5 vegan appetizers for christmas

5 vegan snacks for the festive season

Want to have your VK cheeses in a different way? Here are some simple, quick and delicious recipes.

Vegan snacks for the holidays with VK cheese

Let's face it, the festive season can be lovely, but it can also be a little stressful. Food plays a key role and often serves as the link (or disconnect) for some celebrations. If you are the only vegan in the family, you know what I am talking about. There is a tendency to associate Christmas with excessive consumption of animal products, in many cases just out of inertia. Habits can also change, especially if they change for the better. If you are looking for surprising, easy to make and, above all, DELICIOUS vegan snacks, here is my gift to you.

5 appetizer recipes that everyone will want to try

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(Yes, also the one who keeps asking you every year 'But don't you eat ham either?')

Cheese Board with Pomegranate Compote

The cheese board is a classic that cannot be missed. But this time, we are going to give it a festive touch by adding Pomegranate compote as an accompaniment. And not just any pomegranate compote, the mythical recipe of my grandmother María.

What do you need?

-A nice board or a big plate to present- Veggie Karma cheeses - Toasted bread, rusks, biscotti, regañás, mini toasts or similar- Super special Pomegranate compote (here is the recipe)- Optional: Fruits and vegetables (grapes, apple slices, pear, persimmon or cucumber, figs, cherry tomatoes, carrot or celery sticks, etc). You can also add dried fruits such as walnuts or almonds.

And now, let's move on to what will make this board the star of the night: Pomegranate compote

Ingredients:

2 pomegranates, 2 tablespoons of cane sugar, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1/2 vanilla pod.

Preparation:

Pomegranate compote.

Preparation:- Clean the pomegranate and put the seeds in a blender - Strain with a sieve or muslin and keep only the liquid. (You can eat what's left over. It's not particularly good, but it's high in fibre)

In a small saucepan, add the pomegranate juice, sugar, lemon and vanilla pod and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid has thickened.

Serve in a small jar and add to our spectacular cheese board.

Chips of Kale and Karmesano

In Italy we call it Cavolo Nero and we use it a lot in cooking. It is one of the foods richest in vitamin K, which is very necessary to promote the fixation of calcium in the bones. It also has a lot of vitamin C and is a great antioxidant. In Spain I think it is called kale, although I have seen it under the name of Kale. But let's get to the recipe, as I'm getting long-winded.

Ingredients:

- 650 g of Kale- 3 tablespoons of olive oil- 5 cloves of crushed garlic (if you don't like garlic, or you have vampires as guests, you can eliminate it)- Salt to taste- 85 g of Karmesano (grated)

Instructions:

Remove the stems and cut the kale into pieces. Wash and dry them very well (it is very important that they are not wet) Mix the olive oil with the salt and garlic.rub the kale well with this mixture and arrange it on a baking tray (with baking paper underneath). If it is too crowded, do it in 2 batches or use 2 trays. Bake in the oven at 150°C for 10-15 minutes or until crispy, remove the tray, leave to cool for a couple of minutes and sprinkle with your Karmesano.

Mushrooms with smoked aubergine cream and cubes of Semi-cured with Herbs Provencal

Ingredients:

- 2 medium Aubergines- 10 - 12 Portobello mushrooms (or similar)- 1 garlic- 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika- 2 teaspoons cumin powder- Salt and pepper to taste- 60g of semi-cured with Provencal herbs

Instructions:

Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems (we are going to stuff them, so we need space for the stuffing), grill them for about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Take a fork and prick the aubergines a little (this will prevent them from exploding during cooking). Wrap them (separately) in aluminium foil and put them directly on the heat, turning them occasionally. They will be ready in about 10-15 minutes.

We're looking for the skin to char a little and the meat to take on a slightly smoky flavour.

If you don't have a gas cooker, you can do something similar on the griddle or even in the oven.

On the griddle, use a grill pan and grill the aubergines, unwrapped, over medium-high heat. Turn them several times until they are well done. Or use the oven. Set the oven to 180ºC and bake the aubergines for about 45 minutes, turning them a couple of times.

When they are soft inside (check by pricking them with a fork), leave them to cool a little and peel them to remove the flesh. Next, put the aubergine flesh in a blender, together with the garlic, parsley, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, until a creamy sauce is formed. Now for the fun part, and to assemble those canapés!

Pick the mushrooms and fill them with your delicious smoked aubergine cream. Garnish each mushroom with small cubes of semi-cured with Provencal herbs.

Tartlet with Asparagus, Leeks and Karmesano

12 savoury tartlets of your choice. Or, if you have time, you can make them following this healthy and original recipe https://paperandheart.com/vegan-puff-pastry/. Otherwise, you can buy one from your local shop.

Savoury tartlets are made with wholemeal spelt flour, oats and rice flour.

Ingredients Filling (for about 10 - 12 tartlets)

- 1 bunch green asparagus- 1 leek- 100 ml vegetable cream- 2 tablespoons chickpea flour- Salt- pepper- Grated Karmesano

Instructions:

Mix the 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour with 4 tablespoons of water. Whisk with a fork (or a small whisk) until the mixture is smooth. Add the vegetable cream, salt and pepper and continue to mix to combine the ingredients. Cut the leek into thin slices and the asparagus into small pieces. Sauté them in a little oil until al dente. Mix the sautéed asparagus and leeks with the cream. Fill the tartlets and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove the tray, pour a small mound of Karmesano on top of each tartlet and return them to the oven, turning on the grill function. The Karmesano au gratin on top of the tartlet will give it a special flavour that you can't imagine until you try it.

Mini puff pastries with caramelised onion, sun-dried tomatoes in oil and Lover Dose

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Ingredients:

1 Sheet of puff pastry- Caramelised onion (Use 250 julienned onion and 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar. If you don't have your own recipe, here's one: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_caramelize_onions/ It's simple, tasty, but a little time-consuming) - Dried tomatoes in oil, chopped into small pieces - Vegan cheese cubes Lover Dose (lightly crushed with a fork, to create a smooth paste)

Instructions:

Spread the puff pastry on a baking sheet and on a cutting board. Divide the sheet (lengthwise) into strips about three fingers thick. Fill each of the strips (you should get 2 or 4, depending on the size of your puff pastry) with caramelised onion, sun-dried tomatoes and the Lover Dose 'paste'. Make sure the filling is in the centre of the strips. Take each strip of puff pastry by one of the long ends and fold it over to cover the filling (it should look like a patty). Press the edges of the puff pastry slightly together to seal them and prevent the filling from coming out during baking. Once the process is finished, make cuts along the length of the strips, so that it will be easier to cut them when they are done. Make the cuts, but do not split the puff pastry. Do not separate the pieces. You will do that when they come out of the oven and once they have cooled a little. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 200ºC, taking care not to burn them on top. Remove from the oven and brush them with a little olive oil to give them a shine. If you like, sprinkle some sesame, chia or poppy seeds on them. It will give them a more original and festive look.

Enjoy the festive season and keep taking care of your environment! Giovanni