My Favorite Holiday – Vegan Style

Here’s a recipe I use for Thanksgiving every year because it’s always such a hit. The pic of my friend Franny licking her lips proves it. It was her first Thanksgiving (she’s British) and she LOVED my stuffing. It’s a little labor intensive if you start with raw chestnuts (jarred roasted ones were $15, compared to $5 for a bag of raw ones, so duh!) but it’s worth it, plus it’s Thanksgiving, so no shortcuts! And no Thanksgiving would be complete without the gravy. Mushrooms are a good base because they help it thicken up when you cook it down. This is also one of my staples. I even made some for my class this week and they begged me to post the recipe so here you go guys!

Chestnut Stuffing

adapted (makes about 15 servings)

• 1 pound of tempeh sausage crumbles (2 8 oz packs of tempeh, and use fresh sage!)
• 1 pound loaf of day old 7-grain bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 fennel bulb, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 2 cups roasted chestnuts
• 1/2 cup vegan margarine
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine

Preheat your oven to 375º. Heat the vegan margarine in a skillet and add the onions, celery, and fennel. Cook until they start to become soft, about 7 minutes. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan, then add the sausage crumbles. Cook another minute, then add the chestnuts and cook until the liquid has evaporated. In a big mixing bowl, add the bread cubes, onion, sausage, fennel mixture, herbs, and broth, and mix well. Make sure the stuffing is moist but not too wet. Place the stuffing in a greased 4 quart baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 45 until the top is crispy.

*To roast the chestnuts yourself, preheat the oven to 425º and with a sharp knife, cut an X into each one. Put them in a baking dish with the X facing up and bake for about 3o minutes until the shells start to burst open. Let them cool and then they’re ready to peel.

Mushroom Gravy

• 1 cup of baby bella mushrooms, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine
• 2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp fresh sage
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

Cook the mushrooms and the onions in a skillet in the vegan margarine over medium heat until they start to get soft and the onions are translucent. Add the vegetable broth and soy sauce, and slowly add the flour while stirring making sure it doesn’t clump. Add the spices and turn heat down to medium-low and let cook for about 15 minutes until you reach the desired thickness.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!