Tatar # Vegan MoFo

What is Tatar? You will not like the answer, and thank you for asking. Tatar is a raw minced meat dish, served with a raw egg yolk on top. It is a big part of Polish cuisine, and I think it is about time for the vegan version to kick some posteriors. Don't you think?

I have eaten Tatar once as kid, and yet its distinct flavor remained with me to this day. The raw onion and tomato paste enhance the raw notes of this dish.

Lastly, this dish is so simple and pantry friendly that I just can't contain myself. If you have last minute impromptu guests coming, you can make this as an appetizer. Be sure to drizzle the dish with a tad of olive oil, to keep it moist. Cheers!

Vegan Tatar

Ingredients
1 cup cooked red lentils
5 tablespoons tomato paste
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Freshly ground sea salt to taste
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons vegan worcestershire sauce (optional)

Great on crackers, pumpernickel bread and so forth.  

Directions
Cook the red lentils in 2.5 cups of vegetable broth until creamy. Stir often. Place the cooked red lentils in a bowl (there should be no liquid remaining) and allow ample time to completely cool off.

Mash with a fork to a fine paste. Add tomato paste, olive oil, paprika, pepper, salt, onion and vegan worcestershire sauce, if using. Mix well. Serve with dill pickles, drizzled with additional oil.

To make a nice presentation, coat a small tea cup with oil or non-stick cooking spray, add enough Tatar  to fill the cup, and gently flip it over on the presentation plate. Slice some pickles, or pickled vegetables of choice and EAT!

Vegetable Salad # Vegan MoFo

Do you ever feel as if you have been teleported back in time by eating certain foods? I feel that way when eating this salad. Vegetable Salad was always a welcomed guest on our holiday table and during special celebrations. Traditionally, it is also made with boiled eggs. I think it tastes great without.

To this day, I have very distinct memories of helping my mom dice the vegetables day prior and then rushing home from school the next day, to consume it. So, "beam me up, Scotty."

There I am on the right, holding a stuffed dog toy with giant curly hair. I wonder what he is up to now. 

Before you begin, keep in mind that full-fat vegan mayonnaise is best for this recipe. As a compulsive calorie reducer, I have made this salad in the past using a low-fat vegan mayonnaise. I was sorely disappointed each time. Although, now that I have tasted Vegenaise and its reduced-fat cousin, I deem the lower fat version will work nicely in this recipe.

Prior to trying Vegenaise, I was not aware of what the hoopla was all about. Now I understand completely. Cheers!

Vegetable Salad. The camera was having a rough day. Sorry salad. You deserve better. 

Vegetable Salad (Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients
2 large yukon gold potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced
2-3 large carrots, boiled, peeled and diced
1 (15-oz can) sweet peas, drained
1 medium size crisp apple of choice, peeled and diced
3-5 European dill pickles, diced (found in the ethnic aisle of your supermarket)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Up to 2 cups vegan mayonnaise of choice (I used Vegenaise)
Parsley for garnish

Directions 
Place unpeeled potatoes and carrots in a medium pot, partially cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until fork tender, for about 15 minutes. The carrots will be ready before the potatoes. Be sure to remove the carrots as soon as they are ready. Place the cooked vegetables on a plate and allow ample time to cool off completely. Alternatively, place the vegetables in the refrigerator to cool off, if in a hurry.

Cooked and unpeeled vegetables, just chilling on a plate. 

Once the potatoes and carrots have completely cooled off, peel and dice the vegetables. I used a nifty tool (see picture below) to dice the vegetables. This tool is called the DICE. It was most likely designed by a Polish Vegetable Salad enthusiast. Chopping vegetables manually also works, so don't worry if you don't have the DICE. You are still in my club.

Diced vegetables, patiently waiting for Vegenaise.

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, potatoes, sweet peas, apple, and pickles. Add mustard and mayonnaise, gradually. Mix gently. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley. The salad taste best the next day. I like to eat with crusty bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner, until it is all gone. Store it in the refrigerator.

*Note
European dill pickles and good mayonnaise are the key to the best flavor of this salad. Some people add corn and oregano in addition to the stated ingredients, but that is not how I grew up eating it. See what works for you and then be sure to tell me about it. Promise?

Crescent Rolls with Apricot Fruit Preserves # Vegan MoFo

There are so many great recipes I would like to include in My month in Polish food theme, and yet I fear that time is not on my side. Oh, what to do? Well, I had a very good conversation with Dewey (aka The Dude) about my plight. Now I feel so much better. Below are some highlights.

