A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

In the story True Harvest in Issue #142, vegetarian chef Linda Monastra explores the tradition of the meat-free Thanksgiving, and hosts her first completely meatless meal. Though planning a menu that embodied Thanksgiving's ideals of sharing and gratitude without the holiday bird that symbolises it all was a challenge, the resulting menu was a resounding success: "...We sat down at the table laden with dish upon meat-free dish. The buzz of conversation lapsed into satisfied murmurs as our guests tucked into their food. I watched my crowd dig happily into the vegetable patties and the cranberry chutney, the tempeh and the pilaf and the gratin, and felt the warmth of the occasion. Even without the bird, the meal was complete."

The Menu

More About This Menu

For this menu it's beer, not wine, that will pair best with each course. It cuts through all the spices, and it, too, has historical significance: The Pilgrims carried ale with them from England and made the decision to land at Plymouth Rock due to "our victuals being much spent, especially our beer," as one Mayflower diary noted. For pairing notes, see Party Like the Pilgrims »
Both the desserts need to be made at least a day before serving, and the ice cream can be made up to a week before serving.To save time on Thanksgiving, you can make the soup and the chutney up to two days ahead.
To make this menu vegan, omit the sour cream topping for the vegetable patties, and replace the butter with vegetable shortening. Also replace the butter in the biscuits, peas, and soup. Remove the gratin from the menu, and for dessert, serve poached pears instead of cheesecake and ice cream.

Comments (3)

by COFFEEBABE on 2011-11-01

i wanted the recipe for the peas in the pic too hard to find.

by schoppin on 2011-11-02

To make this menu vegan, you would also have to eliminate the egg in the patties and the 1/2 and 1/2 and buttermilk in the biscuits.

by EMAILNIMO on 2012-02-20

Peas With Orange and Mint

SERVES 6–8

INGREDIENTS

4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
4 cups frozen green peas
¼ cup fresh orange juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp. finely chopped mint
Peeled zest of 1 orange, julienned

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat butter in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat; add shallots, and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add peas, juice, and salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mint and orange peel before serving.