Festive cuisine - sophisticated, delicious and animal-free
Christmas is the time for feasting, with days of preparation, baking, braising and roasting - there seems to be no culinary limit. Vegan queen Katy Beskow has sophisticated recipes and tips that are worth their weight in gold for a stress-free festive meal.
The family is delighted: the 18-year-old son finally introduces his girlfriend to the family - about time! Then the young man makes an announcement that puts the rest of the family on their kitchen chairs. The girl is vegan! No more goose & co. for Christmas. Mom immediately gets a headache because she can't think of anything vegan apart from lettuce leaves, so embarrassment is inevitable. Dad starts thinking about the most inconspicuous way to sneak off to the nearest pub for the holidays. Farewell to an enjoyable family Christmas?
No, that doesn't have to be the case. But this much is clear: Christmas is a time for feasting - and vegans are often left empty-handed at traditional festive tables, having to make do with the basics at best. New family members or friends who follow a vegan diet sometimes present non-vegans with a few challenges. But there are ways out of the dilemma. In her new book "Easy Vegan Christmas", Katy Beskow shows that you can conjure up a varied and delicious Christmas menu with a purely plant-based diet.
Simple but delicious
With numerous cookbooks, a successful recipe blog and more than ten years of experience in plant-based cooking, British author Beskow is a true expert in vegan delicacies. "Easy Vegan Christmas" has been published by ars vivendi and, with 80 recipes for festive menus, has all the ingredients to become the ultimate guide to vegan Christmas. In addition to tips on menu planning and meal preparation, Beskow covers everything from aperitifs to the efficient use of leftovers between the years.
Simple but delicious is Beskow's motto. This results in real culinary delights, such as a meatless Wellington roast, the Christmas classic shepherd's pie or a spicy, wintery parsnip soup with beet potato chips. With vegan "egg" punch and chocolate-orange shortbread, there's plenty to enjoy at the Christmas table. In addition to numerous traditional dishes, Beskow also presents Italian-inspired variations and gluten-free recipes.
Christmas dinner without the stress
Katy Beskow also shows how to organize a Christmas dinner without the hustle and bustle. This starts with the planning and extends to the shopping list. For example, it's important to get an overview of the supplies and equipment available. This reminds me of the first time I wanted to organize my first big Christmas dinner for the whole family - and in my 2-person household there were only small pots and pans in the cupboard. Completely headless, I ran to various department stores to buy them. That was a long time ago, but I've known ever since how important it is to be well prepared.
By the way: no one is perfect! There's no harm in setting yourself a limit on the number of dishes. It's better to have fewer, but delicious and successful ones. True to her motto "Keep it simple", the author writes: "Whether you are cooking for vegan family members, looking for inspiration for your first vegan guests or simply want to bring new flavors and dishes to the Christmas table, here you will find uncomplicated recipes for the most wonderful time of the year. I'll give you an easy tip for each one, and you'll also find out whether a dish is suitable for freezing - which is perfect for preparation!"
If you're already thinking "What am I going to cook?" is enough to make you break out in a sweat, just take a look at Beskow's menu planner. It's a great guide for Christmas Eve, the Christmas holidays, for light, warming or family-friendly meals; for lunch, dinner ... All the ingredients for the recipes in the book are available in supermarkets. Seven clearly laid out chapters make searching easy: starters & nibbles; main courses; side dishes; sauces, relishes & dips; leftovers; drinks; pastries & desserts.
Anyone who has always wondered why their own roast potatoes are not such a hit can find out in "Easy Vegan Christmas". In the recipe for the "ultimate roast potatoes", Beskow outlines four steps on how to do this masterfully - from choosing the right type of potato (not waxy), to pre-cooking and drying, to the right oil and the roasting process. I absolutely have to try this out after Christmas - after all, the dishes are also suitable for all other (festive) days.
The recipes won't just make vegans' mouths water: I was once again forced to make Christmas dinner by the family (non-vegans, but flexitarians) and found what I was looking for at Beskow when I was looking for a light and meat-free starter soup for Boxing Day. My favorite: the celery soup with roasted hazelnuts. I'm excited - and don't let anyone complain! On the first national holiday, we've been serving a delicious chestnut cream soup for several years now, and we're not going to change that. You can find various recipes with chestnuts in "Easy Vegan Christmas" under "Chestnuts".