Dewey! What a life? 

Dude: Why did you call on me? Can't you see that I am taking a very deserved break from all the feline shenanigans that are going on in this house?

Vegan Kitty Patrol (VKP): I need your help Dewey, I mean...The Mighty Dude.

Dude: You have one second - if that - to make me care about your troubles. Go!

Vegan Kitty Patrol (VKP): I will get straight to the point. I know that time is cat food and that you are a very busy Dude. Here it goes.Vegan MoFo is very demanding - on me - and posting every day is...you know...difficult. What can I do to make things easier for myself?

Dude: Well, since you rescued me and all and accepted me for who I am - beautiful black feline with half a tail - I will help you. Now listen VKP, listen good! Present recipes that are quick and easy. There are plenty of fabulous vegan cooks and chefs out there. You don't have to try to fit a particular mold. Be yourself. Now go, leave me be. I am seriously considering climbing up these curtains...

Needless to say, I felt much better after our conversation. I decided to make easy Crescent Rolls with Apricot Fruit Preserves that I used to eat as a kid.

Cheers!

Crescent Rolls with Apricot Fruit Preserves

Ingredients (Makes 16 crescent rolls)
Up to 1 and 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional if necessary
1 and 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
3/4 cup unflavored plant milk of choice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons raw cane sugar
1 chia or flax seed egg (I used chia seed egg)
1 and 1/2 cup of apricot preserves (or use any fruit preserves you have on hand)
Organic powdered sugar for dusting

Goodness me! 

Directions
Make the chia or flax egg first. In a large bowl, combine 1.5 cups of flour, instant dry yeast, and sugar. Mix well. In a small bowl, combine plant milk, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and chia or flax egg. Mix well and add it to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough for about two minutes. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky, gradually. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with cloth, and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour. The dough will increase in size, a little bit.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sprinkle the work surface with flour and divide the dough to two equal parts. Roll out each part to a large flat pancake. Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 8 equal parts. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling on each slice. Like this.

Simple and Dewey approved.  

To shape the crescent rolls, roll the thin end over the filling and keep rolling...rolling...rolling until you reach the end. Now, shape the crescents to a moon shape by bringing the two ends close to each other.

This is the way I ROLL!

Coat a large baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Once baked, allow ample time for cooling. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Eat! 

Simple Tomato Salad # Vegan MoFo

Vegan MoFo continues and I am happy to report that aside from eating potatoes, I also eat salads. I like all kinds of salads. However, my loyalty lies with the European style of salad. Like this one.

Before the idea of store bought dressings came to town, somewhere in Poland, the crafty home cooks, used sour cream. It is crucial to note Polish sour cream is not as thick as the American version. This recipe reflects that. I love eating this salad with a piece or two or even three, of crusty bread, to soak up all the liquid goodness.

Before you begin, be sure to use good quality tomatoes as they are the star of this recipe. Another thing, you might wonder why I did not use lemon juice, and here is my answer. The tomatoes are acidic enough, and if you leave the salad to marinate on the counter for 15-20 minutes, the flavors will develop nicely. Cheers!

Simple Tomato Salad

Ingredients
5-6 medium sized tomatoes (tomatoes on the vine, heirloom tomatoes, or a combination of both), diced 
1 (10.5-oz container) golden grape or regular grape tomatoes, cut in half
2-3 green onions or small onion, finely chopped

Dressing
1 (11.5-oz package) mori-nu silken tofu or nigari silken tofu (do not drain)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Don't lick the screen. 

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes and onion. Make the dressing. In a food processor or high-speed blender, add the tofu with the liquid. Process until smooth and creamy. Add as much of the blended tofu as you like to the tomatoes and mix well. I usually add about a cup, depending on how many tomatoes I use.

Season with lots of salt and pepper. Set aside on the counter for 15-20 minutes, to allow the flavors to develop. When you are ready to eat, gently mix the salad again, and check for seasonings. I like to add plenty of sea salt to my salad.

Store left over tofu dressing in the refrigerator. Use it as sour cream by adding sugar and lemon juice or dressing for other salads, just add Dijon mustard and agave or maple syrup.

Potato Pancakes # Vegan MoFo

I don't mind divulging secrets. Here is mine. I was planning on sharing a Polish tomato salad recipe with you today, but after much contemplation, and friendly shenanigans on the web, potato pancakes WIN. I am not dismayed in any way, and I think you will be pleased with my decision too. 

