3 Vegan Christmas Recipes from the world

If you or any of your guests for Christmas supper is following a vegan diet, try these 3 vegan Christmas recipes from all around the world – together they make a three-course Christmas meal that you can share with your loved ones.

1. First course: Polish Wigilia Dumplings (Pierogi)

On Christmas Eve in Poland the traditional supper is called Wigilia. Typically, the Wigilia is held after a day of fasting, so it is comprised of twelve dishes, from soups to cakes. And while fish is normally in the centre of Wigilia, many other of these 12 dishes are vegetarian. Learn how to make vegan Christmas recipes like this adaptation of the traditional polish dumplings.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour;
• 1/2 tsp salt;
• 1 cup water;
• 1/4 cup vegan butter substitute (almond, for example), melted;
• 2 cups sauerkraut;
• 2 tbsp vegan butter substitute;
• 1/2 cup chopped onion;
• 4 ounces mushrooms;
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper;
• 1 small boiled potato, chopped;
• 1 tbsp soy cream;
• ½ tsp salt.

Preparation:

Start by making the dough: mix the flour, water, ½ tbsp salt and ¼ cup of melted vegan butter in a bowl. When evenly mixed, knead for about 5-10 minutes in a lightly floured surface. Let rest for one hour.

Now for the filling: rinse sauerkraut in cold water and drain well; sauté for 10 minutes until dry and set aside; sauté onion and mushrooms in vegan butter, and add sauerkraut and pepper; fry until sauerkraut is golden and add the chopped potato and soy cream; season with pepper and salt, to taste. Mix well and let cool thoroughly before stuffing pierogi.

While the stuffing is cooling, cut the dough in halves and lay in a floured surface. Roll until thin – less than half a centimetre thick – and cut in round shapes of around 7 centimetres – use a cutter or even a wide drinking glass. Put about one tablespoon of the filling in the centre of each circle and close it in the shape of a half-moon. Fry in vegetable oil or vegan butter.

Serve pierogi with some vegan cream, caramelized onion and chives.

2. Main Course: No-turkey Christmas roll

One of Colombia’s Christmas dishes is a traditional roll of puff pastry stuffed with a turkey or chicken mince mix. This time, we make this roll into a vegan Christmas recipe, safe for everyone, while maintaining the lovely Colombian Christmas flavours.

Ingredients:

• 250g chopped tofu or seitan;
• Vegetable oil to fry;
• 1 large onion, chopped;
• 1 bay leaf;
• 1 bunch of thyme;
• 1 bunch of parsley;
• 1 cup wholewheat bun crumbled;
• 100ml soy cream;
• 1 tbsp of chopped capers;
• 400g de Filo dough;
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach;
• 50g vegan margarine substitute;
• White Pepper;
• 1 tsp salt.

Preparation:

Sauté the tofu or seitan in oil with the onions and the herbs. When the onion is browned, set aside.

In a bowl, put the previous mix together with the breadcrumbs, soy cream and capers, and let rest. Meanwhile, lay one sheet of the Filo dough in a workspace sprinkled with flour. Brush some partially melted margarine substitute on the other side of the sheet and place a new one on top of it. Repeat until there are no more sheets.

Spread the tofu/seitan mix on the Filo sheets and place the spinach in the centre. Roll and seal the edges. If needed, use kitchen twine to close it, but be careful to not break the roll. Brush once again with the margarine substitute and let it brown in the oven for 25 minutes, in 180ºC.

Serve with white rice or, to spruce it up a bit more, add some sautéed nuts and raisins.

3. Dessert: Vegan French Toast

This Christmas delicacy has different names in every country. In Northern Europe and in the English language it’s called “Poor Knights”, in Portugal it’s called “Rabanadas”, in Spain the name becomes “Torrijas”, and in France one can call it “Pain Perdu”, but essentially the recipe is the same. It consists of bread soaked in milk, egg and spices, and then fried in butter or oil, much like you’d expect from French Toast. But how to make it into a vegan Christmas recipe? Well, it is very easy, just follow these steps.

Ingredients:

• 8 two-days- to one-week-old bread slices, any shape;
• 800ml vegan drink of choice (soy, oats, rice, almond, etc);
• 4 lemon peels;
• 3 tbsp corn starch;
• 500ml vegetable oil for frying;
• 100g sugar or agave syrup;
• Ground cinnamon;
• 2 tbsp sugar to sprinkle;
• Other spices (cardamom, ground ginger, etc) to taste.

Preparation:

Heat up the vegan drink in a pan with lemon peels, without bringing to a boil. Add sugar or agave syrup and the spices of your choice. Once cooled, carefully dip the bread slices in the vegan drink mix one by one and set aside.

On another container, slowly mix the corn starch with water, and when thoroughly mixed, dip the bread slices in this mix – this will give your Vegan French Toast an eggy texture. Fry both sides in oil. Sprinkle more sugar and spice on both sides.

Best served warm but will be tasty even when cold. When serving, if you look for a richer dessert, serve with some vegan vanilla ice cream and berries.