Vegan who's allergic to citric acid

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Mad Cook

Master Chef
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
5,118
Location
North West England
In July I'm hosting a gathering of friends (10-15 of them) for the weekend for our local canal locks festival, one of whom is a vegan with citric acid allergy and there are a couple of vegetarians and the rest are omnivores.

I'm looking for recipes for a crowd that will keep the carnivores, veggies and vegans happy. I don't want to spend the weekend slaving over a hot stove but by the same virtue I don't want the veggies and the vegan to feel they are putting me to a lot of trouble. Salads are fine but given the vagaries of the British climate the weather could be anything from a heat wave to wet and cold (we once had snow in JUNE!) so I don't want us to be shivering over cold food.

I have access to the usual stuff - non-dairy spreads and "milks", cheeses, etc., vegetarian and vegan alternatives and other things as we have a very good health food store in the village and ordinary supermarkets in the vicinity.

I don't want to go down the packaged nut roast mix route so some interesting and hopefully delicious recipes would be good, particularly if the preparation work can be done in advanced.

No tomatoes please, due to the citric acid thing.
 
For appetizers or something to hold the crowd at bay while the rest of dinner gets set, how about either a tapenade or caponata. I think one is olive centric and the other is egg plant. I made pea pods/ snow peas unzipped and filled with cream cheese, putzy as all get out, but good. Pesto, smeared on thin sliced baguettes, is good; Or pile on some-more and make it glamorous. We used a slice of small tomato, and a slice of fresh mozzarella prepared recent. Went over much better than when we set a small bowl of pesto surrounded with plain baguettes slices. I think you could easily make some with sliced cucumber and some with tomatoes.

This is a dish we have been making since the early 1970's. We usually cut this in small squares, but could easily be served as a main dish, much like a frittata or quiche.

Artichoke Bars

2 jars (6 oz. each) marinated artichoke hearts in olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 large eggs
1/4 cup fine dried bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon each pepper and dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Preheat oven to 350° / 180 C and put a 10-in. cast-iron skillet or 9 inch square baking pan into oven to heat.

Drain marinade from 1 jar of artichokes into a frying pan. Drain remaining artichokes; reserve marinade for other uses. Chop all artichokes.

Heat marinade in frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Whisk eggs in a bowl to blend. Stir in bread crumbs, pepper, oregano, and hot sauce. Stir in cheese, parsley, artichokes, and onion mixture.

Remove skillet from oven. Protecting your hands, wipe it quickly with an oiled paper towel.

Pour in custard and bake, uncovered, until custard feels set when lightly touched, about 30 minutes. Let sit at least 15 minutes before cutting into 1-in. squares.

Make ahead: Up to 1 day, chilled. Reheat, uncovered, 12 minutes at 325°.

Note, heating skillet or pan in oven promises more crispiness. We never do this, just use a little of the jarred marinade / oil to wipe the bottom of a pan.


Note: Do not leave in metal pan, esp cast iron. The artichokes take on a metallic flavor. We chill, and serve at room temp.
 
Last edited:
For appetizers or something to hold the crowd at bay while the rest of dinner gets set, how about either a tapenade or caponata. I think one is olive centric and the other is egg plant. I made pea pods/ snow peas unzipped and filled with cream cheese, putzy as all get out, but good. Pesto, smeared on thin sliced baguettes, is good; Or pile on some-more and make it glamorous. We used a slice of small tomato, and a slice of fresh mozzarella prepared recent. Went over much better than when we set a small bowl of pesto surrounded with plain baguettes slices. I think you could easily make some with sliced cucumber and some with tomatoes.

This is a dish we have been making since the early 1970's. We usually cut this in small squares, but could easily be served as a main dish, much like a frittata or quiche.

Artichoke Bars

2 jars (6 oz. each) marinated artichoke hearts in olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 large eggs
1/4 cup fine dried bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon each pepper and dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Preheat oven to 350° / 180 C and put a 10-in. cast-iron skillet or 9 inch square baking pan into oven to heat.

Drain marinade from 1 jar of artichokes into a frying pan. Drain remaining artichokes; reserve marinade for other uses. Chop all artichokes.

Heat marinade in frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Whisk eggs in a bowl to blend. Stir in bread crumbs, pepper, oregano, and hot sauce. Stir in cheese, parsley, artichokes, and onion mixture.

Remove skillet from oven. Protecting your hands, wipe it quickly with an oiled paper towel.

Pour in custard and bake, uncovered, until custard feels set when lightly touched, about 30 minutes. Let sit at least 15 minutes before cutting into 1-in. squares.

Make ahead: Up to 1 day, chilled. Reheat, uncovered, 12 minutes at 325°.

Note, heating skillet or pan in oven promises more crispiness. We never do this, just use a little of the jarred marinade / oil to wipe the bottom of a pan.


Note: Do not leave in metal pan, esp cast iron. The artichokes take on a metallic flavor. We chill, and serve at room temp.
Thanks you for your suggestions but too many of your ingredients are no-nos for the citric acid allergy (this is genuine, hospital diagnosed allergy, not quack-ery

Mozzarella and cheddar cheeses aren't vegan, neither is anything with eggs in it
 
Back
Top Bottom