Gosh by gosh! I haven't had these in a really long time. I am not sure what kept me away from these for so long, but now that I have been reunited, I fear for my figure. 

Anyhow, day three of Vegan MoFo is today and while it is challenging in many ways, it also allows me to discover some old favorites of mine, all over again. For that, I raise my glass to you and all the awesome bloggers participating out there. Cheers!

Potato Pancakes are perfect for My month in Polish food theme.

Ingredients (Makes about 12 small potato pancakes)
4 large yellow or yukon gold potatoes, peeled and grated (not shredded)
1 small onion, peeled and grated
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons potato flour (not potato starch)
Grapeseed oil for frying (any oil with high flash point may be substituted)

Let's start cooking!

Directions
Grate the potatoes and onion in a food processor or use a manual grater, like this one.

The consistency should be that of applesauce. 

Transfer the grated potatoes and grated onion to a mesh drainer. Place over a bowl for about 3-4 minutes. Do not discard the liquid that falls to the bottom of the bowl. You will need the starch that forms below...continue reading.

Waiting, but not for too long. 

While the potatoes and onion are draining, preheat a large non-stick skillet over a medium heat with about 1-2 tablespoons of oil.

Meanwhile, place the drained mixture - do not sqeeze the excess liquid - which will still be moist, to a medium sized bowl. Add salt, lots of black pepper, and the potato flour. Now, carefully drain the liquid from the bowl, while keeping the starch that formed on the bottom of the bowl.

Don't mind the liquid that looks like beer...The starch is the secret ingredient to making these potato pancakes. It is an old Polish trick which I now share with you. 

The starch will feel chalky to the touch. Scrape the starch with your hands and add it to the potato pancake mixture. Mix well. The potato pancake mixture should look like this before frying.

Not too wet nor too dry. 

To shape the potato pancakes, break off a piece of the mixture (about 2 tablespoons) and shape it to a flat pancake in the palm of your hands. Fry the potato pancakes in hot oil, over a medium heat, 4-5 at a time, for about 5 minutes on each side until crispy.

Place on a plate lined with paper towel, to absorb the excess oil. Traditionally these are served with sour cream. Some people - my brother - like to eat them sprinkled with sugar. Applesauce is also a good addition. How do you like to eat them?

Eat!

Homemade Noodles - LAZANKI # Vegan MoFo

Can you make homemade noodles in less than an hour using pantry ingredients you have on hand at this very moment? I deem this to be true. Don't you believe me? Scroll down to the ingredients list, and check your pantry. I will wait...was I right? I bet I was.

These noodles differ from other types of pasta in that they are thick, and do not require to be suspended in the air to dry. Furthermore, you do not need any special tools to make these noodles other than a roller and a pizza cutter. I bet you have these already too.

Lazanki (noodles) are traditionally served during Christmas. Some people prepare them with sweet poppy seed dressing while others eat them with cabbage and mushrooms. I eat them with tomato sauce. That's right!

Cheers!

Homemade noodles with tomato sauce and vegan parmesan. 

Ingredients (Makes 2 servings)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the work surface
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground sea salt, depending on preference
2 tablespoons olive oil (vegetable oil may be substituted)
3 tablespoons cold water, plus 1/2 tablespoon, as needed

Directions
In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, oil, and 3 tablespoons of water. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes, and add the remaining water as needed. The dough should be moist, but not too sticky.

This is what the dough should look like.

Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and roll out the dough as thin as you can. Like this.

Use a pizza-cutter to slice the dough to shapes of choice. Traditional lazanki (noodles) are broad and shaped like this.

Hello!

Separate the noodles and allow 15 minutes to dry prior to boiling. Like this.

So easy! 

While the noodles are drying, bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add all the noodles, lower the heat to medium-low and cook the noodles for about 5 minutes. Stir often. The noodles will float to the top when ready. Serve with favorite sauce. These are great pan-fried too!

Eat!

Stuffed Potato Dumplings - PYZY # Vegan MoFo

I am very excited to take part in the Vegan Month of Food - Vegan MoFo - by blogging about recipe creations the entire month of September. I decided on a theme of My month in Polish food. This theme will allow me to honor my Polish heritage as well as to illustrate how affordable vegan food can be. To make most of these recipes, you will need to stock up your kitchen with lots of potatoes...I am not kidding!

Pyza!

