Amy Longard's 3 Easy Vegan Holiday Appetizers
Guest Chef and Plant-based Nutritionist Amy Longard shared with us these 3 easy vegan crostini appetizers just in time for your holiday entertaining! These delicious and colourful appetizers are made with Zengarry cashew cheeses and are perfect for your guests that are eating dairy-free or lactose-free.
Beery Mushroom Crostini
Beer and our Ale Aged cheddar style cashew cheese pair up with sautéed mushrooms in this tangy, flavourful appetizer.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
8 oz (~227 g) brown mushrooms or mushrooms of your choice, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 - 1/2 cup light beer or beer of your choice
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Fauxmagerie Zengarry cashew cheese of your choice (we used Ale Aged)
Chives, chopped, garnish
Baguette of your choice, thinly sliced
Directions:
1. In a small skillet or pan warm oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sauté the mushrooms for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until they start cooking down and sticking to the pan a bit.
2. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute. Then pour over about 1/4 - 1/2 cup beer to deglaze the pan (remove the sticky, caramelized bits). Simmer on low until the the beer is almost entirely evaporated. Add a bit of salt and crack over lots of pepper. Mix well and set aside.
3. Spread a bit of Fauxmagerie Zengarry cashew cheese on the baguette slices and top with a spoonful of mushrooms. Option to enjoy immediately or pop the baguette pieces onto a parchment lined baking try and transfer to the oven and bake at 350 F for 10 minutes to crisp up the bread and melt the fauxmage a bit. Once the baguette is crisp, remove from the oven and top with chives. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Balsamic Bruschetta Crostini
Watch as these mini vegan bruschettas made with our Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil cashew cheese disappear off your holiday appetizer table!
Ingredients:
6 roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fauxmagerie Zengarry cashew cheese, your choice (we used Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil)
Baguette of your choice, thinly sliced
Directions:
1. In a bowl, mixed together the tomatoes, basil, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Spread a bit of Fauxmagerie Zengarry cashew cheese on the baguette slices and top with a spoonful of the bruschetta mixture. Option to enjoy immediately or pop the baguette pieces onto a parchment lined baking try and transfer to the oven and bake at 350 F for 10 minutes to crisp up the bread, melt the fauxmage and warm the bruschetta. Once the baguette is crisp, remove the tray from the oven. Serve the crostini immediately and enjoy!
Notes from the kitchen: to maintain super crunchy crostini you could toast up the baguette slices in advance, and top with the fauxmage and bruschetta right before serving. This will ensure that your crostini doesn't get too soggy over time.
Maple, Mint & Pomegranate Crostini
Amy tops these vegan crostini appetizers with pomegranate and mint and our oh-so-delicious Double Crème cashew cheese! Mmmm.
Ingredients:
Pomegranate arils (seeds)
Fresh mint, thinly sliced
Maple syrup
Fauxmagerie Zengarry cashew cheese of your choice (we suggest Double Crème)
Baguette of your choice, thinly sliced
Directions:
1. Spread a bit of Fauxmagerie Zengarry cashew cheese on the baguette slices and, on a parchment lined baking try, pop the baguette pieces into the oven at 350F for 10 minutes to crips up the bread and melt the fauxmage a bit.
2. Once the baguette is crisp remove from the oven and sprinkle with pomegranate arils, drizzle with at little bit of maple syrup and garnish with mint. Enjoy!
Amy Longard is a registered holistic nutritionist and plant-based chef with formal culinary training from the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. As a consultant, speaker, nutritionist and chef she is passionate about making it easy and fun to embrace a plant-based diet. Since founding her company in 2015, she has been nominated for the 2016 and 2018 Faces Magazine Award as Ottawa's Top Nutritionist and the 2017 Danielle Perrault Trailblazer Award for her commitment and involvement in the Canadian holistic nutrition industry. She has appeared on CBC Radio, CBC News, CTV Morning, How Stuff Works, Edible Ottawa, Metro News, and a variety of blogs and podcasts speaking about plant-based health and wellness. She works throughout Canada and abroad as a chef and speaker. Please see www.amylongard.com for more information.