A Vegetarian Dinner to Remember

If you’re wondering what to cook for a vegetarian dinner this Christmas, Le Cordon Bleu Chefs are happy to propose a menu for the whole table to enjoy.

QUINOA TRIO, FENNEL WITH ORANGE, KALAMATA SALAD

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

TROPICAL COCONUT TARTLETS

INGREDIENTS - SERVES 4

Day before: 15 ml olive oil, 10 g finely chopped mild onion, 100 g organic quinoa trio, 1/2 bay leaf, 1 pinch curry powder, 1 pinch ground turmeric, 1 pinch fine salt, 2 volumes mineral water, on the day: 1 tsp fennel seeds, 2 small fennels (with green fronds or 4 sprigs of dill), 2 organic oranges, 60 g Kalamata black olives, 45 ml olive oil, 1 pinch salt

DAY BEFORE

METHOD

Cook the quinoa: use the same method as for a risotto. Heat the olive oil. Add the onion and sweat for about 3 minutes. Add the quinoa trio and heat for a few minutes. Stirring continuously, add bay leaf, spice and salt. After a few more minutes deglaze with the water and cook without stirring for 15-17 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to cool completely. Then refrigerate.

ON THE DAY

Step 1: blanch the fennel seed, drain.

Step 2: wash the fennel and set aside the green fronds. Peel the fennel with a vegetable peeler. Slice very finely on a mandolin, place in iced water for a few minutes. Drain well.

Step 3: remove a few thin strips of peel from the orange with a vegetable peeler, then cut into a julienne and blanch. Remove the segments from the orange and cut each into 2 or 3 pieces.

Step 4: pit the Kalamata olives, cut each into 4.

Step 5: gently toss all the ingredients in olive oil and salt, add the cooked quinoa.

Step 6 to serve: arrange the salad ingredients harmoniously to produce height, decorate with fennel fronds or dill.

INGREDIENTS - SERVES 4

2 x 500 g acorn squash, olive oil, salt & pepper, filling: olive oil, 1 onion, finely chopped, 1 carrot, cut into small dice, 1 celery stick, cut into a small dice, 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 20 g tomato purée (paste), 1 tsp ras al hanout spice, 250 g cultivated mushrooms, diced, 200 g cooked chickpeas, salt & pepper, 4 sprigs thyme, 50 g walnuts, chopped, decoration: pumpkin seeds, oil, chopped parsley

Step 1: preheat the oven to 220°C.

METHOD

Step 2 acorn squash: cut the acorn squash into halves. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut a small slice from the rounded side so each half sits flat. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and drizzle with olive oil. Coat squash with oil, season and place cut side down on the lined baking tray. Place in the oven and bake until tender, about 30 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and turn the squash over. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Using a soup spoon, scoop out the flesh, leaving about 5 mm of flesh so the squash shells keep their shape. Cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

Step 3 filling: heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan and add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Sweat without colouring until the vegetables begin to soften. Add tomato purée and cook 1-2 minutes. Stir in ras al hanout and cook until fragrant. Add the mushrooms, stir to combine and cook 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. Lightly crush the chickpeas and stir into the mixture along with the cooked squash. Stir in 60 ml of water and season to taste. Stir well until heated through, adjust seasoning as needed. Remove from the heat and mix in the thyme and walnuts.

Step 4 bake stuffed acorn squashes: lightly oil the interior of the squash shells and season with salt and pepper. Fill the shells with the filling. Place in the oven for about 25 minutes or until heated through.

Step 5 to serve: toss pumpkin seeds in hot oil, drain. Sprinkle over the stuffed acorn squashes along with chopped parsley.

