Vegetarian alternatives?

Limesemma

i dont eat meat and it depend where im going for dinner but if it my mum and dads a sometimes bring my own which they are fine with.
if i dont have much time i just have a Linda McCartney deep country pie(fake mince) Tesco, Morrisons and sainsburys sell.

If i have more time the night before i make a veggi beef irish stew (veggi beef from ASDA's own- yummy) then no one has to worry about making a meaty and a veggi gravey.

Wizwoo

You know what I always try to do something different ...but I love nut roast. My favourite is from the Sarah Brown Vegetarian Cookbook that I've had for years. Someone was looking for the recipe on the delia forum:
http://www.deliaonline.com/messageboard/7/31533/thread.html
It's lovely. I usually have it with a mushroom and sherry sauce that she does too:
1 oz butter
8oz mushrroms quartered
1 tablesp sherry
4 teaspoons flour
1 pint strong veg stock
salt & pepper
Melt the butter, add the mushrooms and sherry. Cover & cook for 2 - 3 minutes (high heat). Uncover and cook until liquid evapourates stirring constantly. Reduce heat add the flour & cook for 5 - 6 mins stirring all the time. Add the stock a little at a time stirring to prevent lumps. Simmer 3 - 5 mins & season. Allow to cool slightly, liquidise until smooth (although I quite like it without liquidising ).

HairyHandofDartmoor

Nut roast is a bit cliched but better than nothing I suppose.

If she eats fish what about salmon or trout? I often have that as I only eat fish. It's easy to cook and can just replace the turkey. I always do turkey for everyone else and the fish for me (in a separate pan). Then do roast pots and everything else as normal (although not in the turkey fat), veg gravy granules, vege meat balls/stuffing (not in the turkey), etc could be enjoyed by everyone.

HopeElizzy

Thank you so much to everyone that has posted recipes for us try - there's some really good ideas.:xmassmile


And for those of you that posted about vegetarians not eating fish.......... I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I pointed out in my original post my sister sometimes has no choice......... for instance in Morocco they have no idea what a vegetarian is so when she was on a photo shoot living in a tent in the middle of the desert she had little choice about the food on offer.

welovepandas

This is the yummiest nut loaf and really easy to make - Maggie & George's Special Nut Roast

Wizwoo

For those of you that think nut roast is a bit of a cliche...it's Christmas...what's turkey and trimmimgs etc about! Call it tradition / cliche. It's the only time I tend to eat it - which goes for the rest of my family re: turkey.

Rose Elliot also does a delicious Chestnut and mushroom en croute with red wine and I may well this year follow a delia parsnip roulade recipe. Whatever it is it has to go with the trimmings, and if I don't have my nut roast I'll probably regret it. So I may well just stick with my cliche...oops I mean tradition :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: . Can't wait.;)

rosy

I've made a cranberry, chestnut and goat's cheese ring with puff pastry holly leaf decorations for my mum ( doesn't eat much meat) for the last three years. It's lovely hot or sliced up cold and although it takes a bit of time preparing it, it can all be done in advance. It looks really special ( like a Christmas wreath ) - something you wouldn't make on any other day. The recipe was from a Good Food Vegetarian Christmas magazine from years ago, I've looked on the internet but can't find any recipe like it - I could post it here but don't know if I'm allowed

Quackers

dook wrote:

hello! my first post, had to reply to this!

My mum makes the best veggie xmas thingie ever. Sage and onion stuffing wrapped in sosmix (with onions and a tiny bit of marmite) all wrapped in puff pastry, cut into slices. We call it the brick, it looks like one and it's pretty dense but sooo yummy.

:hello: Hello Dook!

Welcome to posting on MSE

I hope you realise you may soon become addicted!!!


I must be a boring veggie as I dont do anything 'special' for xmas lunch. I'm cooking for 10 meat eaters this year so I'll just do a traditional xmas lunch and have everything but the meat. I always cook lots of vegetables though including cauliflower cheese so there is always plenty for me

Oh, and it means more room for extra pudding

meowmeow_3

My partner and I are making a vegan xmas dinner for his parents (we're vegan but they're not) - for the 'main event' we're going to make a recipe from the Vegetarian Society cookbook 'Food for Friends' (great book, btw) - it's a large flat mushroom (sauteed) then stuffed with stuffing (just sage and onion from Sainsburys, with sauteed onion, celery and chopped roasted hazelnuts added), a dollop of cranberry sauce (Fairtrade cranberry-and-port sauce from Coop), wrapped in a couple of layers of filo pastry (with the edges gathered at the top 'money pouch' style), and baked till golden. We tried this out and it is delicious. I'll also make a vegan gravy (really easy to make from scratch, or you could use Sainsburys vegetable instant gravy).

Then along with that, the usual trimmings - stuffing balls, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, green beans, cranberry sauce etc. We're also going to wrap some sausages (either Holland & Barrett own brand, or Redwood sausages) with some veggie bacon (though I see a previous post suggesting using smoked tofu - that sounds excellent!). Xmas pudding for dessert (there are a lot of vegan ones available in shops), with Swedish Glace non-dairy ice cream and maybe some Alpro non-dairy vanilla pudding. Though if I can get organised, I may make something else too.

Some other ideas (from our xmases past....):
- nut cutlet - Sainsburys own brand are very good; there are several others around out there (these are great to keep in your freezer, to have on hand whenever needed); we've recently also seen a butternut squash and cashew nut cutlet
- Redwood veggie 'turkey' joint - we prefer the joint itself (sliced up) to the pre-sliced rounds of the turkey joint, which look a bit funny on the plate
- my mom in Canada makes a 'tortierre' pie, using veggie mince instead of meat (it's sort of a shepherds/cottage pie, but with pastry on the bottom and top and no potato)
- Linda McCartney pie (veg mince and gravy)
- root vegetable stew with butter beans and red wine sauce, with herby dumplings on top
- stuffed vegetables (bit cliched though)
- nut roast (I've never actually had one! but it needs to be mentioned)
- veggie shepherds pie might be good - using veg mince, or tinned green lentils instead of meat, and a nice veg gravy
- there's also a thing called 'Tofurky' from North America, I've seen it in a couple of shops in London - a large veggie turkey-type thing, I've never had it though

Happy veggie xmas to anyone eating veggie this year!

redmandarin

Thank you to HopeElizzy for raising this question and thanks to all the other veggies and vegans who've joined in with helpful suggestions. :T

Along with most people, I always want something special for Christmas lunch. I think Quorn or TVP fillets/roasts or L McCartney pies etc, are great for roast lunches, but as I have these every Sunday, I crave something different for Christmas. Although I like pastry (too much!) and adore cheese, pasta and rice, I groan when I see (for eg,) restaurants, offering Christmas meals that have one veggie choice of either ravioli, risotto or cheese/veg tart. I'm not ungrateful - at least there's food on offer for veggies, but I don't want cheese, rice or pasta with my gravy! Would meat eaters choose to eat pasta, rice or cheese with their gravy, sprouts and potatoes - I don't think so - and neither do I!

Ideally we need manufacturers to come up with special, tasty, gorgeous main courses for our festive lunch - until then I'll have home made nut roast!

Thanks a lot Wizoo for the recipes for nut roast and sherry gravy and for the chestnut mushroom en croute - I've been hoping for a good recipe for nut roast - I once had one from a veggie cafe, (now closed, sadly) which I bought and re-heated at home on Christmas day. It was fab! I think I'll swap some of the cashews in Sarah Browne's recipe for some mixed whole nuts and that'll do us nicely! Thanks again!

Enjoy your Christmas veggie or vegan feasts, everyone!