Recipes for a cruelty-free Easter

Hundreds of thousands of lambs are killed at Easter every year, along with many other innocent animals, for traditional festive celebrations. So why not try something different this year, with this complete Easter menu, using 100% vegetable ingredients, from starter to dessert.

Easy to prepare, but sure to make an impression, these recipes are delicious... and good for the animals too!

Taken from the site VeganHome, all the recipes here have been suggested by forum users over the course of time, tried-and-tested, and loved by many!

All recipes serve 4.


Starter: Endive boats
Submitted by: erbivora83; Difficulty: very easy; Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
2 heads of Belgian endive, preferably with large leaves
a handful of pitted black olives, finely chopped
a handful of pickled capers, squeezed to remove excess vinegar and chopped
red and yellow pepper (one strip of each, approximately 2cm wide), diced
a little parsley, chopped

Instructions
Put the olives, capers, peppers and parsley in a bowl. Add a drizzle of oil, mix and leave to stand.
Meanwhile, wash and dry the endive; remove the leaves and arrange on the serving plate.
Fill the leaves with the vegetable mix and serve.


First course: Maccheroncini with saffron and mint
Submitted by: Lifting_Shadows; Difficulty: Easy; Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
320 g wholewheat maccheroncini
4 zucchini (approximately 400 g)
tomatoes (approximately 400 g)
1 sachet saffron
10 mint leaves, torn into pieces (alternatively use dried mint)
wholewheat flour
breadcrumbs
salt
oil

Instructions
Cut the zucchini into short sticks, not too thickly, coat with the flour and fry in the hot oil. Avoid overcooking them; they should be just golden, so keep the flame fairly low. Drain on kitchen paper.
Put the water on to boil for the pasta.
Cut the tomatoes into quarters and fry over a high heat in a small quantity of oil. When they are ready, add the zucchini, mint, saffron, breadcrumbs (use more or less depending on taste), season to taste, and continue to cook over a high heat.
Cook the pasta until al dente, drain, and sauté over a high heat with the vegetable and breadcrumb mixture for a couple of minutes.


Second course: Aubergine and potato bake
Submitted by: Suffi; Difficulty: Medium; Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients
4 potatoes, peeled
2 aubergines, sliced
150 g smoked tofu (available at healthfood stores)
150 ml soy cream (available at healthfood stores)
handful of chopped and mixed blanched almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
nutritional yeast
oil for frying

Instructions
Boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes (cook until just tender, but be careful not to overcook). Allow to cool slightly, then cut into slices.
Meanwhile slice the aubergines and fry them.
Lightly oil a rectangular baking dish and place a layer of potatoes on the bottom, followed by a layer of aubergine, a layer of smoked tofu, thinly sliced or crumbled, and a layer of soy cream. Repeat with another layer of each ingredient, and finish with a mixture of potatoes and aubergines. Top with cream and "vegan parmesan" (made by mixing together the chopped almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, nutritional yeast and salt).
Bake at 180°C for approximately 15 minutes. Brown under the grill to finish.


Side dish: Indian-style spinach
Submitted by: molly; Difficulty: very easy; Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 kg spinach
3 garlic cloves
oil
dried hot chillies
fresh ginger

Instructions
Boil and drain the spinach. In a non-stick pan, add enough oil to cover the bottom and fry the garlic and chilli. Add the spinach and cook for a while. Turn off the heat, and leave to cool. When the spinach is just warm, sprinkle with freshly grated ginger.


Dessert: Orange Pudding
Submitted by: ariel444; Difficulty: easy; Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
500 ml freshly squeezed orange juice, well-filtered, or unsweetened orange juice
35 g brown sugar
35 g cornflour
1 tsp agar agar (available at healthfood stores)
cinnamon
dark chocolate, grated or flaked
rum (optional)

Instructions
Put all the ingredients except the agar agar in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Add the agar agar as the mixture approaches boiling point, and at a certain point the mixture will begin to thicken. Cook over a very low flame for a few minutes then remove from the heat.
Wet the inside of 4 individual pudding moulds with the rum (if using). Pour the mixture into the moulds and allow to cool at room temperature. Transfer to the fridge and chill for at least 4-5 hours.
Turn each pudding out on to a plate dusted with cinnamon and dark chocolate, and decorate with a slice of orange and cinnamon.
If you have no agar agar, simply omit it, serving the mixture in glasses and dusting with cinnamon and dark chocolate.

Enjoy!

Source: VeganHome.it - Starter: Endive boats
Author: Vegan Home

Link: VeganHome.it - Orange Pudding
Link: VeganHome.it - Aubergine and potato bake
Link: VeganHome.it - Indian-style spinach
Link: VeganHome.it - Maccheroncini with saffron and mint