INGREDIENTS - 6 TARTLETS

6 x 4 x 7.5 cm moules à brioche froids / 6 x 4 x 7.5 cm brioche moulds chilled, pineapple & lime chutney: 5 limes, 100 g pineapple, cut into a small dic, 50 g passion fruit purée, 1 vanilla pod (bean), 15 g honey, banana shortbread pastry: 24 g milled flaxseeds, 40 g ground almonds, 70 g banana purée, 35 ml maple syrup, 1 g fine “fleur de sel » sea salt, coconut oil, 35 g dessicated coconut, tropical cream: 65 ml coconut milk, 15 g mango purée, 25 g passionfruit purée, 15 g cornflour (cornstarch), 60 g honey, 1 g salt, 1.5 bananas, sliced into rounds, 30 g cocoa butter, 30 ml coconut oil, coconut meringue: 170 g sugar, 1.5 g agar-agar, 60 ml water, 100 ml aquafaba, 30 g coconut sugar, decoration: unrefined raw sugar, fresh coconut shavings, borage flowers

METHOD

Step 1 pineapple & lime chutney: grate the zest of two lime, set aside half for the decoration. Juice all the limes. Combine all the ingredients in a pan and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Cool and refrigerate.

Step 2 banana shortbread pastry: grind the milled flaxseeds in a blender. Roast the ground almonds in the oven heated to 145 °C for 10 to 15 minutes, then cool. Mix all the ingredients together. Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out to 25 x 20 cm. Refrigerate until very cold. Grease chilled moulds with coconut oil and coat with desiccated coconut. Cut 8 cm Ø disks from the dough and line the moulds; using fingers to press the dough against the sides of the moulds. Bake in the oven heated to 155 °C for 15 minutes, remove from the moulds and return to the oven at 140 °C for another 15 minutes.

Step 3 tropical cream: combine coconut milk, fruit purées, cornflour, honey, salt and banana slices in a pan. Whisk to the boil, then simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cocoa butter and coconut oil. Blend with a hand-held blender to emulsify then cool.

Step 4 coconut meringue: prepare an Italian meringue. Mix the sugar with the agar-agar and add the water. Cook the sugar syrup to 121°C. Whisk the aquafaba until foamy and stable, then add the sugar and whisk until firm. Whisk the sugar syrup into the whipped aquafaba and continue whisking until cold.

Step 5 assembly: place a spoonful of pineapple and lime chutney in the base of the tartlet shells, add the tropical cream to fill to the top rim. Finish with the coconut meringue. Sprinkle meringue with unrefined raw sugar and brown lightly with a blowtorch. Decorate with coconut shavings, the reserved grated lime zest and borage flowers.

Chef Nicolas Belorgey, Pastry and Bakery chef at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, proposes a chestnut loaf recipe to accompany the vegetarian menu.

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 6-8

30 minutes, plus proofing, resting, and baking time

• 215 g water

• 3 g yeast, fresh

• 300 g baker flour

• 30 g chestnut flour

• 40 g chestnut paste

• 5 g salt

• 20 g butter, softened

To assemble

• A little extra vegetable oil (sunflower or grapeseed)

• Bakers flour for dusting

METHOD

Step 1: in a large mixing bowl, dilute the yeast in the water, add the remaining ingredients and gently

combine into a dough using a plastic scraper. Take the dough onto a lightly floured workbench and knead until the dough becomes smooth and firm.

Step 2: cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave to proof at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size.

Step 3: gently degas the dough, take a piece of 380 g and handshape it into a tight ball. Hand shape the smaller piece of remaining dough into a tight ball, cover both pieces with a damp cloth and leave to rest for 20 min.

Step 4: using a rolling pin and a little dusting flour, flatten the smaller piece of dough into a disk of about 25 cm in diameter. Lightly oil the centre of the disk using a pastry brush and place the larger piece onto the disk with the smoothest side facing down. Fold the edges of the disk back to the centre in order to enclose the larger ball of dough inside. Place the loaf upside down in a floured proofing basket, cover with a damp cloth and leave to proof at room temperature for 60-90 minutes.

Step 5: pre-heat the oven at 230°C.

Step 6: gently turn the loaf out of the proofing basket onto a non-stick baking tray. Using a razor blade or a very sharp knife, make incisions in a cross shape to open the outer part and expose the inner part. Load into the pre-heated oven, add a burst of steam with the steam function or by pouring a dash of water at the bottom of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Step 7: sit the loaf onto a cooling rack until cool.