Your best vegetarian centrepiece

[Pippu]

I have four vegetarians and four meat eaters at Christmas. I've made stuff in the past, or paid a fortune for a ready made disappointment. I want to make something this year, ideally a nut roast that has flavour and sticks together. Actually, two dishes would be good because I know the meat eaters will dive in.
Someone posted a chestnut nut roast which sounded delicious, I did a trial run and it was a disaster. Would make a passable stuffing but was just mush. They are not vegans so happy to use eggs and dairy.

I make this nut roast on Christmas Eve to take to my mums

just need to slice & heat up in oven on day - I don’t bother with the sauce as there’s plenty other sides to eat

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/nut-loaf

That looks good, I think the cheese would add moisture.

Good will pie!

https://annajones.co.uk/recipe/goodwill-pie

It’s an undertaking, make the layers over a couple of days, but it’s very much worth it.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/caramelised-onion-squash-spinach-pithivier

We do a mushroom, red onion, spinach, and stilton wellington. Pretty straightforward to make, and goes well with the rest of the meal. I'm happy to dredge the recipe out of the corner of my brain where it's been gathering dust since last Christmas if someone wants it.

I second this, although we haven't had this at Christmas. We are not vegetarians but try to limit meat consumption so I sometimes do a special veggie dish at the weekend. When I did this I made it in such large quantities that I was able to freeze a lot of it and make it again in a fraction of the time a few weeks later. I actually used this recipe, which is adapted from the one above and combined with the Felicity Cloake nut roast recipe linked below, but I didn't make the pastry, I used bought puff pastry or filo, can't remember now which it was. It would be easy to tweak it in various other ways. https://bensfarmshop.co.uk/recipes/rainbow-goodwill-pie/

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/dec/19/felicity-cloake-perfect-christmas-dinner-recipes-turkey-gravy-cranberry-sauce-nut-loaf-sprouts-roast-potatoes-red-cabbage-bread-sauce

I just do three types of stuffing( pork for non veggies, sage and onion, cranberry and apple and plain) , lots of different types of veg (honey roasted carrots and parsnips,
roasted Brussels with pine nuts, peas, cauliflower cheese, roasted broccoli and cabbage), lots of roasties and ‘special’ mash (mash with majo, butter, seasoning and cream) and homemade Yorkshire puds for the veggies in my life…
basically a Christmas dinner with no meat and veggie gravy.. none of them like nut roast and the veggie quorn roast I got a couple of years ago was rank..

Keep them coming!

I made this Waitrose recipe last year - it was ridiculously easy, looked stunning on the table and was really delicious (and as a veggie myself, of 30 years, I’ve had my fair share of disappointing dry nut roasts)

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/feta-pistachio-and-pomegranate-bake

I like @Potentialmadcatlady idea. You can really go to town on the sides! That then aren’t really sides but the main event. Would Veggie cocktail sausages be ok? I definitely think with red cabbage added too, the above sounds amazing. Edited to say I mean Madcat ladies idea.

Cauliflower wellington

https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/cauliflower-wellington/

How about a lentil loaf but add in chestnuts/cranberries etc to make it more festive?

Love this thread ! I'm building up a list of options for Sunday roasts from it too

Yes please 🙏

I do the Cranks Mushroom Wellington: https://www.cranks.co.uk/recipes/mushroom-wellington/

Not complicated at all, looks good, and freezes beautifully. I make it in advance and freeze before cooking, so all you have to do on Christmas day is brush it with egg and stick it in the oven.

I usually do big field mushrooms. Dead easy. Chopped onion fried with thyme and the chopped mushroom stem and garlic. Nob of butter on the mushroom...bake for a few mins...then add the onion mix and then you can top with either Stilton or goats cheese and breadcrumbs and pop back in oven.

This is my go-to - makes a main for the vegetarians and a great side dish for the meat eaters.

It's a bit fiddly but very worth it.

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/stuffed-cabbage-leaves

Oh yes forgot about red cabbage!
I also put loads of sauces, pickles, onions, cranberry sauces out on table…
yum Yum yum..
I’m not yet fully veggie but am moving towards it slowly..

Some fab suggestions on here. I do need to practise though! @PrayForMyBum I really like the look of the feta, pistachio and pomegranate bake.
@SkyFullofStars1975 that looks delicious if not very pretty!

DS isn't massively fond of mushrooms so I might avoid those unless I have two mains. Which is likely.
Agree about the sides , my failed chestnut loaf will make an appearance in a less than starring role.

Back after doing bedtime, here is the wellington recipe @Mumteedum

Mushroom, Spinach, and Stilton Wellington

1 box chestnut mushrooms
1 red onion
200-300g spinach (frozen is fine if well-squeezed)
100-150g stilton
1 pack puff pastry
1 tsp dried thyme or handful fresh
salt, pepper
beaten egg to glaze

Dice the onion and sauté in a little oil. Slice and add the mushrooms and thyme, cook ~5 min. Then add the spinach and cook until wilted and the liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool, then add the crumbled or grated stilton. The filling can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a day or two. To assemble, roll out the puff pastry to about 35 x 25 cm (or closer to 30 cm x 30 cm depending on your baking sheet), spoon in the filling, brush the edge with a little water, fold over and crimp the edge. Brush with beaten egg to glaze and score with decorative lines. Bake for about 35-40 minutes at 180C, but the filling is already fully cooked, so it’s not too picky about exact temperature if it needs to fit in with other things. Serves 4-6 depending on number of sides.

Thank you, that's really kind. Sounds great. Will give this a go for a change this year I think. 🙏❤️

I'm another fan of a mushroom wellington. This is Waitrose's recipe which is quite easy to follow:

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/mushroom-and-chestnut-wellington

I made Delia's cheese and parsnip roulade one Christmas

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/vegetarian-recipes/cheese-and-parsnip-roulade-with-sage-and-onion-stuffing

However, that was the main dish. It might need a bit of preparation re timings if you are fitting it in alongside a roasting turkey - maybe while the bird is resting?

Oh god. Nut roast. Why is this the default recipie for anyone cooking for veggies? No one likes it and it is always, always, disgusting or if edible is the kind of thing that makes you overly full with two forkfuls. It's also an arseache to make.

The receipts posted on this thread however all sound amazing. Failing just do a good range of really amazing sides and offer Yorkshire puds and veg stuffing. Don't feel the need to have a big centrepiece at all

This. As a veggie of 30 years I would want to cry if someone (particularly a meat eater) presented their idea of a vegetarian ‘showpiece’ for my Christmas dinner. The pressure to enjoy it and be grateful would ruin the occasion even if it was ok. Just concentrate on making the veg, stuffing and potatoes absolutely bang on. Bung a ready made something in the oven (pie/bake/wellington) but make the actual showstopper all the trimmings, veggie gravy and a fabulous pudding.

Can anyone testify as to what their vegetarian teenager likes at Xmas dinner? It's our first time in this situation and I'm stumped.