I agree that the crass commercialism of mid year toy sales for Christmas laybys, along with decorations up by the end of September certainly take some of the magic out of Yuletide, preparing this certainly won't! Now is the time of year to make a really good fruit mince, so that it will mature over the next few months - and you won't want to buy it again. I love fruit mince tarts and pies. It is a major weakness for me in December, but unfortunately, most fruit mince is not vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter. Traditionally recipes call for suet or butter, and I don't know about you, but I don't relish the thought of chomping on a tart full of fat that was once around the kidneys of a cow. So for the last year or two I've been making my own. The advantage is, you can add the dried fruit you like and leave out the stuff you don't. This year I used some of our own apples that I  preserved in vacola jars. Play around with the recipe to suit your tastes.

Ingredients

100g sultanas

100g dried diced apricots

100g dried diced figs

100g goji berries

50g almond meal

2 apples peeled, cored, grated, or finely chopped (or the equivalent in tinned apple)
zest of one orange
zest of one lemon
250g dairy free margarine
100g brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
50ml verjuice
250ml port

Method 1
Put all dried fruit, spices, sugar, verjuice, port, and sugar into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Put margarine into a large saucepan and melt, and add fruit mixture, and apple. Stir over low heat for about 1/2 hour -45 minutes .
Spoon mixtures into hot sterilised jam jars and screw lid on tightly. Put onto a tray into a preheated 180C oven for approx 1/2 hour, then turn oven off and allow to cool completely inside oven. Your jars should be vacuum sealed.

Method 2
Put all dried fruit, spices, sugar, verjuice, port, and sugar into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Put margarine into a large saucepan and melt, and add to fruit mixture, with apple. Leave for about an hour. Spoon mixture into vacola jars and follow instructions on the vacuum preserving unit to seal. (I use this method as I don't have to watch it, I just leave mine on for an hour and turn off).