I invited my immediate family over for dinner last Sunday. I wanted to impress them by making a few of my favorite vegan dishes.
Sean and I are the only vegans in our family. How are they going to get through a meal without the presence of any red meat, fish, cream, butter, eggs, or cheese? Well I was determined to show them how delicious vegan meals can be!
Creating a vegan dinner party menu even carnivores will love seemed like a fun challenge! The meat-eaters won’t even notice the lack of meat. The evening will be just as delicious, beautiful, and satisfying as it would be if I was cooking a meal for a group of people who eat everything.
I am going to make 3 dishes, full of flavor and many ingredients. I want to make sure my family feels like they’ve got a balanced meal with plenty on their plates. A meal without meat or dairy doesn’t have to be a meal without substance.
I was so eager to see the expression on their faces. Its going to be priceless. My end goal is to have Veganism not seem so alien to them anymore.
I headed off to Whole Foods to purchase all my groceries, for my 3 dishes.
MY FIRST DISH:
Vietnamese Vegetable Sandwich with Sriracha and a side of Roasted Gai Lan
I chose this because its a hearty meal and has a tangy sweet flavor mixed with a spicy sriracha sauce. I also love the crunch of the baguette.
Servings for 2
Ingredients:
2 small baguettes
2 carrots
1 bunch gai lan
1 kirby cucumber
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 inch piece of ginger
1 tsp white sesame seeds
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp sriracha
1/4 cups vegan mayonnaise
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Wash and dry the fresh produce.
Cut off and discard the bottom inch of the gai lan stems. Halve each piece length wise through the stem.
Quarter the mushrooms.
Peel and roughly chop the ginger.
Halve the baguettes.
Thinly slice the cucumber into rounds.
Peel the carrots and grate on the large side of a box grater.
In a medium bowl, combine the cucumber, carrots, sugar, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. While the vegetables marinate, line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Place the gai lan on the prepared sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to thoroughly coat. Arrange in an even layer.
Roast stirring halfway through 12 minutes or until lightly browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven.
Reserving the marinating liquid, drain the marinated vegetables.
Top the roasted gai lan with the reserved marinating liquid. Carefully stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer to a plate and set aside in a warm place. Remove and discard the foil from the sheet pan.
3. While the gai lan roasts, in a medium pan heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil on medium until hot. Add the mushrooms, cook with out stirring for 2 minutes. Continue cooking and add the ginger for an additional minute or until fragrant. Turn off the heat.
4. While the mushrooms cook, in a bowl combine the vegan mayo and as much of the sriracha as you'd like. Depending on how spicy you'd like the dish to be. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Place the baguettes on the same sheet pan, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Toast in the oven 4 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer to a cutting board.
6. Spread the sriracha mayonnaise onto the cut sides of the toasted baguettes. Top the baguette bottoms with the cooked mushrooms and marinated vegetables. Complete the sandwiches with the baguette tops. Cut in half on an angle.
Divide the sandwiches and dressed gai lan between 2 dishes. Garnish the gai lan with the sesame seeds.
Enjoy!
MY SECOND DISH:
Spanish Style Potato & Chickpea Stew with Swiss Chard and Aioli
I chose this dish because of the flavor and numerous colors. Its a very warm and filling dish with a sweet lift due to the mandarin orange.
Servings for 2
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chickpeas
2 scallions
1 bunch swiss chard
1 clove garlic
1 pixie mandarin
3 yukon gold potatoes
3 tbsp vegan mayo
2 tbsp roasted almonds
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp of the chickpea spice blend ( Make equal parts and blend together; ground cumin, smoke paprika, ground turmeric)
Instructions:
1. Wash and dry fresh produce.
Medium dice the potatoes.
Cut off and discard the root ends of the scallions; thinly slice, separating the white bottoms and green tops.
Separate the chard leaves and stems; roughly chop the leaves and thinly slice the stems, keeping them separate.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Halve the mandarin, squeeze the juice into a bowl.
Peel and finely chip the garlic; using the flat side of your knife, smash until it resembles a paste.
Roughly chop the almonds.
2. In a large high sided pot heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium high until hot.
Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, or until browned and softened.
3. Add the white bottoms of the scallions and chard stems to the pan, Cook stirring frequently 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and spice blend. Cook stirring frequently 2 minutes until dark red and fragrant.
4. Add the chickpeas, chard leaves, mandarin juice and 1 1/2 cups of water to the pan, season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, 6 minutes or until thickened and the potatoes have softened. Turn off the heat.
5. While the stew cooks, in a bowl, combine the mayonnaise and as much of the garlic paste as you'd like. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Divide the finished stew between 2 dishes. Top with the aioli. Garnish with the almonds and green tops of the scallions.
Enjoy!
MY THIRD DISH:
Roasted Cauliflower & Couscous Salad with Lemon Yogurt Sauce and Spiced Tahini Dressing
I chose to make this dish because I love how versatile cauliflower is. It has a light and fresh, nutty sweet flavor. I love all 3 dishes, but this one was my number one favorite!
Servings for 2
Ingredients:
3/4 cup couscous
1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt
1 persian cucumber
1 bunch parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 head cauliflower
1 lemon
2 tbsp roasted almonds
1 oz medjool dates
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp tahini dressing spice blend (Make equal parts and blend together; za'atar and aleppo pepper)
Instructions:
1. Heat a medium pot of salted water to boiling on high.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Wash and dry the cauliflower. Cut off and discard the stem end and leaves of the cauliflower; cut the head into 1 inch thick slices, keeping them as intact as possible.
Place on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, gently turn to coat. Arrange in a single even layer.
Roast 25 minutes, or until browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven.
2. While the cauliflower roasts, add the couscous to the pot of boiling water. Cook uncovered 22 minutes until tender.
Drain thoroughly and return to the pot. Set aside in a warm place.
3. While the couscous cooks, wash and dry the produce.
Use a peeler, remove the yellow rind of the lemon, avoiding the white pith, mince the rind to get 2 teaspoons of zest. Quarter and deseed the lemon.
Peel and finely chop the garlic, using the flat side of your knife, smash until it resembles a paste.
Thinly slice the cucumber into rounds.
Pit and roughly chop the dates.
Roughly chop the almonds.
Roughly chop the parsley leaves and stems.
4. While the couscous continues to cook in a bowl, combine the tahini spice blend, the juice of 1 lemon wedge, 3 tablespoons of water, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. While the couscous continues cooking, grab another bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon zest, the juice of 1 lemon wedge, as much of the garlic paste, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
6. To the pot of cooked couscous, add the cucumber, dates, almonds, half of the parsley, and the juice of the remaining lemon wedges. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Divide the yogurt sauce between 2 dishes, spread into a thin layer.
Top with the finished couscous and roasted cauliflower. Garnish with half the tahini dressing and the remains parsley. Serve with the remaining tahini dressing on the side.
Enjoy!
The dinner party was a total success. My mother thought the sandwich was a bit too spicy, so if you are not a fan of spice, cut back on the sriracha. My mothers favorite dish was the roasted cauliflower. My sister loved the chickpea stew, and my brother in law loved the spicy vietnamese sandwich. My step father ate everything and devoured it all!
They walked away full and satisfied!
Hopefully I converted them to the green side!
XOXO
Megan The Vegan Mom