Vegetarian Christmas

One year I made a vegetarian glutton free Christmas dinner for our son's partners. Nut roast made a lovely alternative to turkey.

oops should have been sons partners or it looks as if one of our son's had more than one at the same time!!

I've been vegetarian since I was 11.
To be honest, if you've got lots of lovely veg, cauliflower cheese, stuffing, Yorkshire's etc I'd be more than happy.
It's best really to ask the person / people concerned what they would like.

There aren’t any other people concerned, it’s just something we’ve been thinking about.

It's horrible when you go to someone's for a meal and they say 'ooh, I've done this specially for you' and you feel duty bound to eat it even if you don't like it.

Oh okay! Hope you find something you like!

There's a lovely recipe for a different nut roast in Olive magazine - the one that says it has Chrismas recipes...

I love roast veg - parsnips, shallots, red peppers, carrots and courgettes - with roast potatoes, stuffing, Yorkshire puds and veggie gravy. I’m not a vegetarian, just can’t be bothered to roast meat as well.

FannyCornforth I know what you mean about being presented with something special! We both love veg and are not huge meat eaters, so I’m sure we’ll work it out.

Not veggie any more, but when I was, lots of veg, Yorkshire's, stuffing, bread sauce, roasties, mash (salivating at the thought) were far more than adequate.

Smileless2012

One year I made a vegetarian glutton free Christmas dinner for our son's partners. Nut roast made a lovely alternative to turkey.

Glutton free ?? No greedy people there ?

I used to make a nut roll rather than kust a roast (when we had lots of family).

One layer of very herby pine nut roast so it's very green and one layer of "regular" nut roast ' usually involving primarily brazils and cashews. Some years I had one nutty layer and one stuffing. Some years two layers and stuffing. Some years I'd include a layer of "sosmix" fake sausage which is nice and pink!
Spread mixtures (in layers) on parchment or similar and roll up like a swiss roll, oil the top and cook.

When you slice them they are really attractive on the plate. Everyone loved them.

Ok. So sorry I missed the point.
Could do this in ramekins in layers?
That might be fun.

BBC Good Food used to bring out a Vegetarian magazine every Christmas, and they had some great ideas. If they still do one (and if you can get to WH Smith or somewhere) it will be worth the investment.

My husband is veggie, and so is my daughter, so I tend to do a traditional Christmas, a bird for my son and me, a nutroast or similar for them, lots of different stuffings that we can all use in sandwiches later, and all the usual roasties and veg.

The magazine will have ideas for starters and snacks that everyone will enjoy. One tip for anyone having a guest vegetarian for Christmas for the first time - you might want to save a lot of hassle by buying a couple of tubs of vegetarian gravy. Having to make two lots of gravy on top of all the other things to think about might be a step too far .

"Chestnut and red wine pate en croute" by Rose Elliot. the recipe is easy to google. It has always been a favourite in our house.

I too don't bother with a special Veggie option, it isn't needed. I just do loads of different lovely veg cooked in special ways.

It always includes a big cheesey cauliflower and brocolli bake, roasties, parsnips, sprouts, carrots, veggie stuffing, yorkshires, and veggie gravy. Yum I could eat it now,

www.bosh.tv/recipes/portobello-mushroom-wellington
Made this last year it was yum.
A good nut roast with a mushroom and sherry sauce is another favourite.

We are not vegetarians, but often eat vegetarian food, cashew nut roasts are a particular favourite and mushroom risotto with as many different mushrooms as you can find is also very tasty.

I am reminded of a company Christmas meal at a well thought of local hotel. As was quite usual over the festive period, catering for large numbers, the food was served plated up. The person sitting next to me told the waiter that she had ordered a vegetarian meal, he apologised profusely, and removed her plate. He came back minutes later with the turkey and pigs in blankets obviously scraped off the plate leaving a gap streaked with gravy! Strangely we didn’t go there in the following year,

FannyCornforth - are you saying that you don't want your host to make something special? I try to make special things for my guests, whoever they are.

Yes, Lexisgranny, in my experience vegetarians don't want the same as meat eaters, but without the meat . Lovely as the accompaniments can be, they are not the meal, and it can make guests feel like afterthoughts if they are given extra sprouts to make up for the lack of turkey.

I also found over the years that a completely separate veggie 'option' can be a bit disappointing, too. If you get lasagne, for instance, and everyone else is tucking in to a traditional Christmas Dinner it's just not the same, and they don't really work as a mix and match. This is why I make a roast of some sort, and then everyone can have the veg, the roasties and the cranberry and bread sauces. Vegetarians enjoy Christmas Dinner too.

Another vote for nut roast.
The suggestion of buying ready made veggie gravy is a really good one Doodledog. Blossoming you could add a slosh of red wine or Madeira to the gravy, to inject a bit of seasonal cheer.

Nannarose

FannyCornforth - are you saying that you don't want your host to make something special? I try to make special things for my guests, whoever they are.

No! Not at all!
I always try to appreciate what people cook for me!
But, unfortunately, and Im speaking of 35 years experience, in the past it has usually been a curry or a chilli which I cannot stand

Some wonderful ideas here thank you all.

GrandMattie thanks for pointing me towards Olive magazine, several of their veg recipes look delicious.

On holiday in France once I was given the veggie option which was just everything available that was not meat related with a square of pastry on the top. Actually it was very nice.