All carnivores seem to think veggies are looking for something "meaty" to put on their plate in place of meat, when clearly if that were the case they'd reach for a sausage.
The first time I was a vegetarian on Christmas Day (I am a fickle omnivore), we were eating dinner at a friend of my mother’s, and my mother was embarrassed that I would be turning down turkey on some moral whim. She begged me to eat meat, just for the day. I refused, and said I’d make do with all the trimmings.
In the end she bought me some sort of lentil bake from M&S, which I was very glad of. Because the problem with half the veg-based turkey trimmings is that they’re all baked, doused, roasted or somehow swimming in animal fat.
Still, whoever is cooking does so many side dishes on Christmas Day, doing an extra one to make a vegetarian feel welcome is not that much trouble.
Risotto and stuffed peppers are strictly off the menu, though. What you need is something as rich and Christmassy as the other food, and also something which you wouldn’t eat every day.
Chestnuts fit this bill perfectly. I’m not going to describe them as “meaty” – all carnivores seem to think veggies are looking for something “meaty” to put on their plate in place of meat, when clearly if that were the case they’d reach for a sausage.
But chestnuts are very rich, creamy and substantial, and the wonderful texture marks them out as quite different from any of the vegetables you’d usually find in a casserole.
If you’re doing a fancy dinner, you might want to do something clever involving pastry or little stacks of things with your chestnut, but I think a casserole is best, and you can go in lots of different directions with it.
Most simple is a hearty root veg, onion and chestnut casserole. With mushrooms you could get a really thick pungent stew using several varieties, perhaps some porcini and some red wine, or stick to field mushrooms and add cream to thicken the dish.
If you’re worrying about whether to use fresh, vacuum-packed or tinned chestnuts: you’ll have to peel fresh ones, which is time-consuming; the vacuum-packed are probably your best option for ready-peeled freshness; some people love the tinned ones, but check they’re not tinned in a sweet sauce before you buy.
Also worth your attention:
Chocolate and Chestnut Yule Log