Vegetable Prussiens

As a child I only knew the sweet prussiens (french) cookies. Its made from pastry dough and in some part of switzerland they are known as "pig-ears".

Filled with chopped vegetables or whatever you like you will get a spiced or even herbed versions. The first I had the change to try was about 2 years ago. So simple and till then I didn't even think of it preparing them herbed or spiced..... 

This snack or appetizer is so great and so simple. 

Go ahead and try different fillings. 

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Vegetable Prussiens

Spicy Version

Baking paper for the sheet
1 rectangular rolled out butter puff pastry, about 340 g

Ingredients:
Filling:
250 g fine chopped mixed vegetables, such as Pumpkin, leek, celery and Chinese cabbage
1 clove garlic, crushed
Oil
Salt and pepper
1 tsp. vegan sauce thickener (instead of the egg)
1-2 Tbsp. nutrional yeast  (instead of the grated cheese, of course you can use vegan cheese, I just had non)

OR FOR A SPICIER VERSION:
1 red and 1 yellow pepper,chopped
2 onions, chopped
150 g Tomatopaste
some dash off Tabasco
cayenne pepper

Direction:
For the filling, steam the chopped vegetables and garlic in oil, cover, maybe add some water, until soften. Turn off the heat and let the vegetable cool down.

Lay the dough flat. Mix the vegetable with the sauce thickener and nutrional yeast. Spread the filling on the dough. Roll up dough from the longer two sides towards the center, moisten with some oil or soymilk to gently stick together.
Cut dough roll carefully with a wet knive into 6-8 mm wide Prussiens, place them on the baking paper sheet .

Bake the Prussiens in the middle rack of the 220 C  preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. 

Serve the Prussiens hot, warm or cold. Eiter just as a snack or for your next running party....

For the spicier version:
Mix the chopped vegetables with the Tomatopaste and season with Tabasco and cayenne pepper (as desired, how spicy you want them). Tip:
The Prussiens can be served as a appetizer, add for salads, soups or as a snack.

Filled beetroot-cucumbercups

On the third day of christmas I had my parents over for dinner. And I wanted to serve them something special and decorative. 

For the entree I wanted to make something decorative and good tasting - something not daily eaten. And so it came. 

Beside they look so great the taste do it same. The original recipe called for cream cheese, but I changed that, cause I had no natural cream cheese at home and buying one just for that I didn't wanted. As horseraddish compares very well with Beetroots and give them an additional taste, I've done so. 

My parents loved them and my mother said, that she will serve them on New Year's Day. Glad to give her an Idea.

If your still thinking what you could serve for an appetizer or snack on your New Years Day - how about these??

Enjoy them!

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Beetroot-Cucumbercups

3-4 Persons

Ingredients:
1 saladcucumber
1 small precooked beetroot
1 Tbsp. or more horseraddish
2-3 tsp. vegan soyjoghurt
agave nectar
salt, pepper

some cress for decoration

Preparation:
Wash and peel the cucumber, then cut into about 3 cm thick rolls. Hollow out the center for getting cups. 

Preheat salted water and cook the cucumbercups for 30 seconds. Then give immediately into iced waters.

For the beetrootfilling. Cut Beetroot very small and mix with horseraddish, give the soyjoghurt in and taste with agave nectar and season with salt and pepper.

Take the cucumbercubs and fill with the beetroot mixture and decorate with cress and serve on a bed of cress and  with whatever you wish so. 

NOTE: I served them along with a salad for a entree, but they goe very well for Party snack.

Incredible how christmas can be inspiration with cooking. Still thinking about what I should serve when I will have my parents over I craved my books for getting some ideas. 

So many possibilties hard to decide. At the end I finished with at least side-idea. 
Doesn't it look great and the taste - don't need any words for it. 

I hesitated for a long time wether I should use rice, quinoa or couscous or mashed potatoes. Well so many variations and at the end I landed with the quino. Been a while when I eat last. 

Not disappointed about the decision - definitely !

If you are thinking about serving a "meat-side" just change the sauce in what compains best. 

I enjoyed it just like it is, getting the full taste out of it. 

Maybe your inspired for a christmas dish if you are still thinking about what to serve. (Like I did....)

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Quinoa with Broccoli and Curryfoam

4 Persons
45 min cooking tme

Ingredients:
200 g Quinoa
salt
400 g broccoli
250 oyster mushrooms
4 spring onions
1 onion
2 knob garlic
about 2 Tbsp. Agavenectar
1-2 tsp. yellos curry paste
1/2 tsp. curcuma
2 Tbsp. oil
pepper
about 1 Tbsp. Aceto balsamico bianco
1/2- 1 Tbsp. lemonjuice
100 ml soycream

4 dessertrings

Preparation:
Rinse the quino in a fine sieve and cook in a pan with 750 ml water and let lightly cook for 15- 20 min till the liquid is absorbet and at the end salt. After the time let the quino stand for another 5 min.

Meanwhile wash the broccoli and brake into flowerts, peel the upper stempart and cut into slices. Steam the broccoli in a steamer over cooking water dill al dente. Drain in a sieve and drain with cold water. 

