We are so excited for Christmas, and yes, because of the food! It’s the best excuse to get creative once again in the kitchen and bring the most delicious indulgent dishes to the table, work with incredible vegetables, and… plant based meats!! We have got 3 Awesome Vegan Christmas Day Side Dishes which are easy, minimal effort, but maximum flavour and wow! These caramelised mustard roasted parsnips and chestnuts, garlic and rosemary roasted carrots, and mustard glazed sausages (using vegan cocktail “sosiges” from Green Meats Co) are the perfect combination to adorn your Christmas table.
Roasted vegetables are one of my favourite parts of Christmas. Yes, we have roasted veggies any time of the year, but it’s the garlic, herbs and chestnuts that make them so festive! All of these dishes are fantastic as leftovers for the days after Christmas when you can’t be bothered to cook.
Firstly, we have the caramelised mustard roasted parsnips and chestnuts. If you want, you can add carrots to this too instead of separating the carrots and parsnips. This is what I love about roast veggies – you can make them your own and mix and match. Parsnips are delicious roasted, and contrast so well with garlic and mustard. I am a massive fan of wholegrain mustard, especially when it goes crispy. Chestnuts are a must at Christmas, and they have a great chewy texture when roasted. A bit of sugar on these helps to get the parsnips caramelised, but leave out the sugar if you want to.
Next up is the garlic and rosemary roasted carrots. Carrots look so beautiful as they’re so brightly coloured, and even better if you can find some purple and yellow ones too! They roast wonderfully and go nice and sweet. Rosemary is a great traditional herb for roast dinners, and infuses with the vegetables. As a garlic lover, I can’t help smoothering my food in the stuff, and it makes the carrots go nice and crispy on the edges! No judgement (well, not much anyway!) if you’re not a garlic fan – just leave it out or use less if you want.
A super exciting part of this meal – the cocktail “sosiges”! All sorts of alternative, plant based and fake meats have come out recently, and we’ve been busy sampling them and finding the best ones. We’ve fallen in love with this one. We were gifted these by the Green Meats Co who do a range of plantbased meats. Founded by friends of ours, Robbie and Joel, who started the Green Grill which does incredible street food including burgers and hot dogs. They now have their own shop and are serving up the best plant based meats.
Their cocktail sosiges have an amazing flavour, so you could just stick them in the oven as is. We pimped them up for Christmas Day wiith mustard, brown sugar and olive oil for a glaze. The sosiges themselves are made from seitan (a wheat gluten), cannellini beans and a tomato Italian blend (including oregano and garlic). The texture of these is super meaty, they are firm and hold together like nothing we’ve seen before, and we adore the flavouring they’ve used.
We can’t wait to bring out all 3 Awesome Vegan Christmas Day Side Dishes to our families, and we hope you love them too!!
These Caramelised Mustard Roasted Parsnips and Chestnuts are the perfect Christmas side dish. The sugar gives a sticky glaze, and the mustard contrasts brilliantly with the parsnips and chestnuts.
- 5 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped in battons
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- 5 garlic cloves (still in their skin)
- Handful of cooked chestnuts
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme (use dry if no fresh)
- Salt and pepper to taste
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Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
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Par-boil the parsnips - place in boiling water for about 5 minutes to allow them to soften a little. Then drain.
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Put all the ingredients, including the parsnips, in a baking tray and mix thoroughly, making sure the parsnips are fully covered with all the ingredients.
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Roast for around 45 minutes, tossing occasionally, or until the edges of the parsnips have browned and they are a bit sticky from the sugar.
Brilliant Christmas or Thanksgiving side dish which will look beautiful and bright on your table! These roasted carrots taste sweet when they're roasted, with an extra intensity of garlic and rosemary!
- 10-15 medium sized carrots, peeled
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
- Salt and pepper to taste
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Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
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Keep carrots whole if desired, or chop in battons.
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Place carrots in a baking tray and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
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Bake for around 45 minutes (30 minutes will probably be enough if the carrots are chopped) until the carrots are cooked through and a little brown.
This is a simple way glaze for your Christmas vegan cocktail sosiges made from just 3 ingredients; brown sugar, olive oil and wholegrain mustard, which goes crispy and sticky on the sosiges. The sosiges themselves are seitan-based and can be bought from the Green Meats Co.
- Packet of Cocktail Sosiges (from Green Meats Co)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
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Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
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Put all ingredients in a baking tray and make sure sosiges are fully covered with sugar, oil and mustard.
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Bake for 25 minutes or until the sosiges have browned on the edges. Cook for longer if desired.
Vegan Smoked Garlic & Wild Mushroom Pasta