Did you know that you don't necessarily have to serve game to dine in opulence this Christmas? Even if you go completely plant-based, you can't beat your luck at the table thanks to these surprising Christmas recipes. Miljuschka Witzenhausen has come up with a delicious Christmas dinner, completely plant-based. Suitable for vegans, but also definitely worth a try for avid meat eaters and flexitarians.
A tasty snack to start with:Vegetable rolls filled with hummus
4 persons | 20 minutes
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 cup hummus
2 tbsp Flora Plant, salted
100 gr pomegranate seeds
A few sprigs of fresh parsley
Tasty bread
Cut the aubergine and courgette lengthwise into thin slices. Only use the nice whole slices. You can use the rest as extra filling. Cut this into small cubes.
Heat a large frying pan with the Flora Plant. Bake the long slices in it until done and golden brown. Let them drain on kitchen paper. Make sure that the slices do not all go into the pan at the same time. One layer at a time.
Meanwhile, in another frying pan, unwrap the rest of the zucchini and the aubergine in the flora plant until tender and golden brown.
Let cool and then mix with the hummus. Season if necessary. Mix this with the fresh parsley.
Put a teaspoon of the hummus on a slice of aubergine or courgette and spread it thinly over the length. Now carefully roll it up and secure with a toothpick.
Put all the rolls on a plate and sprinkle with some fresh parsley and the pomegranate seeds.
Serve with bread and Flora Plant!
The green starter:Salad with carrot ribbons and dukka
4 people | 15 minutes
4 carrots, shaved into thin ribbons
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp Flora Plant, unsalted
Salt and black pepper
Cashew dressing*
125 gr cashew nuts, soaked
100 ml almond milk
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp lemon juice
* You can also use hummus as an alternative to the cashew dressing
Garnish
3 tbsp dukkah
Fresh mint
Pepper
Heat a frying pan with the Flora Plant and briefly fry the carrot ribbons in it. You want them to be nice and orange, but the rawness is just gone.
Mix the carrot with the orange juice and sprinkle with some salt and pepper
Make the cashew dressing by putting the cashew nuts in a (high speed) blender with cumin, lemon juice, maple syrup and almond milk.
Turn until smooth.
Now prepare the plate by first putting some of the dressing on it. Then come the carrot ribbons and on top of that the dukkah and fresh mint.
A main course to enjoy:Stuffed pumpkin with mixed rice and mushrooms
4 persons | 1 hour and 15 minutes
1 medium sized round pumpkin (orange or green)
4 tbsp Flora Plant, salted
100 gr mixed rice (or rice of your choice
250 gr mixed mushrooms
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, grated
30 gr pecan nuts, toasted and chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
35 g fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp tahini
Pistachio nuts for the top
Tasty bread to serve
Preheat the oven to 180˚C
Cut off the top of the pumpkin and use a sturdy spoon to scoop out the seeds. Make sure the wires on the inside are gone too.
Place the pumpkin on a baking tray and rub the pumpkin inside and out with 2 tbsp Flora Plant. Sprinkle with some more pepper. If the pumpkin does not stand properly, cut a slice off the bottom.
Roast in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft when pierced with a fork.
Cut the mushrooms into small pieces.
Heat a frying pan with the remaining 2 tbsp Flora Plant. Fry the fennel seeds and the chili flakes. When the seeds start to pop, add the garlic, thyme and the mushrooms.
Bake for 5 minutes until soft, then mix in the pecans and lemon zest. Remove from fire.
Mix this through the cooked rice, then stir in the fresh parsley and taste if you need more salt and pepper.
Spoon the mixture into the baked pumpkin and put it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes so that everything is hot.
In the meantime, mix the remaining lemon juice with the tahini, the rest of the garlic and enough water to make a dressing.
Serve the pumpkin in the middle of the table, sprinkle the pistachios over it and serve with the dressing.
Serve with delicious bread and Flora Plant!
A topper of a Christmas closing:Vegan lemon cake with cranberries
12 people | 50 minutes
100 gr Flora Plant, unsalted plus extra for greasing, soft at room temperature
275 gr self-raising flour
200 gr light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 lemon, zest plus juice
125 gr fresh cranberries
Icing
150 gr icing sugar
1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
Grease a 25 cm cake tin with Flora Plant and line with baking paper.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and lemon zest in a bowl. Add the Flora Plant, lemon juice and 170 ml of cold water. Then mix until smooth. Stir in the whole cranberries
Pour the mixture into the ready mold. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
Let cool for 10 minutes in the baking pan. Then take it out and let it cool further on a cake rack.
For the icing, put the powdered sugar in a bowl. Mix it with just enough lemon juice until thick enough to pour over the cake. Not too thin, then it will come off just as fast.
Serving with cranberry compote is always a good idea!
