During the Christmas holidays we have many celebrations with family or friends, meals full of a thousand flavours and colours, but often also heavy and with animal ingredients. But we can prepare them in their vegan version with canapés, stews, cannelloni, cakes and nougats made entirely from vegetables... they are also much lighter and healthier dishes.
Prepare a completely vegan New Year's Eve menu, which will be a way to start the year proving that even the most festive meals can be made in a healthy and animal-friendly way.
Canapés are a great appetizer and are always a good option to whet your appetite.
Millet is a very interesting cereal from a nutritional point of view: it is rich in fibre, contains proteins, calcium, magnesium and many vitamins. Its great advantage is that, when cooked, it releases a starch that binds it and allows it to be easily shaped.
To achieve a more balanced menu, you should incorporate seasonal vegetables, which will make meals and digestion easier.
In December and January we have leafy vegetables with which to make good salads to accompany dishes: lettuce, oak leaves, endives, spinach, lamb's lettuce, etc. Other interesting vegetables to add are leeks, onions, garlic or cabbage, perfect for helping the immune system.
And as the fruit par excellence we find the orange, the best Mediterranean source of vitamin C, we can eat it raw for dessert, add it in segments to salads, drink it in juice, use it in the form of zest in cakes and cookies... there are a thousand ways to eat them!
Proteins
We must not forget that even at parties it is important to ensure that there is plenty of protein on the plate . Every menu should include at least one dish that contains plenty of protein.
For example, you can add legumes to salads , or make different types of hummus to dip with vegetable sticks (carrot, celery, etc.) for appetizers.
Apart from the already well-known tofu, tempeh and seitan , nowadays we have many legume-based products available, such as textured pea protein. They can be used to prepare the main dishes on the menu.
MILLET TARTLETS FILLED WITH SHIITAKES
INGREDIENTS (12 tartlets):
For the base:
100 grs of millet
250 ml of water or vegetable broth
1 pinch of salt and pepper and 1 sprig of rosemary
1 gr of turmeric powder
For the filling:
150 g shiitake mushrooms
1 medium onion
90 g of natural tempeh
10 ml of soy sauce and 15 grs of agave syrup
2 cloves
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt and ground pepper
PREPARATION (40 minutes + soaking 30 minutes):
Soak the millet for 30 minutes. Wash it well and cook it in cold water or broth with the turmeric, salt and rosemary.
Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to minimum and cook until it has absorbed all the liquid. Let it cool.
In a frying pan with oil, cook the julienned onion with a pinch of salt.
Add the sliced shiitake mushrooms, diced tempeh, cloves and pepper.
Cook for 5 minutes and add the soy sauce and agave. Stir and turn off the heat.
Knead the millet until it is compact and cover the tartlet moulds lined with baking paper with it. Remove them from the moulds and place them in the fridge for half an hour.
Serve the bases cold with the filling hot or warm.
SEITAN IN CIDER WITH PLUMS AND PINE NUTS
INGREDIENTS (4 servings):
2 packages of natural seitan (approximately 500 g)
1 clove of garlic, 2 onions and 12 shallots
200 grs of grated tomato
200 ml of apple cider
8 dehydrated plums and 100 grams of toasted pine nuts
extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper
For the green oil:
30 g parsley
20 ml of olive oil
1 splash of lemon
20 g toasted pine nuts
1 pinch of salt and pepper
PREPARATION (40 minutes):
In a large pot, sauté the julienned onions and sliced garlic for 10 minutes.
Add the halved shallots and plums and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes.
Add the grated tomato and cider and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
For the green oil, blend all the ingredients until well combined.
On the other hand, cut the seitan into slices and lightly brown it on both sides in a frying pan, then add it to the stew along with the pine nuts and a tablespoon of green oil. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the seitan stew hot, with a few extra parsley leaves and a spoonful of green sauce on top.
