Thanksgiving's new tradition - holiday menu and recipes without meat - Cover Story

Vegetarian Times, Nov, 1995 by Lillian Kayte

GOOD HOLIDAY MEMORIES start with good food. For most of us diat means the foods we remember from our childhood. My family's kitchen was under the heav influence of my mother's Eastern European culinary mindset for 364 days of the year, but on Thanksgiving Day, it became an American kitchen. My mother was in the kitchen at dawn, and soon tantalizing aromas started wafting through the house, rousing us from our sleep: vegetables caramelizing in an iron skillet, pumplun balung into sweet desserts; salads and pickles marinating in vinegary dressings; and, of course, turkey roasting in the oven.

A tasty Thanksgiving meal for vegetarians is not difficult to achieve, as most of the traditional dishes - candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, chestnuts, cranberries, salads and pickles - are meatless. The challenge always has been to provide an alternative to the turkey.

At my house, the challenge has been met with Thanksgiving No-turkey `Turkey.' The dish, resembling a roast in shape, is made by covering seitan slices with a traditional savory stuffing. Then a dramatic `turkey' skin made of commercial puff pastry finishes the dish. Although buttery in flavor, the puff pastry and stuffing are made with vegetable shortening. As an alternative, yuba, the skin that forms on the top of simmering soymilk, may be used instead. It must be soaked for a few minutes to soften it before using. Basted occasionally with margarine or shortening, it produces a deep mahogany-colored `skin' during baking.

Build your `turkey' into a dramatic centerpiece if you like, but if you prefer a simpler presentation, just layer the ingredients in a 2-quart casserole dish.

The remainder of the dishes are steeped in my own family tradition. In fact, the stuffing is identical to the one my mother made year after year. But if your favorite stuffing is different and includes chestnuts, pecans, apples or raisins, feel free to add them.

One caveat: Cherished food memories are sacred at Thanksgiving, and while it might be nice to add a new dish once in a while, changing the menu could give rise to a family rebellion. In other words, experiment sparingly. If the cranberry sauce your family knows and loves comes from a can complete with indents around the middle, don't even think of leaving it off the menu.

Almost all of the dishes on the following menu can be made a day ahead of time. Not only will flavors have a chance to blend together, you'll be mellower on T-day when you have less cooking to do.

Braised Kale

It takes only a minute or so to finish this side dish. Prepare it last to ensure that the kale retains its bright color and fresh taste.

2 large bunches fresh kale, washed in cold water 2 small scallions, finely minced 2 Tbs. margarine 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. sugar White pepper to taste

Destem Kale by holding stem with one hand and tearing leafy portion away from you with other hand. Discard stems and ribs; julienne. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add kale; cook, uncovered, 1 minute. (Taste a shred; it may need 1 extra minute.) Place in colander; run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain well; refrigerate. (If desired, this step can be done the day before.)

Just before serving, melt margarine in a large nonstick skillet. Add scallions; saute 1 minute. Add kale; sprinkle with salt, sugar and pepper. Reheat gently 2 minutes, tossing carefully. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Thanksgiving

No-Turkey `Turkey'

Look for prepared `chicken'-flavored seitan in the refrigerated or frozen-food section of your health food store. Alternatively, the dry mix version works well, and leaves behind a delicious liquid with which to make brown gravy.

2 1-lb. loaves multigrain bread 2 Tbs. margarine 2 medium carrots, finely diced 2 large stalks celery, finely diced 1 large onion (2 medium), finely diced Freshly ground black pepper to taste 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley 1 tsp. crumbled whole leaf sage 1/2 cup egg substitute or equivalent Egg Replacer (see glossary) 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water 2 lb. 'chicken'-flavored seitan, cut horizontally into 1 -inch thick slices (see glossary) 1 cup Rich Brown Gravy (see recipe, p. 46) 1 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed, or yuba (see note and glossary)

Break Bread into 1-inch chunks; dry in a large bowl, uncovered, at least 8 hours.

Melt margarine in a large nonstick skillet over medium-bigh heat. Add carrot, celery and onion; saute, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Transfer to a large mixing bowl; cool to lukewarm. Add pepper, bread cubes, parsley, sage, egg substitute or Egg Replacer, and broth or water. Toss to combine; set aside at least 30 minutes to allow liquids to soak into bread.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty foil; spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Brush seitan with gravy on both sides; arrange overlapping slices on foil in a row, mounding in center. Press stuffing mixture around seitan to cover completely. Wet hands lightly, and press into a neat oval.