Vegetarian Christmas dinner: recipes, part 2

Roasted courgette with pine nuts

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 medium courgettes (zucchini)
• 4 tablespoons pine nuts
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan-style cheese

Method

1. Cut the courgettes lengthways into very thin slices, for example with a cheese slicer.
2. Toast the pine nuts golden brown in a dry frying pan.
3. Lay a quarter of the slices side by side on each plate. Sprinkle with the cheese.
4. Put the plates under the grill for a few minutes until the courgette is soft or golden. Take care not to burn it.
5. Garnish with the pine nuts.

No ovenproof plates? Grill the slices on a baking tray and then arrange them carefully on the plates.

Vegan: use a plant-based Parmesan or nutritional yeast.

Red pepper soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 small onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 small red peppers
• 400 ml tomato juice
• 400 ml vegetable stock
• 1 small teaspoon chilli powder
• a pinch of paprika and cayenne pepper
• a few drops of lime juice and Tabasco
• a generous splash of (oat) cream
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• oil, salt and pepper

Method

1. Chop the onion finely and fry it in a little oil until soft. Cut the peppers into small pieces and fry them briefly. Crush the garlic over them. Cook everything over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the tomato juice and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the peppers are tender.
3. Blend the soup with a stick blender. Bring it back to the boil and season with salt, pepper, chilli powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, lime juice and Tabasco.
4. Stir in the cream and do not let the soup boil again.
5. Shred the basil very finely at the last moment and sprinkle it over the soup.

Risotto with roasted pumpkin, tomatoes and goat's cheese

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 small onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 250 grams risotto rice
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 600 ml vegetable stock
• 400 grams pumpkin, with skin, seeds removed
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 250 grams cherry tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 sprigs of fresh oregano (about 15 grams)
• 150 grams soft goat's cheese
• a knob of butter or olive oil
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• freshly ground pepper and salt

Method

1. Chop the onion very finely and fry it gently in the butter until soft. Crush the garlic over it and fry briefly. Stir in the rice until the grains turn glassy.
2. Add the wine and let it evaporate over low heat. Add half of the stock and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and wait until the liquid has been absorbed. Stir regularly.
3. Add the rest of the stock. Let the rice cook for about 20 minutes until almost done, stirring regularly. Add a little water if needed. Season with pepper.
4. Wash the pumpkin skin well. There is no need to peel it. Cut the pumpkin into large wedges. Seed the chilli and cut it into thin strips.
5. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in an ovenproof dish. Add the pumpkin and sprinkle with the chilli. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 °C until tender. Turn the pieces now and then.
6. Halve the tomatoes. Put them in a second dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with dried oregano, salt and pepper. Put them in the oven with the pumpkin for the last 5 minutes.
7. Crumble the goat's cheese and chop the fresh oregano. Stir half of the cheese and half of the oregano into the risotto.
8. Serve the risotto on warm plates. Garnish with the pumpkin, the tomatoes and the rest of the cheese and oregano.

Good risotto rice is sold in Italian and Moroccan shops.

Vegan: use olive oil and a plant-based cream cheese instead of goat's cheese.

Green salad

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• ½ head of oak leaf lettuce (about 150 grams)
• 50 grams rocket
• 50 grams lamb's lettuce
• 75 grams feta
• 25 grams pecans
• a little alfalfa

Dressing

• 7 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey or agave syrup
• 1 teaspoon mustard

Method

1. Wash the lettuce thoroughly. Mix the different kinds in a nice bowl.
2. Cut the feta into small cubes.
3. Toast the pecans in a dry frying pan. Take care not to burn them. Let them cool and break them in half.
4. Garnish the salad with the feta, the nuts and the alfalfa.
5. Mix the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving.

Vegan: use plant-based feta and agave syrup.

Ice-cold creamy apple pudding

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 4 apples, for example Elstar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 250 ml whipping cream
• 50 grams crisp white meringues
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 100 ml thick yoghurt
• mint leaves to garnish (optional)

Method

1. Peel and core the apples and cut them into small pieces. Cook them with 1 tablespoon of sugar until soft. Mash them and let them cool.
2. Whip the cream with 2 tablespoons of sugar until stiff. Crumble the meringues.
3. Mix the apple, meringue, lemon zest and yoghurt. Finally fold in the whipped cream.
4. Line a round 1-litre mould with cling film. Spoon in the mixture and freeze for 1 to 3 hours.
5. Turn the pudding out onto a plate. Garnish with cream and mint leaves if you like.

Vegan: use plant-based whipping cream, soya yoghurt and aquafaba meringues (made from the liquid in a jar of chickpeas).