The last month of the year 2021 has arrived. On December 25 and 26, most people celebrate Christmas again with friends and/or family. Have you not yet gained inspiration for what to eat during the holidays? In this blog you can read one of our favorite vegetarian Christmas recipes: a vegan appetizer for Christmas!
What is vegetarian food?
You hear more and more often that someone has become vegetarian or eats part vegetarian. In the Netherlands there are 800,000 vegetarians and more than 4 million people who consciously opt for a meal without meat a few times a week.
But what does it mean when you eat vegetarian? Vegetarians consciously do not eat meat, fish or poultry. There can be various reasons for this, such as animal welfare or because not eating meat is better for the environment. Meat production is responsible for about 40 percent of the greenhouse gases released by the production of food. On average, 1 kilo of meat equals 5 kilos of climate.
A vegan appetizer for Christmas: pumpkin soup
The ingredients
Are you looking for a vegan Christmas recipe for your starter? Try this Thai pumpkin soup from the Vegan Effect. This dish is easy to make, especially if you are cooking for several people. In addition, the dish is vegan and budget-proof!
What do you need for a large pan of vegetarian Thai pumpkin soup?
- 1.5 kilos of pumpkin
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 500 ml for vegetable stock
- Onion, 1 red onion and 2 shallots
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Small piece of ginger
- Red pepper
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Lime
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- Optional: pepper that you can add to taste
Want to decorate the pumpkin soup with toppings? You can use coriander, chopped peanuts and/or spring onions for this.
The method
Step 1 : Carve your pumpkin. You don’t have to take the skin off. Is cutting difficult? Warm the pumpkin in a preheated oven at 220 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.
Step 2 : Chop the (red) onion, red pepper, lemongrass, ginger and press the 2 cloves of garlic. Heat a large stockpot with 400 ml coconut milk. Add the chopped ingredients and let it fry for a few minutes.
Step 3 : Boil some water and add the vegetable stock. Add the diced pumpkin and coconut milk to the cooked vegetable stock and let it boil for about 15 minutes. After fifteen minutes, see if you can pierce the pumpkin with your fork. Does this work? Then the pumpkin is cooked.
Step 4 : Now it’s time to puree your pumpkin soup until creamy. Don’t forget to take out the lemongrass. Squeeze your lime into the soup and stir well. You can optionally add pepper and different toppings.
Do you have leftover pumpkin soup? Let the soup cool at room temperature. It is easiest to divide the soup into small portions among the freezer containers. Stick your label with the date and ingredients on the packaging. You can store the pumpkin soup at -18 degrees or colder for up to 3 months.
Want to prepare the frozen pumpkin soup? This can be done by heating a pan over a low heat. Put a lid on the pan and stir the ‘block’ of soup regularly. This will prevent your soup from getting burnt.
Also check out our top 6 sustainable Christmas must-haves for 2021 if you are still looking for surprising gifts for under the Christmas tree!
