Hello lovelies, today the Christmas inspiration continues, followed by the centerpiece: the main course of the** Vegan** Christmas menu: truffle tofu mushroom chestnut strudel. Let me tell you, I am very proud of this dish and how delicious it turned out (a little self-praise doesn’t hurt sometimes). I was especially happy about my husband's reaction. During the test dinner he stopped after the first bite, looked at me completely astonished and I thought: oh dear – he doesn’t like it. But instead he said: what is that?! It tastes so very delicious! I think you can imagine my biggest grin, because he is usually quite critical.
I served the truffle tofu mushroom chestnut strudel in puff pastry (please repeat that three times very fast in a row :-) with the most delicious vegan gravy, truffle mashed potatoes and colorful carrots from the oven. Everything together is simply delicious and both the strudel and the gravy are very good to prepare in advance, so you have no stress on the actual holiday. This menu will not only delight vegans, but will certainly be well received by all.
Recipe
And now here is the recipe for the complete vegan Christmas menu: Truffle tofu mushroom chestnut strudel:
A delicious vegan Christmas menu with strudel, mashed potatoes and carrots from the oven.
- 2 shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 200 gr (7 oz.) chestnuts (pre-cooked )
- 500 gr (1 lb 1.6 oz.) truffle tofu (alternatively neutral tofu and truffle oil or paste)
- 400 gr (14 oz.) mushrooms
- 100 ml (1/2 cup) red wine
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 pinches of pepper
- 2-3 twigs fresh rosemary & thyme each
- 100 ml (1/2 cup) plant-based cream
- 2 Tbsp flaxseed flour stirred in 5 Tbsp water ( alternatively soy flour )
- 100 gr (3/4 cup) breadcrumbs
- 2 packs of vegan puff pastry (rolled-out)
Finely chop shallots and garlic and sauté them in olive oil
Finely chop mushrooms, chestnus and tofu (very small pieces) and add them to the pan – roast for 5 minutes
Then add the wine or vegetable broth and reduce the heat
Add the herbs and spices and let simmer at low heat for about 10 minutes
Mix flaxseed flour with water and let it soak
Then put it into the pan along with cream and breadcrumbs
Season the mixture once again. It shouldn’t be too moist
Roll out the puff pastry, add half of the mixture to each pack and fold them
Cut off the redundant dough, use it to cut out stars and place them on the strudel
Butter them with a mixture of soy cream and turmeric
Bake at 200°C (392°F) for approx. 30-35 minutes
If you use regular tofu, you can achieve the truffle taste with truffle oil or truffle paste.
Vegan Christmas menu: Gravy
A dark and delicious gravy that goes perfectly with the strudel
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 150 gr (5 oz.) Shitake mushrooms (or a different kind )
- 2-3 twigs rosemary and thyme each
- 100 ml (1/2 cup) red wine
- 2 pinches of sugar
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 liter ( 4 ¼ cup) vegetable broth
- Salt & pepper
Roughly chop onions and garlic and sauté in olive oil
Wash and roughly chop the vegetables, add them to the pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes while stirring
Add the herbs and deglaze with sugar and red wine
Stir in tomato paste, flour and soy sauce and continue roasting while stirring for 3-4 minutes
Add the vegetable broth. Let simmer for approx. 20-30 minutes with the lid closed
Remove the herb twigs and blend everything in a mixer or with an immersion blender
Season with salt & pepper
Vegan Christmas menu: truffle mashed potatoes
Mashed potatoes with a fine truffle aroma, a true pleasure
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) potatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 400 ml (1 ¾ cup) plant-based milk ( e.g. oat)
- 25 gr (1/8 cup) vegan butter
- 4 Tbsp vegan cream ( (maybe some more) )
- 1-2 pinches of nutmeg
- 1-2 tsp ruffle paste or oil
- Salt for seasoning
Peel and cut the potatoes in quarters
Put them into a pot along with milk and salt and let them simmer until they are well done
Add the butter and mash the potatoes using a potato masher. You can also use an immersion blender (I prefer that)
Stir in the cream and season with nutmeg, salt and truffle
Vegan Christmas menu: carrots from the oven with maple syrup
The perfect side dish for a Christmas menu: colorful carrots from the oven
- 600 gr (1 lb 5 oz.) colorful carrots
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Salt & pepper
- Fresh thyme
Wash and peel (if required) the carrots
cut into quarters lengthwise
Put them in a baking pan and then mix them with olive oil, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice
Intensively season with salt & pepper and add 2-3 twigs of fresh thyme
Roast them at 200°C (392°F) for 25-30 minutes
Sprinkle and serve with fresh thyme
I have listed all menu components as single separate recipes for you, so you can put your menu together the way you like it. Me and my guests enjoyed the combination this way, but I had made some noodles for my husband, as he doesn‘t like mashed potatoes. The children would have liked to eat the whole mashed potatoes alone, they liked it so much.
Truffle tofu is available here at Migros in Switzerland around Christmas season. If you don‘t get it where you live, then you can use truffle oil or paste as described in the recipe. You then just have to season the mass by adding the truffle spice depending on the desired intensity. Of course you can omit it completely, if you don‘t like truffles. I'm sure the strudel will be a feast with or without truffle flavor.
I hope I was able to make you feel like cooking this Christmas menu. We will definitely have this on Christmas Eve, because it made me very happy that everyone liked it. Last year we had potato packages, which were also very tasty. You can find the recipe here. And the year before we had savoy cabbage rolls filled with black rice. As you can see, the menu selection is getting bigger and you are spoiled for choice!
Also, did I notice from the Pinterest searches that people more and more look for vegan Christmas menus. Of course I think that's a great development. Seems like many can imagine a meatless Christmas. Believe me, your family and friends will certainly not miss any meat on this menu. Check it out!
Love, Verena
You can already find the recipe for the Christmas dessert here. And you can find more recipes from previous years in the category „Christmas“.
If you have Pinterest you can find me here and you can pin this pic if you like:
