November/December 2008

Most of us think turkey when we picture the Thanksgiving feast, but the big bird doesn’t have to hold center stage.

If you’re a vegetarian — or if you’re hosting vegetarians — this strudel stuffed with cheese, mushrooms, spinach and tofu would make a welcome entree. It also could grace the table at a holiday dinner party.

The recipe is from Moosewood Restaurant, the venerable vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, N.Y., and is included in Vegetarian Times‘ November/December edition. The rest of the menu: Beautiful Fall Salad, Green Beans With Walnuts and Shallot Crisps, Garlicky Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Double Cranberry Chutney and Triple Nut Chocolate Tart.

Other holiday-themed features include recipes for chestnuts, potlucks, puff pastry and cookies. The magazine even offers a healthful homemade cranberry juice cocktail: Mix 1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice with 6 tablespoons agave nectar in a heatproof 2-quart or larger measuring cup. Add a 2-inch cinnamon stick, then stir in 4 cups boiling water. Let cool.

Magazine staffers also chimed in with their favorite faux turkeys:

• Tofurky Roast: A combination of wheat gluten, tofu and beans with an herbed stuffing. Serves 5; $12.99 (sold refrigerated or frozen).
• Quorn Turk’y Roast: Made of mycoprotein, which is made from a fungus. Serves 5; $6.99 (sold frozen).
• Field Roast Celebration Roast: Made from wheat gluten. Serves 4 or 8; $6.99 or $12.99 (sold refrigerated).

Mushroom, Cheese and Vegetable Strudel

Yield: 12 servings

Filling:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1½ cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 lb. white mushrooms, sliced (5 cups)
2 10-oz. bags baby spinach
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 14-oz. pkg. firm tofu, drained
8 oz. Neufchâtel cheese, softened
1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (4 oz.)
Salt
Pepper

Strudel:
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 lb. whole-wheat phyllo dough, thawed (see note)
½ tsp. poppy, sesame or fennel seeds, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 18-by-13-inch baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. To make Filling: Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, bell pepper, garlic and thyme in oil 10 minutes. Add mushrooms, and cook 10 minutes, or until wilted. Stir in spinach and nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until spinach has wilted, stirring occasionally. Drain, and cool in bowl.
3. Purée tofu, Neufchâtel cheese and Cheddar cheese in food processor until smooth. Stir into mushroom mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
4. To make Strudel: Heat oil, garlic and thyme in small pot over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant. Cool.
5. Cover bottom of prepared baking pan with 2 phyllo sheets, allowing sheets to overlap each other and hang off sides. Brush with garlic oil. Place 2 more phyllo sheets on top, and brush with garlic oil. Repeat 4 times, until you have a 6-layer bottom crust.
6. Spread Filling in crust, leaving 3-inch edge all around. Brush edges with garlic oil. Fold sides of phyllo over filling. Cover filling with 2-sheet layer of phyllo (4 sheets total), overlapping sheets in center. Brush with garlic oil. Repeat layering 2 sheets at a time until you have 4 layers (16 sheets phyllo total), brushing every second sheet with garlic oil. Tuck under edges. Sprinkle top with seeds, if desired. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting into slices.

PER SERVING: 299 CAL; 12 G PROT; 15.5 G TOTAL FAT (6 G SAT FAT); 31 G CARB; 24 MG CHOL; 541 MG SOD; 4 G FIBER; 2 G SUGARS

Note: Newly available whole-wheat phyllo dough lends a wholesome, nutty taste and golden color to the finished strudel. Veganizing this recipe is a snap too — simply substitute vegan cream cheese and vegan Cheddar cheese.