There is a Polish cartoon I used to watch as a child about a girl called Pyza (potato dumpling), and I recently thought of it as I was deciding on what recipes to feature. There she is on the left, having all sorts of adventures, kind of like me, with this recipe.

Stuffed potato dumplings (pyzy) are usually filled with non-vegan ingredients, so I was never able to order them in Polish restaurants. Recently, my mom gave me this recipe. I made some adjustments to it. It took me three tries to get it right. Cheers!

Stuffed Potato Dumplings (PYZY).

Ingredients (Makes about 12 medium sized dumplings)
5 large russet potatoes, peeled and divided
6-7 tablespoons potato flour (not potato starch), plus additional for dusting work surface

Filling
1 tablespoon olive oil or non-stick cooking spray
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 (10-oz package) mushrooms of choice, finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Step 1
Add 3 potatoes (quarter the potatoes to speed up cooking process) to a medium sized pot with enough water to cover and bring it to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of sea salt, lower the heat to medium, partially cover the pot and cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender, but not mushy. Drain well. Mash the heck out of the potatoes with a potato masher and then mash them some more. Use a fork after that too to make sure no lumps remain. Potato ricer is a helpful tool in this instance, but since I did not have one, I mashed the potatoes manually. Taste for salt and set aside to cool off.

Mashed potatoes. After this picture was taken, the potatoes experienced some more mashing by my hand and were reluctunt to participate in further photo opportunities. 

Step 2
While the three potatoes are cooking, grate the remaining 2 potatoes. Do not shred the potatoes! They need to be finely grated. Use a food processor or a grater like this one.

I bought this grater in Poland with mom. 

While grating the potatoes manually (I did!), think about all the muscles you are going to develop once you are done. Woo hoo!

Now that the potatoes are grated. place them to drain in a mesh drainer over a bowl, for about 20 minutes. Like this.

Potato alert! The potatoes will darken and the liquid will look uncanny...and that is just fine with me.

Do not discard the liquid from the potatoes. You will need the starch that forms on the bottom.

Starch remaining at the bottom of the bowl.

Step 3 
While the cooked potatoes are cooling off and the grated potatoes are draining, prepare the filling. Sauté the onion in olive oil (or use non-stick cooking spray) in a non-stick, medium sized skillet for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms, season with salt and pepper. Continue sautéing for 10 more minutes or longer depending on preference. Add a splash of water if necessary to prevent from sticking. Remove from heat and taste for seasoning.

Mushroom and onion filling.

Step 4 (Almost there)
Bring a large pot of water to boil, for the dumplings. Be sure to add 1 teaspoon of sea salt to the pot once it starts boiling. Prepare the dough.

To make the dough, add the mashed potatoes to a large bowl. Add the strained, grated potatoes. Be sure to give them an extra squeeze to get rid of excess water, but don't go overboard about it. Now, carefully strain the potato liquid, while keeping the potato starch, that has formed on the bottom of the bowl. It is ok to have some of the potato liquid remain with the starch. The starch will feel chalky to the touch. Scrape the starch with your hands and add it to the dough mixture. Mix in 6 tablespoons of potato flour and knead well. The dough should be a little sticky, and not too dry. You may add more flour as needed.

This is what the dough should look like. 

To shape the dumplings, place the dough on a floured surface, and leave a tablespoon or two of flour on the side of the work surface in case you need it, specifically when the dough is sticking to your hands. Break off a piece of the dough and form a flat pancake in the palm of your hand. Place up to one tablespoon of the filling and bring the edges to each side, then shape to a ball. Like this.

One...

Two...

Three!

Place about 4-5 dumplings at a time to the boiling pot of water, lower the heat to medium-high and boil the dumplings for about 5-6 minutes, until they float to the top. Bigger dumplings, stuffed with heavy filling, will not float to the top as readily as these. So watch out for that if you choose to make them bigger or use another filling.

Step 5 (Hooray!)
The dumplings are best when pan-fried over a medium heat, until crispy . You can slice each into slices  and pan-fry them until crispy or pan-fry them whole. Serve them with mushroom gravy, caramelized onions or sautéed mushrooms. I like to eat them dipped in soy sauce. Don't judge me.

Stuffed Potato Dumpling (PYZY) sliced and pan-fried.

*Note
This recipe is versatile. Use fillings (example: cooked red lentils) and spices of choice. I decided to make it simple and use minimal ingredients in this instance. Since the recipe has simple ingredients, be sure that the filling and the potatoes are seasoned to your liking. Taste as you go and get creative.