The Christmas Dinner 2014 Thread

There is a great blog from an Irish veggie boardsie fillefatale (although she has gone quiet on the blog this year) and her Christmas dinner recipes are lovely.

As a new user I can't post a link so go to vagabondlanguage dot blogspot dot com and click on the tag 'Christmas' in the left hand column.

The butternut squash gratin in particular looks mighty tasty.

1 large butternut squash (500g needed)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed, or finely grated
175ml double or regular cream
75g Parmesan or Gruyere cheese, finely grated
1 litre (1 3/4 pint) pie dish

1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
2. Using a sharp knife, peel the skin of the butternut squash. Remove all seeds, and cut into fine slices about 5mm (a quarter of an inch) thick.
3. Layer the slices of squash into the pie dish and season with salt and pepper.
4. Place the garlic and cream in a small saucepan, bring to the boil and then pour over the squash in the dish. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
5. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to one hour, removing the foil after 30 minutes of cooking time. When cooked, the butternut squash should be soft and the top golden and bubbly.

Her mushroom wellington although fiddly looks pretty beautiful too:

Mushroom Wellington (Makes 2)

600g puff pastry (I used read-rolled pastry, Jus Rol is suitable for vegans)
50ml flavourless vegetable oil

675g chopped onions

450g whole chestnut mushrooms
2 tbsp fresh or dried tarragon
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbsp soya sauce or tamari, or replace one with marsala or sherry

320g broken cashew pieces

320g ground almonds

175g fine freshly made breadcrumbs, white or wholemeal

1 egg, beaten for glazing (omit for vegans)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Roll out the pastry into two rectangles, 23x30.5cm each, cover and place in the fridge, if you're using ready made, no need to do this as its all been done for you! To make the filling, heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion with half the crushed garlic for at least 20 minutes or until it turns a deep golden colour.

2. Remove onions from the pan and set aside, then add the mushrooms to the same pan with the rest of the garlic and half the tarragon and cook on a fairly high heat. Halfway through cooking, add the soya sauce or tamari and the alcohol, if you are using it. Continue until the mushrooms are cooked through; there should be no white centre left when you cut one open.
 I cut mine in two halfway through cooking to ensure they were cooked throughly.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside, reserving all the mushroom liquor (the intensely flavoured liquid given out by the mushrooms). If you have too little liquid, add some water to the pan and swirl around until it combines with the mushroom liquid. In a food processor or blender, blend the cashews with the reserved mushroom liquor to a fine, smooth purée, adding a little water or even more of whichever alcohol you are using, until you have a smooth, sweet paste or pate.


4. Remove mixture from the blender and blend first the onions, then mushrooms – you can mix them up if you wish – until they are perfectly smooth. Mix all the blended ingredients together in a bowl, adding the breadcrumbs, ground almonds and the remaining tarragon. The mixture should gently hold its shape when formed with the hands. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Remove the pastry from the fridge.


5. Divide the mixture in two and place one lot on a sheet of pastry, shaping with your hands as you go to make a long rectangular shape about 28cm long, 7cm wide and about 5cm high. With the thin point of a sharp knife, make diagonal cuts at a 45-degree angle, starting from the left hand corner of the pastry towards the pate mixture. Repeat on the other side, this time starting at the top right hand corner and cutting down towards the centre.


6. The strips should now be about 2cm apart. Fold in the end pieces first. Then draw a strip over from the left, then one from the right, crossing them over so the mix is snugly wrapped up. Repeat for the second wellington.
 Either freeze at this stage or glaze generously with beaten egg. Place upon a floured tray, using two fish slices or the loose base of a tart tin to help you.


7. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes before attempting to lift onto a serving dish. Allow 2 slices per person, cut with a very sharp serrated knife.