Clean the mushrooms and pluck into pieces. Cut the spring onion into rings.

For the curryfoam:
Peel the onion and garlic and finely dice. Püree both with 1 Tbsp. Agavenectar, Currypaste, curcuma and 70 ml water. 

Cook the vegetables in oil over medium heat for about 5.7 min till the mushroom are tender. Seasone with salt, pepper and vinegar and give a bowl. Shortly roast the spring onion in the left oil and turn off the heat. 

Season the quinoa with salt, pepper and lemonjuice. 

Place the dessertrings on your plate and fill with the quinoa and lightly press down. Arrange the spring onion on the top. 

Curryfoam: cook up the onionmix, add the soycream and season all with salt, pepper, agavenectar, lemonjuice and vinegar. Püree in your blender till foamy and arrange around the dessertring. Arrange the vegetable on top of the foam and take the dessertrings off away and serve everything. 

Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Salad Sandwich

The time before Christmas is always fully loaded with "to do's". Neither does I. On the free time I run from one place to another. 

So was the yesterdays afternoon. As I knew that I would have rarely time for a big lunchtime I made a sandwich fully packed with vitamins and power. Just right what I needed and some greens aside always goes fast. 

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Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1 large ripe avocado
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bread of your choice
Fresh spinach leaves or other sandwich toppings: lettuce, tomato slices, sprouts, etc.

Preparation:
Rinse and drain the chickpeas well. Place on a paper towel and by rubbing remove the outer skins. You can leave them on, but I like them removed. It's kind of work, but better - I found. 

Give in a medium bowl and by using a fork or potato masher smash the chickpeas and avocado together. Add the copped cilantro, green onion, and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread salad on your piece of bread and top with your favorite green sandwich toppings.

Note: This salad also makes a great dip. Serve with cut up veggies, crackers, or pita chips. Also, this salad is best eaten the day it is made because it will turn brown due to the avocado.

Soymedaillon in creamy Peppersauce with rice

After having quite a harmful weekend I had to cheer myself up with a good dish. 
Well, on saturday I was invited at a family evening and still after almost ten years being vegan I was asked by my uncle - "your vegan?"
Well I explained why and there it began. I just felt unknowness, ignorance and the words they said where quite sad. 

I sat at the table, lucky with at least a plate with rice and vegetablecurry. When my uncle passed me the peppermill - all he said was - that "this is meatfree"...........

Guess you can imagine how I felt. The day after I wrote my mother a mail and wrote that I was quite disappointed about the day before. 

All she wrote back, was that animals where given from God to feed us and that she think that veganismus is like a sect or satanismus. And that - by making more salad and vegetable - not going to prepare me something vegan.... I broke into tears reading the mail and that from my own mother. Well she accept but can't understand............

I needed days to come over it, knowing I could change her mind.


At least I know whats good and what I'm doing is the right way!

To cheer myself up I stood in kitchen and prepared a soulfood-dish. 

Hopefully you are more integrated in your family and feel yourself lucky if so. 

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Soymedaillon in Peppersauce with rice

4 Portions

Ingredientes:
16 TVP Soymedaillons
Salt
1 tsp. corianderpowder
Tomatopaste
Liquid smoke

Peppersauce:
3 bell peppers
1 one carrot
1 onion
1 cup water
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp minced fresh garlic (about 3 large cloves)
2 tsp chili powder

Steamed rice

Preparation:

Sauce:

Peel the onion and carrot, seed the peppers and break free from the stems. Mix in the food processor.

Preheat a pan with olive oil and steam the vegetable till lightly tender. Then cook in olive oil with the chili powder. Add the pressed galic and season with salt and pepper. Then turn down the heat and put the vegetables together with the other sauce ingredients in the food processor and mix trough till chunky creamy. Adding more or less water than one cup. Taste and set aside. 

Soy Medaillons:

Soak the medaillons in boiling water for 15 min. Drain and pour hot water over again - drain and continue with this step till the water is clean. 

Preheat a pan with water and when boiling add the salt, liquid smoke and tomatopaste - disolve and add the drained medaillons and cook/steam for 15 min. 

When the time is over, drain the medaillons but don't press the liquid out!

In a preheat frying pan with oil, roast the medaillons for about 10 min. Then turn down the heat and add the coriander, wisk. 

Serve with the steamed rice and the sauce. 

Now enjoy your dish!

Vegan Koftas in Curry Sauce

Sorry for my being out of buisness for posting. But having further education and knowing that I have - really have - to pass the test, learning was more my freetime taking than the cooking and posting. 

But today all is over - and I passed - so happy about that. Now I got another certificate to write down in my resume. 

To celebrate this happening I was thinking what I could prepare for dinner. 

As I had those koftas for a long time in my mind I stood in the kitchen and started. The last time I prepared them is a long time ago and so craved for the recipe and so the perfect result happend again. 

I sat at the table with a good glass of wine - with the candles burning - smooth music, enjoying a great dish. 

Of course I ate again too much, as it was just too good and I got more hungry than I thought. 

Now it is up to you weather to try the koftas or not. Having something to celebrate or not. 

