Vegan Christmas En Croûte (Veg and Nut Roast in puff pastry)

Tis the season! Full disclosure:  for many years, I cancelled Christmas. 😱

This post is not about bringing you down but just giving you a bit of context.
After my Daddy passed away around this time of year years ago, I wanted the world to completely come to a halt. I was in so much pain. How could I have fun? How could I celebrate? It felt awful. I missed him SO much. It physically hurt. I didn't do anything for Christmas for many years, I hated the season... until a few years ago when something finally clicked. My Dad used to love having people around. He used to love celebrating family, friendship and he mostly loved to share.

I had to stop living in the past and wallowing in sadness. I had to start honouring him and making him proud again. I took one thing at a time and  I slowly started celebrating again, taking baby steps and including my Mum and baby brother of course. Today, we love getting together again and honouring Dad around the table. He is very much in the room with us, always and forever.

Food at Christmas is evidently a big part of the situation. This is my first year cooking ALL THE THINGS completely plant-based. For the non vegans who will be around my table at Christmas, I wanted something that would be hearty and satisfy their taste buds...Having lived in Scotland for many years, I just loved vegan haggis, nutty and full of flavour.... I got inspired and this is how this dish was born. I love it and it'll be even more delicious served with mash and roasted veg. I simply cannot wait for everyone to dig in! Enjoy the holidays guys!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people)

1 puff pastry (gluten free if possible)
2 medium carrots, diced
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove
1 mug cooked chestnuts
1/2 mug walnuts
1/2 Pecan nuts
4 white Paris mushrooms (diced)
A handful cranberries
Some coriander leaves
Some fresh parsley
1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey
3 tablespoons red wine
A pinch Cayenne pepper
Coconut oil for the pan
A little almond milk to seal the edges
Salt and pepper to taste

Vegan gravy:
500 ml water
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons red wine
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons potato starch or corn starch
Some ground pepper

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 180°C

In a frying pan, heat up the oil then toss the onion and garlic, all finely chopped. Cook for a minute. Add the agave syrup, coriander leaves, parsley, cayenne pepper, carrots and mushrooms and cook for a further two minutes. Add the cranberries.
Deglaze with the wine.

In a food processor, mix the chestnuts, walnuts and pecan nuts to a coarse breadcrumb-like texture. Add to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes on low heat.

For the gravy, put a pan on low heat and pour 500ml boiling water into it. Add the stock cube and stir. Add the onion, garlic, vinegar, pepper and wine and stir. Sieve the potato or corn starch into the mixture and keep stirring until it thickens. (To get a super smooth gravy, just sieve the mixture. )

Take a bowl and put your nutty mixture into it. Add half the gravy and stir. Set aside for about 10 to 15 minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Spread the mixture on the puff pastry (mine was round so I made a pizza calzone shape but you can make it rectangle)

Seal the edges by pressing a fork all around. Brush the top and sides with a little almond milk.
Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown.
Serve with gravy, mash and roasted veg and have it with a simple salad if you have any leftovers.

Peanut butter noodles with raw courgette

This recipe is a favorite of mine. It combines noodles and peanut butter. 'Nough said right? It is vegan, gluten free AND gorgeously creamy.

I've perfected this recipe over the last few months. This recipe was born one evening just because I was craving peanut butter and noodles... and since you can't have noodles on toast, well ... ;-)

Now, I'd had peanut butter noodles in restaurants before but I was always missing a little tangy taste... which you have in my recipe. I added some Dijon mustard and some lime and various spices.
The combo is out of this world. My mouth is watering as I am writing this. Let's dig in, shall we?

INGREDIENTS for 2 people

250 g rice noodles
1 mug grated raw courgette (zucchini) - on the coarse side of your grater
1 scallion
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 lime juice
1 heaped tablespoon smooth nut butter (I choose half peanut, half almond butter)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
200 ml coconut milk
200 coconut cream
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
Some coconut oil
Fresh coriander leaves
Pink Himalayan salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

Cook the noodles according to package directions. I usually do this 5 minutes before my sauce is ready.

Heat up the coconut oil in a pan (on low heat). Add the scallion (finely chopped) then the spices. Stir frequently until roasted ( a couple of minutes). Watch they dont burn.

Add the lime juice, maple and the coconut milk and cream and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the nut butter and Dijon and stir. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for another 5 minutes.

Mix the noodles with the sauce. Top with the raw courgette and coriander leaves.