RECIPES FOR A VEGAN THANKSGIVING
Happy Thanksgiving!
I cooked all week in order to bring you vegan recipes for Cornbread Dressing, Mushroom Gravy, Tofurkey, Kale Caesar Salad with Bacon, Potato Salad and Carrot Cake! This is my first time cooking a gigantic feast for myself and it went pretty well! My favorite dish is the Cornbread Dressing and Mushroom Gravy. I got my recipes from Hot For Food. I absolutely love this vegan cooking Youtube channel because they make the best food! Scroll down see pictures of “food porn” and read step-by-step recipes.
CAESAR KALE SALAD WITH BACON
Caesar dressing (makes 2 cups):
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1 bulb of garlic
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1 tbsp olive oil
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pinch sea salt
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3/4 C raw cashews (soaked for 3 hrs)
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3/4 C water
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1 pitted medjool date
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3 tbsp lemon juice
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1 tsp lemon zest
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3 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
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1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
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1/2 tsp dijon mustard
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1 tsp sea salt
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1 tsp ground pepper
Pre-heat oven to 400F.
To prepare the bulb of garlic for roasting, peel the outer layers of the garlic bulb leaving a thin layer still in tact and cut the top of the bulb off (approx. 1/4 inch from the top) so the cloves are visible. Coat the top with 1 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and then bake at 400F for 35 mins or until the cloves are browned and soft to touch.
Remove the roasted cloves of garlic from the bulb and place in a blender. Drain the soaked cashews and rinse with more water until it runs clear. Place the cashews and the remaining in the blender and mix on high until smooth.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving on your salad. In the meantime, prepare the croutons and tempeh bacon.
Tempeh Bacon:
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1 pkg of tempeh (approx. 250g)
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1/2 C tamari (can sub soy sauce or bragg's aminos)
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1/2 C water
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1 tbsp liquid smoke
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3 tbsp maple syrup
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1 tbsp smoked paprika
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1-2 tbsp coconut oil (for frying)
Thinly slice the tempeh into strips approximately 1/8"-1/4" thick.
Whisk together tamari, water, liquid smoke, maple syrup, and smoked paprika in a shallow dish that you can use to marinate the tempeh in. Lay the slices of tempeh in the dish and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
To cook, heat a non-stick pan to medium and add 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Once the pan is hot add the slices of tempeh without overcrowding the pan.
Once the first side starts to brown you'll want to start de-glazing the pan with a bit of left over marinade to prevent the slices from sticking and to get them really caramelized and browned. Flip the slices and do the same thing on the other side. You may need to add another tablespoon of coconut oil at this point. Cook time is approx. 15-20 mins.
Remove from the heat to cool while you assemble the Caesar salad.
Garlic Crouton:
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3 C cubed bread (your choice)
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1/4 C olive oil
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1 tbsp garlic powder
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1 tsp onion powder
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1/2 tsp sea salt
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1/2 tsp ground pepper
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2 tbsp go veggie! vegan Parmesan (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a mixing bowl whisk together olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and pepper. Toss the cubed bread in the mixture until well coated. If you're adding the vegan Parmesan, add that to the bowl and toss to coat the bread evenly.
Lay out the bread onto a baking sheet and bake for approx. 10-15 minutes, turning over once in the middle of baking, until golden brown. Depending on the bread you use the time will vary so just keep an eye on them.
CORNBREAD
(Recipe from The Minimalist Baker)
Cornbread (makes 3 muffins):
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1 small flax egg (1/2 tbsp flax seed meal + 1 1/2 tbsp water)
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1/4 cup + 3 tbsp plain unsweetened almond milk + 1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
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1/4 teaspoon baking soda
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2 tbsp vegan butter, melted
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1/4 cup cane or granulated sugar (sub other sugars with varied results)
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1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce (or sub 1 more tbsp melted butter)
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pinch sea salt
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1/4 cup + 3 tbsp fine yellow cornmeal
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1/4 cup + 3 tbsp unbleached all purpose flour (I haven't tried using GF flours yet, so test away!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two small ramekins or two muffin tins.
Prepare flax egg in a small bowl and let set for a few minutes to achieve an "eggy" texture. Measure out almond milk and add lemon juice and let curdle for a few minutes. Then add baking soda and stir once more. Set aside.
To a mixing bowl, add melted butter and sugar and whisk vigorously to combine. Then add applesauce, flax egg, and whisk once more. Next add almond buttermilk mixture and whisk vigorously again to combine.
Next add salt, cornmeal, flour and stir with a spoon until just incorporated. It will look thin and somewhat lumpy. That's what you're going for.
Divide batter between greased ramekins or muffin tins (it may take up to three muffin tins, but my ramekins were large enough to fit just 2).
Bake for 28-35 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into a center comes out clean.