Just enjoy the dish on you table!

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Andrea's Koftas in Cream Sauce 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the kofta:
1 small tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ cup slivered almonds
1½ tsp cumin seeds
225 g courgette, shredded
¼ cup finely chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1¼ cups Panko breadcrumbs

For the sauce:
1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp refined coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, very finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp mild curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 400g tin lite coconut milk
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 cup frozen peas

Preparation:

Prepare the kofta mixture
In a medium bowl, mash the chickpeas until they are mushy but not quite pureed.

Preheat a large, heavy pan over a medium heat. Toast the almonds for about 7 minutes, stirring frequently until golden and browned but not burned. Transfer immediately to the bowl with the chickpeas. Next, toast the cumin seeds for 3 minutes or so, until fragrant. Give to the chickpea bowl as well.

Add the prepared courgette, coriander, ginger, garlic, salt, and black pepper, and mix well. Taste and season more if necessary. 

Now add the breadcrumbs and use your hands to mix and mush until it holds together. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the sauce
Drain the cashews and add to a blender together with the broth. Blend until very smooth. It should be very smooth, with only a slight graininess. 

Preheat a pan over a medium heat and add the coconut oil. Saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook just shortly til it fragrant. Add the curry powder, garam masala, and cumin and toss a minute (just toasting the spices).

Add the coconut milk, tomato paste, blended cashews and salt. Bring to simmer and let cook for about 15 minutes. It should thicken up nicely. Add the peas and let them warm through. Season then turn off the heat and cover until ready to serve.

Cook the kofta
Preheat a large non-stick pan at medium heat. With a big spoon scoop out some koftamixture and roll between your hands to form into shape. Place on a oiled plate (beware from sticking on it) and continue to form about 12 Koftas. 

When the pan is hot enough, add some coconut oil and make sure it coats the bottom of the pan. Now add the kofta, rolling each one around in the pan when you add it, making sure to coat all sides. Use a little extra oil, if needed.

Fry them for about 7 minutes, rolling them around in the pan to get them browned on all sides. They don't have to be uniformly browned; just do your best. Once browned, turn off the heat.

To assemble
Scoop some rice on to each plate, place 3 koftas on top of the rice, and cover with sauce. Garnish with coriander, if you like, and serve.

Vegan Cabbage Rolls

Though I really love the summer dishes, winter has its own and just right in the cold weather and it's heating you up from inside.

Those Cabbage Rolls I wanted to make since a long time. I love cabbage but filled - I can't remember eaten them when I was a child and since them I haven't prepared them myself. 

So now is the time for them. And every first time fails sometimes, I made them a few days before but they failed cause they just tasted no very good and the filling was not really suitable. 

But today I got the final result - never give up a failure in the kitchen...... 

Definitely an again and again dish I would prepare during winter time. 

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Vegan Cabbage Rolls

about 40 min
4 Persons

Ingredients:
For the sauce:
1 big (500 g) can of diced Tomatoes
1 normal (200 g) can of Tomato Paste plus 50 g more
240 ml vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. vegan Margarine
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp. Agavenectar
1/2 cup soycream
salt and pepper to taste

For the rolls:
8-10 leafes of cabbage
100 g Soy granules 
1 medium sized onion, chopped
2-3 knob garlic, chopped (depending on their size)
some grounded garlic
1 tsp. black pepper
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red pepper powder
3 Tbsp. dried parsely
40 g breadcrumbs

Preparation:
For the Sauce:
In a large sauce pan, melt 1 Tbsp. or vegan margarine and add the chopped onions. Saute until translucent and soft.

Add the diced Tomatoes including the sauce and the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Then add the tomato paste and season again. To bring a little sweet taste against the bitterness of the tomatoes add some Agavenectar (Optional). 

Simmer for about 20 minutes. At the end add the soycream and simmer again for 10 minutes. 

For the Cabbage Rolls:
From the Cabbage cut out the core and carefully peel 8 Leafes (without breaking) away. 
Bring a large pan with water and salt to boil, then lower the heat till simmering and blanch the Cabbageleafes for about 8-10 min. till soft and pliable.

For the filling:
Cover the soy granules with enough boiled vegetable broth for about 30 min. Meanwhile chop the onion and garlic. 
When the soy granules doubled it size, drain (maybe wash shortly) and press out any left water. 

Give into a bowl and add all the spices, onion and garlic and mix all well trough. At the end add the breadcrumbs and mix well. Season if necessary. 

Forming the cabbage rolls:
Place an amount of filling in the center of the leafes (proportionate to their size). Do not overfill. 

Roll tidly, beginning with the stem and by then tucking the sides and finish with the end. To beware from falling apart bind with a cooking cord or gum and set on a plate and continue with left leafes. 

Place all finished rolls into a large sauce pot. Add all the sauce for covering. Add some additional vegetable broth if necessary. (The rolls should be all covered with sauce). 

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat till a simmer. 

Cook for 1 hour or longer (depending how soft you like the rolls). Make sure the rolls are covered with sauce during cooking time. 

Serve with plain rise and additional side if you wish so..