Idea for vegan Christmas menu

Sausages and potato salad, game or the classic goose with red cabbage and dumplings – German food culture is closely linked to meat.
Especially at Christmas, it may seem obvious that a roast should be on the table. But what about vegetarians or vegans?
What can you look forward to on Christmas Eve? Despite constantly growing recipe databases full of vegan and vegetarian delicacies, Christmas dinner in particular is still a sensitive topic for meat skeptics - diet, in addition to preferences, meets one thing above all: tradition. Meat alternatives that increasingly resemble the original in terms of taste and structure can help. Above all, the trend food for 2019: the jackfruit! We now know them as burgers or curries. But the tropical miracle fruit is far more versatile. When unripe, the flesh of the largest tree fruit in the world has a fine, fibrous structure similar to that of beef, pork or chicken, making it an alternative solution for all kinds of meat dishes. Lotao's three-course menu shows how jackfruit can combine tradition and nutrition this Christmas and convince even die-hard guests of a vegan dinner.

Starter:

Easily conjured up with a finger and a bite in the mouth: the fruity wraps with jackfruit, avocado and mango are the perfect starter for all hungry Christmas elves!

Mini jackfruit wraps with avocado and mango

Mini jackfruit wraps with avocado and mango

Ingredients:

(for 2 people)

• 4 small wrap breads or tortillas
• 3 tbsp vegan herbal fresh cream
• 100 g jackfruit (e.g. natural jackfruit from Lotao )
• 1 small onion, diced
• 150 ml vegetable broth
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp paprika powder
• 2 tbsp coconut blossom sugar (e.g. Java Kiss from Lotao )
• 1 tsp chili
• salt and pepper
• 2 avocados
• 2 mangoes
• 1 red pepper
• 1 packet of raw marzipan mixture
• 50g fennel

Preparation:

1. Cut the jackfruit into cubes, peel and dice the onion. Place in a bowl along with the jackfruit pieces. Add the chili, pepper, paprika, salt and coconut blossom sugar and mix well.
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan and fry the marinated jackfruit pieces until the onion is browned. Deglaze with broth, add soy sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid has completely evaporated.
3. Spread herb cream cheese on the wrap breads and top with the cooled jackfruit pieces. Peel the avocado and mango and cut into strips along with the pepper and fennel.
4. Spread the ingredients together with small strips of marzipan on the wrap bread. Roll up the wrap and secure with toothpicks 2 cm apart.
5. Then use a sharp knife to cut each into 2 cm pieces. Arrange beautifully and serve as an appetizer. A small herb dip or a classic vinaigrette also goes wonderfully with this.

Main course:

Steaks in the vegan Christmas menu ? You heard right! The juicy jackfruit steaks impress with their unique spice and structure. The main course is spiced up with pink red cabbage rice and hearty-sweet macadamia salad.

Jackfruit steaks with red cabbage rice and macadamia salad

Jackfruit steaks with red cabbage rice and macadamia salad

Ingredients:

(for 2 people)

Jackfruit steaks

• 200 g jackfruit (e.g. natural jackfruit from Lotao )
• 50 g Saitan-Fix/Gluten flour
• 20 g yeast flakes
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder, sweet
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 100 ml vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 1 tbsp almond butter

Red cabbage rice with macadamia salad

• 100 g rice (e.g. Prince of Bengal from Lotao )
• 150 g red cabbage
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp coconut blossom sugar (e.g. Java Kiss from Lotao)
• 2 apples
• 100 g macadamia nuts
• 40 g cherry tomatoes
• 50 g lamb's lettuce
• 30g carrots
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp butter
• sea-salt

Preparation:

1. Heat a pan with a little oil and sauté finely diced onion and garlic. Place the jackfruit in a bowl and knead lightly.
2. Then mix well with the fried onions and garlic, Saitan flour, yeast flakes, salt, pepper and paprika. Fold the vegetable broth, tomato paste, mustard and almond butter into the mixture, knead everything very well and if necessary add a little more water until a doughy mass is formed.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and shape the jackfruit mixture into 2-3 steaks on a smooth surface. Place the jackfruit steaks on lightly oiled baking paper and bake for 20 minutes.
4. For an ideal roasting aroma, briefly fry the jackfruit steaks on both sides in a pan with a little olive oil. For the red cabbage rice, cook the rice according to the package instructions in a saucepan with salted water. Clean and finely chop the red cabbage.
5. Peel the apples, cut them into small pieces and cook them in salted water with the red cabbage for 20 minutes. After cooking, mix the rice and red cabbage together well, season with a little lemon juice and coconut blossom sugar and serve in a bowl.
6. For the macadamia salad, wash the lamb's lettuce and put it in a bowl. Halve the cherry tomatoes and cut the carrot into thin sticks. Add olive oil and season with sea salt and balsamic vinegar.
7. Briefly fry the macadamia nuts in a coated pan with butter, let them cool and add to the salad. Serve the steak with the pink red cabbage rice and the macadamia salad.

Dessert:

Meat lover or not - it doesn't matter with this dessert. The sweet finale is a vegan creme brulee made from rice, which also works wonders against Christmas stress . Thanks to the royal “baby basmati” with its great aroma, the dessert is very easy to prepare . The ideal ingredient for a stress-free Christmas.

 

Rice cream brulee with raspberries:

Creme brulee

Ingredients:

(for 2 people)

• 150 g rice (e.g. Prince of Bengal from Lotao )
• 700 ml almond milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 tbsp orange peel (zest from an organic orange)
• 1 teaspoon lemon peel (zest from an organic lemon)
• 100g sugar
• 500 g vegan cream
• 100 g vegan egg powder
• 3 tbsp Grand Marnier
• 100 g brown cane sugar
• 50g raspberries

Preparation:

1. Bring the almond milk to the boil together with the rice. Add the vanilla pod pulp, the orange and lemon peel, 50 g sugar and a pinch of salt to the boiling rice pudding. Simmer over a very low heat, stirring constantly, for about 20 minutes and then cool.
2. Mix the vegan egg substitute with the remaining sugar. Bring the vegan cream to the boil and slowly add it to the sugar-egg mixture. Slowly fold the cream mixture into the rice pudding and refine with Grand Marnier. Pour into molds and simmer in a hot water bath for about 15 minutes.
3. Allow to cool slightly, sprinkle with cane sugar and caramelize until golden brown using a Bunsen burner. Garnish with hot raspberries. Merry Christmas!