Ok, I am completely ready for the Thanksgiving season now. I needed 10 days to warm myself up, but now it has arrived and I am ready!
This week I have something special for you! I have done many Thanksgiving’s around here- but I this year, I have created a bunch of special dishes that you can serve at your Thanksgiving table OR combine for….
The Ultimate Vegan Thanksgiving!
I have quite a lot of plant-based eaters here on the blog, many who are always trying to eat better, and many who just love really good veggies! There are also many people hosting Thanksgiving that have vegetarians and vegans coming to eat and they are not quite sure about what to serve- So it only felt right to make sure that there was Thanksgiving available for everyone!
So let us start with the main course. A Pot of Gold- fitting name for such a lovely, golden, bright dish that is buttery, rich and indulgent with NO dairy!
It’s a creamy and delicious arborio rice with creamy pumpkin puree, fragrant saffron and golden chantrelle mushrooms. A little drizzle of truffle oil if you are feeling fancy and want to make it extra special.
I served this risotto in sugar pumpkins, hollowed out and roasted, then filled with the risotto so that you can scoop chunks of cooked pumpkin out when eating your risotto.
Of course you could serve it just in bowls, OR you could hollow and scrape one bigger pumpkin (I love cinderella and cheese varieties) and roast that until soft (I have done it that way too and it was a show stopper!!)
I have presented this as a main course, but it’s lovely as a side dish for everyone. That I think is definitely best served in one big pumpkin for your Thanksgiving spread.
- 4 sugar pumpkins, scraped clean
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, small diced
- 2 cups risotto
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound chantrelle mushrooms
- Sprigs of fresh thyme
- Kosher salt
- Optional: truffle oil drizzle at the end
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the pumpkins and their lids on a sheet pan. Drizzle the inside of the pumpkins with olive oil and then sprinkle them on the inside with kosher salt. Bake for about 30 minutes.
- While the pumpkins are baking, make the risotto:
- In a pot, add the vegetable stock and the pumpkin puree to a medium pot and bring to a simmer over low heat.
- In a large heavy pan or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, until soft.
- Add the rice, saffron and bay leaf to cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes until the rice is translucent except for a white center. Add the wine and stir well.
- Start adding the stock 1 cup at a time while continuously stirring with a wooden spoon. As the stock is absorbed, add another cup. Continue until all the stock has been incorporated and the rice is cooked to al dente. This should take about 20-25 minutes.
- In a separate pan, add the olive oil and thyme over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt, cooking and stirring often for about 10 minutes until golden around the edges.
- In the final few minutes, add the chantrelles and thyme to the risotto, stirring until well incorporated and the rice is creamy and cooked through. Season with kosher salt and serve hot.
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