It's only the very start of October but because I'm deep in the throws of procrastinating, I'm already thinking ahead to Christmas, specifically the food for the Christmas table. I'm the only vegan in my family, which generally means that we don't do a giant special meal just for me, rather we make lots of different plates of food, kind of like side dishes, but also hearty and wholesome enough to be meals in their own right, and I make a mixed plate from those. I quite like this approach because inevitably it means lots of variety for me and I also really like that it means the vegan 'side dishes' are plates that everyone shares, which keeps the social aspect of the Christmas table alive and well. It's not a whole heap of fun to be the singular person eating the weird, different dish, so the fact that I can make plates of food that everyone has some of is something that personally makes me really happy!
Taking this approach typically leaves me responsible for salads, because I think everyone kind of just assumes that vegans eat lots of vegetables (which is true, when we're being good healthy vegans). I do enjoy salads, but only when they're not boring. Ain't no body got time for some semi-wilted lettuce and a few quartered tomatoes round here. Instead I'm all about flavourful salads full of contrasting tastes. I typically like putting unconventional things in my salads, partly because it's just kind of inherently fun to stretch the boundaries, but also putting fun things in salads makes the salad itself more fun and we love a fun salad!!!
Using fruit is one of my favourite approaches, which is precisely what I've done here. I wanted to make a 'salad' with mixed green vegetables - specifically broccoli, beans and snowpeas, for no other reason than it seemed like a cool idea. Alone, those three vegetables are very average, so it was obviously necessary to spice things up a bit! I wanted to add some sweetness in, which pear alone would do but to make things extra special I roasted it in a light coating of brown sugar. I then added in some pecans for texture, but the star of the show here is definitely the crumbled vegan feta. It's a new product available at my local supermarket here in Aus and quite frankly, it's the real deal and absolutely takes this salad from slightly above average to EXCEPTIONAL. A very quick and easy drizzle of balsamic vinegar and low and behold, we have ourselves a fun, vegetable filled salad that's perfect for any occasion, including the Christmas lunch table!!
Ingredients;
1 head broccoli, cut into bit-size florets
2 handfuls green beans, the ends cut off
1 handful snowpeas, ends cut off
1 pear
2 tbsp brown sugar
Drizzle olive oil (x2)
1/2 cup pecan nuts
100gm vegan feta cheese (I used Bio Cheese Feta available at Woolworths supermarkets across Aus)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1. Preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan-forced).
2. Take the pear and cut it into thin wedges. The easiest way to do this is to halve it, repeat and keep repeating until you have a collection of wedges that are about 1cm wide.
3. In a small bowl, combine the pear wedges with 1tbsp brown sugar and a light drizzle of olive oil. Mix through well so that all the pear pieces are coated well.
4. Place the pear wedges on a lined baking tray, then cook them in the oven for approx. 15 mins. They should be lightly golden and the ends may just start to brown a little deeper. Keep an eye on them though - depending on how thick you cut them they may cook a little faster!
5. While the pear is cooking, place the pecan nuts in the same spare bowl you used previously along with 1 tbsp brown sugar and a light drizzle of olive oil. Mix through well, and just as you did with the pear wedges, place the pecans on a lined baking tray.
6. When the pears have cooked, remove them from the oven and place to one side to allow to cool. Place the pecans in the oven, and cook just as you did with the pears, for approx. 10 mins. The easiest way to judge whether the nuts are lightly roasted enough is smell - if you open the oven and it smells delicious and nutty, then they'll be done! When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
7. Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
8. When the water has boiled, put your broccoli florets, beans and snowpeas in and cook them all together for approx. 4-5 minutes. I prefer some crunch in my vegetables, so I drain them when they're just shy of being fully cooked, though this is just personal preference!
9. When cooked, drain and rinse the vegetables.
10. Place your cooked veggies in a large bowl along with the wedges of cooked pear. Roughly chop the cooked pecans and add those in too. Crumble some of your vegan feta in then mix through well. Add in the balsamic, again mix through well and then serve!
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