EGGPLANT CANNELLONI STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS AND PROTEIN (PEA)
INGREDIENTS for 4 servings:
4 eggplants, 1 large onion and 2 leeks (the white part)
250 g of mushrooms
200 g of pea protein
300 ml of vegetable broth
½ tsp oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper
For the bechamel:
200 g of cashews soaked for 12 hours
½ small garlic clove, nutmeg and white pepper
1 splash of lemon juice, 1 splash of olive oil
For the seed crumble:
50 g pumpkin seeds, 50 g sunflower seeds, 50 g black sesame seeds
50 g flax seeds and 50 g chopped walnuts
PREPARATION (30 minutes + 12h rest):
For the bechamel, blend the ingredients and add water until you get a creamy texture. For the crumble, toast the ingredients.
In a frying pan, sauté the garlic, add the onion and leek, and then the mushrooms.
Add the pea protein and broth, and allow the liquid to be absorbed.
Add the oregano and blend this filling for a few seconds together with a tablespoon of bechamel.
Arrange 4 slices of grilled eggplant and two tablespoons of filling.
Roll up and place in the oven with the bechamel on top. Bake at 180 °C for 10 minutes.
Serve with the crumble.
Sara's orange cake
INGREDIENTS (4 servings):
For the cake:
380 g of flour
130 ml of mild olive oil
250 g brown sugar
400 ml of soy milk
2 grams of baking soda, 12 grams of baking powder and 1 gr of salt
zest of 1 orange and ½ tsp cinnamon
For the syrup:
50 ml water, 50 ml orange juice
70 g whole sugar
For the orange gel:
200 ml of orange juice
2 grs of agar-agar
For the cream:
250 g organic margarine
200 g icing sugar
250 g toasted almonds
PREPARATION (45 minutes):
Mix all the dry ingredients on one side and the liquids on the other. Pour the liquids into a bowl and gradually incorporate the dry ingredients using a whisk. Add the orange zest and cinnamon and bake in a round mould at 180°C for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool.
For the syrup, bring the orange juice, water and sugar to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
For the orange gel, dilute the cold agar-agar in the orange juice using a whisk. Heat it in a saucepan until it boils well. Allow it to gel in a container and, once cold, blend it with a blender until you obtain a gel. Reserve in a pastry bag.
For the cream, beat the margarine with a whisk for 2 minutes. Add the icing sugar until combined and set aside in a piping bag with a curly nozzle.
Cut the cake into 3 pieces. Place the first layer on a plate. Use a brush to coat the cake with syrup. Spread a spoonful of the cream evenly. Add a few dots of the gel to the surface and cover with the next layer of cake. Repeat the process and cover with another layer of cake.
Spread the surface of the cake with the margarine cream and smooth it out with a spatula. Sprinkle with chopped or sliced almonds.
Finish with a few roses of margarine cream on top and a little orange zest.
Store in the refrigerator and remove 30 minutes before serving.
HOMEMADE PRALINE AND ROASTED PEANUT NOUGAT
INGREDIENTS for 4 servings:
150 grs of dark chocolate for the "shirt" and 100 grs of 70% dark chocolate for the filling
50 grams of pure peanut butter and a pinch of salt
30 grs of roasted peanuts
PREPARATION (30 minutes):
Heat the chocolate in a bain-marie until it melts. Pour ¾ of the chocolate onto a surface and stir until the temperature drops to 28 °C. Pour it back into the bowl with a spatula to bring it back up to 32 °C. This will make the chocolate crunchier.
In another bowl, melt the 70% dark chocolate with the peanut butter in a bain-marie. Away from the heat, add the chopped peanuts and a pinch of salt. Allow to cool slightly.
Pour the tempered chocolate into a nougat mould. Tap it a few times to distribute it evenly. Turn it over and tap it again to remove any excess chocolate. Allow it to cool at room temperature until it solidifies. Once it has crystallised, add the filling and allow it to rest until it becomes semi-solid.
Cover the nougat with the remaining tempered chocolate. Allow to cool and remove from the mould.
Keep it in a container or box at room temperature until ready to serve.
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