Eggplant, Chestnut, and Mushroom Vegan Holiday Loaf
Around the holidays, most festive gatherings tend to center around a large piece of meat (often a turkey, ham or lamb). It can be hard to get as excited about Thanksgiving when it’s so often called “turkey day” (although if you’re looking for a vegan way to celebrate turkeys, you could try adopting a turkey through the farm sanctuary). But there are vegan alternatives to grace the center of your table! There are several you can purchase, from Gardein, Field Roast, or Trader Joe’s, but if you’re less inclined for a faux-turkey, and more interested in a stunning, simple, homemade vegan centerpiece, this eggplant, chestnut and mushroom vegan holiday loaf is for you! Not only is it a beautiful show-stopper, but it is made with less than 10 ingredients, is very hearty, and perfect for a celebratory meal.
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10/31/24: This post is currently in the process of being updated. The recipe card itself has been edited, but other content on this page has not and may not match the recipe card. Please refer to the recipe card for the most up-to-date version.
For Christmas, my family has always done make your own pizza (I have no idea how that tradition started), so it is by it’s “make your own” nature very vegetarian and vegan inclusive. However, Thanksgiving has not always been so friendly. Don’t get me wrong, there has always been plenty of food I could eat- mashed potatoes, squash, vegan gravy, brussel sprouts, and of course plenty of dessert cakes and pies, but my Thanksgivings have always lacked a certain centerpiece, or focus of the meal. Last year, for the first time, I roasted my favorite brand of seitan (Sheffield Seitian) and we ate that with dinner. This year, I decided to get creative, and make my own centerpiece. My vegan holiday loaf is stuffed with warm, spiced eggplant, a savory mix of mushrooms (I used shiitake and oyster mushrooms), and punctuated by sweet notes of rich chestnuts. It’s all held together with the simplest of doughs- a premade pizza dough, to save you a lot of time- and beautifully braided. A quick brush with soy milk (or whatever plant milk you prefer) gives your dough a glossy, shiny, professional looking finish.
I actually started this process with raw, still-in-the-shell chestnuts, which definitely added a little time to the cooking. If you’re going to do that, I wrote in this soup recipe about the process of freeing the nuts from their casings (essentially, it involves roasting them to make it possible to separate the meat from the shells). The eggplant is also pre-roasted, and the mushrooms cooked, both so you’ll be sure that they’re pleasantly cooked while you can see them, but primarily so that you cook out some of the moisture (otherwise you’ll be left with a soggy, watery filling that will make it hard to get the crust to bake). Speaking of crust, I decided to keep it simple and go with a store-bought dough for my deliciously simple vegan holiday loaf (note I said “dough” not crust- you don’t want anything pre-cooked or rolled). Now pizza dough isn’t really that hard to make, but the one I used was from Trader Joe’s, and it only cost about $1.20 (you can see it here) so it seemed a worth-while cheat. If you don’t have access to pre-made dough, or you’re just a do-it-yourself type person, you can find a simple recipe like this one and whip up your own crust in no time.
The real show stopping element to this piece is the braid. It’s actually a very simple technique, but the results make you look like a professional baker. Roll the dough out nice and large (about 10×20 inches) and lay the filling in a mound down the center, leaving a generous border. Slice the edges into strips, angling the last couple so you’re left with a “V” shape on each end (like shown in the picture above). Fold both ends over, and start with the strips. Pull one over and towards the other end of the loaf, until it touches the other side, and repeat with the first strip on the other side. Continue down the loaf until the last two, that you braid before neatly tucking in to finish the vegan holiday loaf. Gently transfer to your baking sheet, brush with milk (or even vegan butter), and bake. Just like that- you’re a bread artist.
Eggplant, Chestnut, and Mushroom Vegan Holiday Loaf
Ingredients
- One large eggplant, skinned and cut into small cubes
- 8 ounces of mixed mushrooms (mix some of these- shiitake, oyster, crimini, button, portobella, porcini, etc.), chopped finely
- One onion, diced
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 cup (6 oz) shelled chestnuts (I recommend using frozen ones), cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1 tsp. dried sage
- 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
- ½ tsp. rosemary
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- One pre-made 1 lb. pizza dough
- Oil, for cooking
- 1 tbsp.. soy milk
Instructions
- In a skillet on the stove, heat a small amount of olive oil. spices and onions, and sauté until the onions start to turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another couple minutes, until fragrant. Next add the mushrooms and eggplant, season with a little salt, and cook for several minutes until they have released their moisture and start to stick to each other. Add the chestnuts and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another minute or two to meld the flavors, and then set aside to cool down.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C), and prepare a baking tray with a dusting of cornmeal or parchment paper. On a clean, floured surface, roll out your pizza dough into a large rectangle until it is roughly 10 x 20 inches. Add the filling to the center of the dough, making sure to keep about 2-3 inches clear round the edges. Cut a "V" shape on each end (leaving the bottom intact). Next make cuts down the sides of the dough, making sure you create an equal number on each side. Fold over the top and bottom "V" pieces, and then start braiding at the end furthest from you by pulling down one strip diagonally, pressing it down, and pulling the strip across from it over the first piece. Continue until you’ve reached the end of the loaf. Use a brush to gently coat wash the dough with vegan milk, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Put in the oven, and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
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Yum!
Thanks Roudi!
I am searching for a wonderful taste I experienced in the 80’s at a vegetarian restaurent in Sydney, Aust, headed by a French chef. I think it had a combination of flavours something like this. (I’m not familiar with making or preparing pizza dough, though, so am thinking how else I might make a dish from your wonderful recipe.
Interesting- I wonder how similar the two dishes are! This filling would be a great in all sorts of pasteries or pies, or you could even try making a mock “meat”loaf with it. Tell us how it works out!