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As a transplanted American living in Paris, Ann Schreifels had the task of hosting Thanksgiving, a holiday the locals didn’t celebrate, in a city that is arguably the culinary capital of the world, to a guest list that included meat eaters and vegans.

Her solution: Try to please everyone.

Ms. Schreifels, now living in Peoria, Ill., decided to invent a recipe that used bits and pieces of other recipes and techniques from the United States and France. She created this festive Thanksgiving torte that captures the flavors of Thanksgiving using the culinary style of the French, and a combination of flavors that will appeal to diners of all stripes.

“The result was accolades from around the table,” says Ms. Schreifels. “And every time I serve it (and I mean every) someone asks for the recipe and says, ‘I’m going to serve this to my family and see if they can tell it doesn’t have meat in it.'”

The dish is suited for a main course but can also work as a flavorful side dish for turkey eaters. The bottom layer consists of chickpeas, brown rice, oats and walnuts, flavored with soy sauce, Dijon mustard and nut butter. Green lentils make the middle layer, and the top is decoratively covered with thinly sliced sweet potatoes cooked to perfection.

“In a way, this recipe proves to be much like the original Thanksgiving legend where two cultures were brought together to enjoy nature’s bounty,” Ms. Schreifels wrote. “Only in this case the two cultures were either American and French or omnivore and vegan.”

Festive Thanksgiving Torte : This dish pleases both the vegetarians and meat-eaters at your table.

View all of Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes.