Stokes Sauces: Non-Meat Christmas Feasting - some vegetarian alternatives for Christmas

Noël sans Dinde

www.stokessauces.co.uk/product/special-collections-and-gift-packs/festive-foodie-collection

For many, the bird, the beast, the fowl, the fish - these just aren't options even for Christmas. So it's Christmas without the Turkey.

There are lots of great vegetables to share around the table but few centre pieces for the meat-free meal. These are just a few ideas you might like to try for a change this year.

They are our take on tried and tested recipes using the magic of Stokes to make sure your non-meat Christmas tastes wonderful.

What's more, each of these recipes uses a little something special from our new Festive Foodie Collection, Stokes tasty favourites chosen by our 'taste aficionados'.

For a Tasty Conscience

Chilli Baked Camembert & Grapes

This simple starter is as easy to make as it is tasty to eat - and tums don't lie.

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/product/special-collections-and-gift-packs/festive-foodie-collection

Baked Chilli Camembert & Grapes

Here's how:

Open a couple of decent sized Camemberts, sit them on a greased roasting tray, prick holes out with a knife, filling each with a little Stokes Chilli Jam held in place with a sliver of garlic and sprigs of rosemary. They'll be runny and scrummy after 15 minutes in a medium oven.

Lovely yes, but served with roasted grapes and our Cranberry Sauce - lovelier still. Spread green and red seedless grapes on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of runny honey with 1 tbsp of chopped thyme leaves. Cover well and bake until caramelised on a medium low heat for 30 minutes or so.

Put the grapes in a bowl and stir in 2 tbsp of Cranberry Sauce before spooning it over the runny Camembert.

Festive Squash

Here's how:

Set in a nest of Christmas vegetables, this makes a tasty and attractive festive picture. Use a small / medium acorn squash per portion. Take off the top and scoop out the inners then roast on a medium heat until the flesh is tender when prodded with a fork.

The filling is whatever you make of it - try ... in a bowl combine: cooked basmati rice, wild rice and lentils. Chop and fry a diced shallot, red pepper, grated garlic and an assortment of mushrooms. To this add 2 tsp of garam masala,1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg, 2 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam (more if you like it hotter) and 1 tbsp of our Creamed Horseradish Sauce.

Combine this with the rice, adding 2 tbsp of olive oil and a handful of chopped coriander. Stuff the squash(s) and bake at 180°C/Gas mark 4 for 20 minutes.

Garnish as you wish - sliced avocado works well and a sauce of 4 parts Stokes Real Mayonnaise to 1 of Chilli Jam and 2 of Tomato Ketchup.

Mushroom & Cranberry Loaf

You'll need:

2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, grated
400 g of cooked red and green lentils
250 g of chopped assorted mushrooms
60 g of chopped chestnuts
45 g of flour
100 g of breadcrumbs
50 g of dried cranberries
200 g of fresh cranberries
4 tbsp of sugar
6 tbsp of Stokes Cranberry Sauce
2 tbsp of Stokes Creamed Horseradish Sauce
1 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam
3 tsp of dried mixed herbs
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4.

Mix the shallot, garlic, lentils, mushrooms, chestnuts, flour, breadcrumbs, dried cranberries, 2 tbsp of Cranberry Sauce, horseradish, chilli jam, herbs and nutmeg - basically everything except the fresh cranberries, sugar and 4 tbsp of cranberry sauce.

Mix it and fold it, working it all well together.

In a pan, mix the fresh cranberries, the sugar and remaining 4 tbsp of cranberry sauce. Dissolve the sugar and simmer gently for 5 minutes to soften the fruit and create a syrup.

Pour this syrup into a greased, lined loaf tin then spoon in the loaf mixture on top, pressing it down thoroughly with the back of a spoon. Bake for an hour or so. Let it cool down for 10 minutes before removing the loaf from the tin, inverted, so the cranberries ooze on top and down the sides.

Savoury Christmas Strudel

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4.

Take and cube the flesh of a butternut squash. In a bowl, coat it with olive oil, 1 tbsp of our Stokes Chilli Jam and 1 tbsp of chopped thyme then spread it on a roasting tray and roast for 20 minutes to tenderise it.

Finely dice 1 red onion and add it to 100 g of Feta Cheese, cubed into a bowl with 2 tbsp of garam masala and 2 or 3 tbsp of Stokes Red Onion Marmalade. Take a 270 g pack of filo pastry. Melt 100 g of butter in a bowl over simmering water.

Lay 1 sheet of filo onto a damp tea towel and brush it well with melted butter. Add another sheet and brush again ... repeating for each of the 6 sheets of pastry. Spread the chilli squash along the middle of the stack of buttered sheets adding the cheese and onion mixture evenly with it.

Fold the short sides up and over, then the long sides, pinching them together at the top. Put the strudel onto a greased baking sheet and brush with a beaten egg before baking on a higher 200°C/Gas mark 6 until it is brown, crisp and mouthwateringly good to go.

Stokes Festive Foodie Collection