Very Good Food for the Holidays: Side Dishes Reconsidered

Cooking for a diverse crowd these days often involves a little head scratching as how to make an impressive vegetarian main dish besides pasta, or a “dressing-like” side that is gluten-free, or what to do about that guest who doesn’t eat dairy.  Well, it’s not as hard as it seems as when you are looking through a disparate assemblage of cookbooks.

Consider first that many of the traditional side dishes are already VGF, or easily made that way.  Most roasted sweet potato/yam dishes already hit the mark (but ditch the marshmallows, which insult the sweet potato anyway).  If you just can’t imagine making Brussels sprouts without real bacon and breadcrumbs, consider at least adding a nice platter of mixed roasted vegetables.  The bounty available this time of year such as carrots, beets, fennel, leeks, and mushrooms are fantastic dressed simply with some olive oil, salt and fresh cracked black pepper, and roasted at 425 degrees F until fork tender, about 40 mins.  You can take it to the next level with some truffled crème fraiche – truly decadent but deceptively easy.

Below are some ideas on how to substitute minor ingredients in these classic side dishes (in progression of intensity of substitution):

Mashed Spuds
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Sometimes made indiscriminately with chicken stock	Veg stock, or (non)dairy milk of your choice – unsweetened, unflavored of course [1]	Scalloped potatoes
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Breadcrumbs
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Well, the bacon and breadcrumbs!	Smoked paprika for the bacon, and either parmesan crumbs or quinoa flake for the bread crumbs  if you can't find GF crumbs– the quinoa will add a distinct nutty flavor to the dish.	Roasted Brussels with truffle crème fraiche…………mmmmm tasty!  Though I don’t knock adding some smoked paprika also to put it over the top.
Sweet Potato/Yam Casserole with Marshmallows
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Most commercial marshmallows contain gelatin, which is made from animal hooves & hides, and thus not vegetarian	Look for vegetarian marshmallows that use agar or egg whites instead, or vegan versions. Make your own with Alton Brown’s recipe subbing agar for the gelatin he calls for.  Or check out some other gelatin alternatives.	These tubers are pretty sweet all by themselves – try pricking them with a fork and roasting them whole in a 425o oven until tender, about 40 min.  Remove from the skin and mash with a little butter, salt & pepper.  If you really need sweet, add a drizzle of maple syrup or some crushed candied pecans, or make Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes from eatingwell.com
Green Bean Casserole
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Traditionally made with chicken stock, a can of mushroom soup, and French’s fried onions, however all is not lost for this perennial favorite	Use a hearty veggie stock (such as Wolfgang Puck or homemade), VGF mushroom soup (bought or homemade with this recipe [2]) and a tablespoon of veggie starch (such as potato, corn or tapioca) and make Crispy Shallots for the topping.	Steamed green beans with 1 T grainy mustard, 1 T rice wine vinegar, 1 t agave nectar, a generous sprinkling of smoked paprika if you wish and salt & pepper – top with Crispy Shallots if you want/need/love the crunchy onions.
Gravy
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Usually made from pan drippings and thickened with a wheat flour slurry	Mmmm Mushroom Gravy, which uses an unctuous onion base for depth of flavor and is thickened with veggie starch of your choice (potato, tapioca or corn).	Mmmm Gravy sans the mushrooms? You gotta have gravy!

Please, please, please comment, facebook &/or email with questions, comments & suggestions for other holiday side dishes that need reforming, and I will brainstorm as best I can to help everyone have a very good food side dish!  

---

[1] For this I will recommend Silk brand (soy or almond) and Almond Breeze (almond) – be sure to buy UNSWEETENED & UNFLAVORED. Vanilla is great for shakes but not so well received in gravy

[2] While I do not advocate microwaving, here is an easy diy recipe for condensed mushroom soup.  If this recipe weirds you out a little – consider what you are actually eating with “regular” cream of mushroom soup.