As a vegetarian, Thanksgiving has always been about the side dishes for me -- but when preparing a full-on veg Thanksgiving, I feel compelled to make some sort of "main dish" or "entree" portion of the meal. While I would be happy gorging myself on sides, others might miss something "meaty."
What to make? I have tried stuffed squash and pot-pie type entrees in the past, both of which I've found too filling, taking up way too much precious "side dish" space in my tummy! (Oh yeah . . . and don't forget about "pie space!") I thought about making some sort of seitan roast this year, but even though Dan looooooooves all things mock meat, I've never been a seitan fan. What to do? Chickpea Cutlets to the rescue!
Pictured with the cutlets is a side of garlic-mashed potatoes, (no recipe necessary at my house -- just boil up a bunch of potatoes with many cloves of garlic, and mash with Earth Balance, salt, pepper, and homemade, unsweetened almond milk until creamy,) and my now go-to standby, Mushroom Gravy. While mashed potatoes aren't traditionally on my family's Thanksgiving table, they are a MUST for Dan, and as far as I'm concerned, it's another avenue for gravy, right? Yum!
I would make the Chickpea Cutlets again in a heartbeat -- the base is easy enough to whip up ahead of time, (and I've even pre-stretched the cutlets and stored them in the fridge between sheets of parchment,) and fry up in no time. I easily kept this double-batch warm under a foil tent while I finished mashing the potatoes and tying up other odds and ends. Dan's brother, Ryan, joined us for dinner, and this was one of the things Ryan went back for -- and when really hungry, Dan can take down two to three cutlets in one sitting.
What have been your winning veg Thanksgiving entrees?
2 comments:
Those cutlets look and sound great. My fave side dishes are anything to do with sweet potatoes and yams. Also maple glazed brussel sprouts are a fave.
That gravy looks like it should be on everything! Soooooooo goooood!
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