Growing up, when I would visit my Abueti, she would often greet me with a little sheet pan of freshly crisped chicharrón, pulled from a small hunk of pork shoulder that she would roast in the toaster oven in her New York City apartment. (The regular oven is for storage. If you know, you know.) It’s a memory I often associate with this time of year, as many Latinos often anchor their Christmas and New Year’s celebrations around a crackling, showstopping pernil.
“Big hunk of meat” is not exactly something I would have thought was easy to veganize, and the scores of vegetarians and vegans who have settled for a head of cauliflower during a celebratory meal know this plight well. But a couple of weeks ago, my colleague Christina Morales showed up to the office with what she said was vegan pernil. My eyes went wide.
They only widened further once I tried this vegan jackfruit pernil, which she adapted from a recipe by Lyana Blount, a cookbook author and pop-up cook here in New York. It was juicy yet crisp at the edges, seasoned with sazón, adobo, sofrito and plenty of garlic, citrus and oregano. I was stunned at its depth of flavor. I wondered what my Abueti would make of it.
“Many are transforming their family recipes, traditionally made with meat or dairy, into vegan showstoppers so good that the abuelas and tías prefer the vegan adaptations,” Christina wrote this week of these spins on Latin American holiday classics.
As showstopping-centerpiece season rolls on, Melissa Clark’s vegetable phyllo pie is another option for your upcoming potlucks and parties. She seamlessly serves a crowd with a generously spiced stew of cauliflower, chickpeas, sweet potato and zucchini, which she transforms into a festive main dish by tucking it into buttery layers of store-bought dough. By baking it on a sheet pan, you end up with an easy-to-share slab pie that’s visually impressive but simple to execute.
You don’t have to build a holiday party spread around a single dish, though. I’m partial to an appetizer bonanza, and I truly enjoy toiling over dainty puff pastry delights, artful canapés and snackable stuffed vegetables over the course of a couple of days. For my own festive tableau, I’m thinking I’ll definitely include Kay Chun’s garlicky stuffed mushrooms, and perhaps even Aaron Hutcherson’s spicy sweet potato and Cheddar croquettes. Of any of those, I think Abueti would approve.
Stuffed Mushrooms
One More Thing!
On the subject of holiday parties, you’ll want something to wash down those appetizers and centerpieces. Look no further than Rebekah Peppler’s latest, a spiced holiday punch that everyone will want to drink. That’s because Rebekah suggests making a single punch base by muddling lemon peels with brown sugar, spices and tea leaves, and then setting out that base for guests to make customizable drinks.
It’s good with bourbon, gin, rye or Cognac, or with no spirits at all. For a mocktail, simply mix the punch base with soda water, tonic water and a dash of bitters (though, if you’re fully abstaining from alcohol, you’ll want to skip the bitters).