Creamy celery soup with roasted hazelnuts
"This simple soup is velvety and fragrant, making it the perfect start to a festive meal. The celeriac is first roasted and then mixed with rosemary stock and vegan sour cream. Finally, sprinkle the soup with roasted hazelnuts and parsley and top with a dollop of vegan sour cream. The result? A creamy, nutty soup with a perfectly balanced sweetness."
Preparation:
1. toast the hazelnuts in a pan without fat over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and light golden. Set to one side.
2 Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
3. place the celery, onion and carrot on a baking tray. Drizzle generously with sunflower oil and roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the vegetables are soft. If they start to darken around the edges, cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning and to prevent the soup from tasting bitter later.
4 In the meantime, pour the vegetable stock into a pan with the rosemary sprig and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Simmer for 5-6 minutes, then remove the rosemary sprig.
5. add the roasted vegetables to the stock, add the vegan sour cream and puree with a hand blender (or everything in a high-powered blender) until silky smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. pour the soup into warmed bowls. Sprinkle each with about 1⁄2 tbsp roasted hazelnuts. Top with a little vegan sour cream and sprinkle with a few parsley leaves. Serve hot.
Easy tip: The soup can be prepared up to 3 days in advance and kept in the fridge or frozen for up to a month. Then defrost first, heat well and only then sprinkle with the freshly roasted hazelnuts.
Fruity and spicy pilaf with pistachios
"For me, nothing beats a fresh, aromatic pilaf, which is also a wonderful opportunity to use up the citrus fruits left over from Christmas. The quickest way is with a fragrant white basmati rice. I also like to bring this pilaf, which you can serve hot or cold, to invitations and parties."
Preparation:
1. heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion over a medium to high heat for 3-5 minutes until translucent. Add the spices and harissa paste and fry for a further minute.
2. add the rice and stock and bring everything to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer the rice over a medium heat for 15 minutes until it has completely absorbed the liquid. Keep stirring so that it does not stick.
3. then remove the pan from the heat and fluff the rice with a fork. Cover with a lid and leave the rice to stand for 5 minutes.
4 Meanwhile, toast the pistachios in a frying pan without oil over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
5 Fold the citrus zest and juice and parsley into the rice until everything is evenly distributed.
6. season the pilaf with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the roasted pistachios.
Easy tip: Only add the lemon and orange zest and juice at the end of the cooking time. This prevents the pilaf from becoming bitter and gives it more flavor and a pleasantly fresh note.
Christmas pancakes with maple syrup
"These Christmas-spiced pancakes are not only perfect as a special breakfast, they also taste wonderful as a dessert and are hardly any work at all. Drizzle the pancakes generously with maple syrup and sprinkle with lemon zest before serving. This brings out the gingerbread flavor particularly well. Roasted pecans, pickled cherries with syrup and a scoop of ice cream are also excellent accompaniments."
Preparation:
1. mix the flour with the spices in a large bowl. Add the soy milk and mix everything with a whisk to form a smooth pancake batter. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.
2. heat 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil in a pan over a medium to high heat. Pour in a little of the chilled batter to check that it is at the right temperature. The oil is hot enough when the batter sizzles and turns golden brown in 20 seconds. Pour 4 tablespoons of batter into the pan, swirl the pan so that the batter runs evenly and bake the pancake for 2-3 minutes. Then flip and bake for a further 2-3 minutes on the other side.
3. place the pancake on a plate lined with kitchen paper and keep warm. Meanwhile, do the same with the remaining batter, using 1 tbsp of oil to fry each pancake.
4. drizzle the pancakes with plenty of maple syrup and sprinkle with lemon zest just before serving. Alternatively, serve both with the pancakes at the table so that everyone can help themselves.
Easy tip: Leave the pancake batter to rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight so that it thickens a little.
Heidi Driesner wishes you a cozy and enjoyable Christmas and a healthy and, above all, peaceful 2024.
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In spite of the vegan girlfriend's announcement, the family's Christmas meal doesn't have to be a letdown. Katy Beskow's "Easy Vegan Christmas" offers a range of simple yet delicious plant-based recipes that could make the turn of the year celebrations a success.
Turn of the year, when festivities are in full swing, presents an opportunity for families to showcase their culinary skills and bond over a shared meal. Nativity scene shepherd's pie, mince pie alternatives, and nutritious vegan options like the 'ultimate roast potatoes', parsnip soup, and 'egg' punch form an integral part of the delectable Christmas menu suggested in "Easy Vegan Christmas".
Source: www.ntv.de
