Save a turkey! 3 vegan Christmas recipes
Save a turkey! 3 vegan Christmas recipes
Save a turkey! 3 vegan Christmas recipes
Our volunteers Camilla, Javi en Gaia share their favourite vegan recipes for you to try this Christmas! Because we love our finca turkeys Captain Barbossa and Elizabeth Swan very much, we hope to inspire you to eat less meat during the holidays. Because when people think about Christmas dinner, they usually think about turkey. In the UK only, between 9 and 10 million turkeys are purchased to end up on dinner plates during Christmas. That’s more than 4 times the number of people living on the Canary Islands!
So save a turkey, and give these recipes a try!
Starter: Carrot pate for 8 people by Javi
Ingredients:
3 carrots
1 small clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Pinch of salt
Some fresh basil leaves (about 5, but you can add or more to taste)
Blender
Knife
Let’s make carrot pate
Cut the carrots into slices without pealing them. Steam the sliced carrots for about 3 minutes, that way you won’t lose the nutrients. Check if they are done by poking with a fork, they should be tender.
If you don’t have a steam basket, you can put the slices in a microwave safe dish, with some tablespoons of water at the bottom. Cover with a plate and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Blend the carrot slices together with the salt, garlic and olive oil.
Cut the basil leaves with a knife (they go black very fast if blended) and scoop them through the blended carrot mix. Serve with bread, crackers or vegetables to dip!
Main: Vegan parmigiana for 8 people by Camilla
Ingredients:
1,75 kg of eggplants
1 kg of peeled tomatoes
0,5 kg of vegan cheese
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
Olive oil
Peanut oil
Salt
Pepper
A pinch of sugar
Basil leaves
Pot
A wooden spoon
Baking tray
Paper towel
Let’s make the sauce!
Add enough olive oil to a pot to cover the bottom and heat it. Chop the onion and the clove of garlic, add to the pot and let it brown for a couple of minutes, stirring often so it doesn't burn. When the onion is well wilted, put 1 kg of peeled tomatoes into the pan, lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for about 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar and crush the peeled tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Put some basil leaves in the sauce and cook without a lid for another 20 minutes, stir occasionally so the sauce doesn’t stick to the pot.
Let’s prepare the eggplants!
Cut around 1,75 kg of eggplants lengthwise into slices. You can get rid of the bitterness of eggplants by placing the slices in coarse salt, and then placing them in a colander with something on top to act as a weight. After half an hour, rinse them well.
Fry the sliced eggplant in peanut oil. As soon as they’ve turned slightly golden, drain on a tray lined with paper towel.
Let’s put everything together!
Cut 0,5 kg of vegan cheese into small cubes.
Form the first layer by arranging the fried eggplant slices in the baking tray. Make sure they cover the whole tray but don’t overlap. Add a layer with the tomato sauce, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle some cubes of vegan cheese over that layer. Start a new fried eggplant slices layer, which should be arranged in another direction than the first layer. On top of that, add another layer of tomato sauce. Then add more cubes of vegan cheese. Repeat these steps until you reach the last layer of eggplant, again adding sauce, finishing with the vegan cheese.
Cook in the oven on 200°C for 30 minutes.
Dessert: Frolla, by Gaia
Ingredients for dough:
250 g of type 2 flour
80 g of whole cane sugar (preferably powdered or Mascobado)
60 g of cold water
60 g of organic sunflower oil
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Untreated lemon zest
Ingredients for cranberry-orange jam:
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Medium-sized saucepan
Sterilized jars
Let’s cook the jam!
Rinse the cranberries thoroughly and remove any stems or debris. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar.
Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally, and you'll notice the cranberries bursting and the mixture thickening.
Test the jam's consistency by placing a small amount on a cold plate. If it wrinkles when touched, it's ready. If not, continue to simmer for a few more minutes and test again.
Stir in the vanilla extract and mix well. Allow the jam to cool for a bit in the saucepan. Once cooled slightly, transfer the jam to sterilized jars. Leave some space at the top to allow for expansion during cooling. Seal the jars and let them cool to room temperature. Once cooled, store them in the refrigerator.
Now, let’s make the pastry!
First, dissolve the sugar in water, add the oil and flour to the sugared water, add lemon zest, then mix well until you create a smooth dough that you'll let rest for about an hour in the refrigerator.
Once rested, roll out the pastry, cut out either a tart base or turnovers, and then bake in the oven at 180°C for 30/40 minutes (conventional oven mode).
When they pastry is cooled down, fill it with the jam and enjoy!
From everyone from our Finca to everyone in the world, a very merry Christmas!
Giving to us on a regular basis means that not only can we keep you completely in the loop as to where your money is going, and how it is being used to do good, but we will also assign you your own personal log in details to receive insider information about our project and our plans. You will be informed first of all updates, allowing you to be a closer part of our journey with us.
