Vegetarian Christmas Delights

Many people seek a different and greatest Christmas each year, and dinner is one of those moments where we can give a special and unique touch to this celebration. Although each country has its traditional dishes to celebrate this time, the food is different now, as is the case of vegetarians.

Here are some delicious recipes for this Christmas. You can have a delicious meal without meat.

Greek Spinach with Cheese

Ingredients

• 200g of fresh spinach leaves, uncooked
• 1 tablespoon of ghee
• 1 / 2 teaspoon of coriander seeds
• 1 / 2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 / 2 teaspoon of alhova seeds 
• 1 / 2 teaspoon of garam masala
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 piece of fresh ginger 1 cm
• 1 small onion
• 1 Greek yogurt
• Halloumi Cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Grain or sea salt

Preparation

1. Cut the onion finely, make a mash with the garlic and ginger and add some salt and, roast the whole spices in a dry skillet until they begin to release aroma. Transfer to a mortar and grind to make a fine powder.
2. Saute the onions in the ghee a couple of minutes. Add the spices, stirring. Mix the spinach. At that time, we add the yogurt, and cook a few minutes over low heat until reduced slightly. Add salt.
3. Cut Halloumi cheese into cubes of 1 cm and cook a couple of minutes in a pan sprayed with oil. When browned, place the spinach in a tray and add a few pieces of cheese. Serve hot.

Vegetable Souffle

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 3 tablespoons of self-rising flour
• 2 cups of hot milk
• 4 tablespoons of grated cheese
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup of steamed vegetables (can be spinach, chard, carrots, zucchini, corn and eggplant)
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• Salt and nutmeg

Preparation

1. Take the butter and place in a small saucepan, lead to low heat until melted. Add flour and salt, stir well with a wooden spoon to prevent burning. Flush all the milk and beat again vigorously until the mixture thickens, lumpy but smooth. Finally add nutmeg to taste and grated cheese. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Add the beaten egg yolks, then beat the 3 egg whites until stiff, mix with a cup of vegetables in a soft and enveloping way. Add to the preparation and stir gently until  all the ingredients are blended. Brush a baking pan with oil and place the preparation. Put it in a moderate temperature in the oven until the top is browned and cooked. Remove from oven, serve hot.

Broccoli Pie 

6 servings (Ideal for vegetarian children)

Ingredients

• 2 large Broccoli
• Wholemeal flour, 6 tablespoons
• Baking powder, 1 teaspoon
• Eggs, 3 units
• Evaporated milk (two streams)
• Butter, 2 tablespoons
• Ground black pepper (tip of a teaspoon)
• Nutmeg (tip of a teaspoon)
• Salt (to taste)
• Fresh cheese sliced and grated

Preparation

1. Wash and cook the broccoli (12 minutes).
2. In a bowl chop the broccoli flower, do not waste the stem, peel and use the heart.
3. Add the flour and all the other ingredients (just a splash of milk). The dough should be as for cake, not too watery or dry.
4. In a baking sheet, pour half of the dough, put slices of cheese, top with other half of dough, cover with grated cheese and a stream of milk.
5. Bake until the dough hardens (like cake) and cheese gets brown (200 degrees for 15 minutes).
6. Serve warm.

Orange, carrot and amaranth Cookies

Ingredients

• 4 cups of whole wheat flour
• 3 tsp. of baking powder
• 1 / 2 tsp. of salt
• 2 cups of carrots (grated finely)
• 2 tsp. of grated orange peel
• 3 / 4 cup of orange juice
• 1 / 2 of cup oil
• Brown sugar
• One cup of amaranth in pop

Preparation

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Put in a bowl and add the grated carrot and orange zest, mixing until well blended. Put in another bowl orange juice, sugar, amaranth and oil.
2. Mix quickly and pour over mixture.
3. Form a dough, rest a while and then take portions of this dough and roll until it gets very thin, helping with a rolling pin and a little flour.
4. Form cookies of  5 cm. in diameter and arrange in a baking sheet without grease. Carry to moderate oven for 12 minutes, or until browned.

Christmas Vegetarian Pasta

Ingredients

• 350 grams of pasta
• 1 zucchini
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 tablespoons of grated cheese
• Oil, salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Clean the zucchini, peel and cut carrots into sticks. Peel onion and cut into strips. Heat a pot of salted water to cook pasta.
2. Blanch carrots and zucchini, a couple of minutes, separately. Heat the oil in a skillet with high walls or a wok to saute vegetables.
3. Add spices to vegetables and add to pasta. Serve the pasta with sauteed vegetables with a little cheese sprinkled on top.

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