CORNBREAD DRESSING
(Recipe from Hot For Food)
Dressing Base:
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1 tbsp olive oil
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1 C finely chopped leek
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3/4 C finely chopped celery
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1 finely chopped shallot
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2 garlic cloves, minced
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1 tbsp finely chopped sage
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1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
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1/2 tsp nutmeg
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1/4 tsp sea salt
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1/4 tsp ground pepper
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1/2 C vegetable stock
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1/3 C finely chopped parsley
Heat oven to 350F
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté leek, celery, and shallot for 4 minutes until soft.
Add in garlic, sage, rosemary, nutmeg, sea salt, and ground pepper, and cook for 2 minutes.
For additional flavor, I added oregano, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. You may need to reduce the heat to med-low so you don't burn the garlic.
Add in vegetable stock and simmer stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
Add parsley and cook for another 2 minutes
Then add a mix of cornbread (see recipe above and triple it) and small pieces of fresh bread.
In order to get the consistency needed for the dressing to fill out the Bundt cake mold, add 2-3 cups of vegetable stock. You want to add enough liquid so that the bread mix and sticks to the base of the dressing.
Pour mixture in to Bundt mold or a large pan and bake for 45 mins or until the top layer becomes brown.
Gravy:
2 C mushrooms, minced
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 shallot minced (can sub 1/4 C white onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp vegan butter/margarine
1/3 C rice flour (can sub all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 C vegetable stock
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp tamari (can sub soy sauce)
2 tsp molasses
3/4 C water
Heat coconut oil in deep pan over medium heat and stir in the mushrooms and shallots (or onion).
After 5 minutes stir in the garlic and let brown for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile in a smaller pan prepare a roux which is done by melting vegan butter and gradually adding in the flour. Stir the mixture over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes until thickened and then set aside.
Go back to your browned mushroom pan and gradually add in vegetable broth. This will help lift up all of the delicious brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Add the roux mixture to the pan stirring with a whisk and reduce to low heat.
Whisk in onion powder, tamari and molasses.
Then slowly incorporate the water, about a 1/4 C at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved.
For the poutine we found that 3/4 C was the magic number, but if you want it a bit runnier then add a little more water.
** using rice flour and gluten-free tamari and veggie stock makes your vegan gravy gluten-free as well!
POTATO SALAD
1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt & ground pepper to taste
Dressing ingredients:
1/2 C vegan mayonnaise (store bought like Veganaise or Wild Wood)
1/4 C sweet relish
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp dill fronds (finely chopped)
1 C celery (finely chopped)
1/4 C red onion (finely chopped)
Toppings:
1 tbsp snipped chives
Pre-heat oven to 400 F
Cut the small red potatoes in halves and toss in sea salt, ground pepper, and olive oil until evenly coated. Bake for 45 mins in a oven safe dish. Meanwhile prepare the dressing by combining all the dressing ingredients until well combined. Refrigerate until potatoes are fully cooled from baking.
Right before serving toss baked potatoes in the dressing. Top with chives. Serve immediately!
CARROT CAKE
Carrot Cake:
1 1/3 C unsweetened soy milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground flax (or ground chia)
3 tbsp water
1 1/2 C spelt flour
1 C coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground all-spice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 C coconut oil (solid but soft at room temperature)
1 C packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C grated carrot
1/2 C Applesauce (from a can and drained from most of the excess juice)
"Cream Cheese" Frosting:
1/2 C coconut oil (solid but soft at room temperature)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 C powdered sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp unsweetened soy milk
Mix together soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for about 10 minutes. It will start to curdle like buttermilk.
Mix together the flax and water and set aside in the fridge for about 10 minutes to allow it to thicken.
In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients for the cake including spelt flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, all-spice, and sea salt.
In another bowl beat together the coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy. Then add the soy milk and apple cider vinegar mixture and the flax "egg" mixture once thickened. Beat together until well combined. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Fold in grated carrot and crushed pineapple and mix well. It will be a pretty thick batter, not the kind that pours into your cake pans.
Lightly oil 2 x 7" cake pans. You can also use a cake pan that is up to 8" wide. You can also do one cake at a time if you only have one pan!
Divide the batter between 2 cake pans. Press the batter into the cake pan evenly so it reaches all sides. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 F for 15-18 mins.
Turn out onto cooling racks and allow the cakes to cool completely before icing them.
You can make the cakes ahead, wrap them in plastic, and leave them at room temperature until you want to assemble the whole cake, but make the icing right before you want to ice and assemble the cake.
Using a hand mixer beat the coconut oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and 1 cup of powdered sugar to start. Once it's mostly combined add in another cup of powdered sugar and beat together. Then add in soy milk and beat until smooth and fluffy. Then ice the cake!
NOTE: This is enough icing to do a middle and top layer on the cake, not the sides! I doubled the recipe in order to have some icing spilling over.
I didn't get a picture of my Tofurkey but you can buy it at your local grocery store. I bought the Holiday Roast by Gardein. The roast is stuffed with a cranberry wild rice stuffing and it comes with gravy. You can use this gravy or make your own.
Question: What recipe do you love? Have you made a vegan dish for the holidays?
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