The Leafy Cauldron

Vegan Perogies

June 21, 2016 by theleafycauldron

In Winnipeg, where I was born and raised, perogies are a part of the city’s identity. There is a rich Ukrainian history there; especially in The North End and you can feel that influence on Winnipeg’s unique culture. To call on the local dialect of Winnipeg, we have a saying: Cheap Like Borscht. I’ve never heard anyone say it since leaving, so I bought a print from Etsy to hang in my kitchen because it is representative of the particular and idiosyncratic charm that a place as isolated as my hometown develops over time. My husband and I recently took a trip there and I’ve attached some of my favourite snaps after the recipe.
I grew up with my mom making them in large batches and refused to eat them – because eww look at all those onions! As I taught myself to enjoy all the foods I had trouble with as a kid, perogies quickly became a favourite. As an adult, I’ve experimented every couple of years with vegan perogy dough and fillings, but was the time I finally hit on what I’d been looking for. Part of it is that I now have a wonderful French rolling pin, which makes all rolling much easier. I highly recommend switching from the relatively useless ones with silly handles to a French style, also called tapered, as the difference is remarkable. Another part is finally finding an egg replacement that allowed for an easy-to-handle dough: which will be my first recipe using the now almost-famous chickpea brine, boiled and reduced down into a perfect egg-like consistency. I was feeling ambitious, so I have three fillings; you can pick and choose, or you can make a day out of it, prepare them all and keep making dough and stuffing it until it’s all gone. I put mine straight into the freezer, so they’re ready to be boiled and fried at any point. Truthfully, by the time I got this post out, we’d given away and eaten all of them.

To the uninitiated, perogies are an Eastern European dumplings: a soft, pillowy dough envelops a variety of delicious things. Sometimes sweet, sometimes savoury: today I have a potato, onion and vegan cheddar, mushroom and sauerkraut and potato, onion and spinach for you. I have found this is the only use I personally have for any of the vegan cheeses on the market; I wonder if it’s all the onion that makes it delicious? Pierogi, perogy, varenyky – whatever you call them, they are an incredible food.

Perogy Dough
Adapted from Canadian Living
Makes ~36
Prep Time: 10 minutes + resting time

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour *see notes for gluten-free tips
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup reduced chickpea brine *see notes
3/4 – 1 cup + 1 tablespoon water

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, started with 3/4 cup water and mix until it comes together. If it is too dry and won’t, add a little more water until it does comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until you have a smooth dough, about 2 or 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Easily doubled.

Potato, Onion and Cheddar Filling
Enough for ~36 perogies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

2 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 medium onion, yellow or white, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup non-dairy margarine, or more to taste; pick the one you like the taste of best
1 cup non-dairy cheddar shreds, I used Daiya with excellent results
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot, cover the potatoes, onion and garlic with cold water and bring to a full, rolling boil. Once boiling, generously salt the water. My rule of thumb for salting water is to add salt until the water tastes appropriately salty. Boil for a full ten minutes, turn off the heat, cover the pot and let sit for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain, add the margarine, non-dairy cheddar and nutritional yeast and mash everything until completely smooth. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

Mushroom and Sauerkraut Filling
Enough for ~36 perogies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

1/4 cup non-dairy margarine
1 large onion, yellow or white, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups sauerkraut, drained
3 king oyster mushrooms, diced
~8 oz white mushroom, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the margarine over medium high heat and add the onions. Salt the onions and saute until they are translucent, a couple of minutes. Add the sauerkraut and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and saute until they have softened and the liquid has evaporated, about ten minutes. Taste for seasonings and adjust to your liking. Set aside.

Potato, Onion and Spinach Filling
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

2 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup non-dairy margarine, or more to taste; pick the one you like the taste of best
1 large onion, yellow or white, peeled and diced
8 oz bag of spinach, thoroughly washed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot, cover the potatoes and garlic with cold water and bring to a full, rolling boil. Once boiling, generously salt the water. Boil for a full ten minutes, turn off the heat, cover the pot and let sit for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender. In the meantime, heat 1/4 cup of the margarine in a large skillet and add the onions. Season with salt, pepper and dried dill and saute until they are translucent. Add the chopped spinach, a pinch of salt and continue to saute until all the water has been released from the spinach. Drain the potatoes when they are fork tender and then mash or rice them into a large bowl. Add the sauteed onions and spinach, the remaining 1/4 cup margarine, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and stir to thoroughly combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Set aside.

Assembly

Using a small ice cream scoop, or a spoon and your finger, make 1 inch balls of the potato fillings and set aside on a plate. Doing this makes the stuffing part of perogy making much, much faster and allows you to fill the dough with a consistent and generous amount of filling. Set aside while you roll out the dough.

Roll out rested dough on a well floured surface with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thickness, turning often to make sure it is not sticking. Using a large glass or a large round cutter, cut out circles, sprinkling with flour to ensure they do not stick to one another. Gather the scraps of dough and re-roll until it is all used up. If the dough starts to resist too much, sprinkle with a few drops of water, cover with plastic wrap and let rest again.

Fill each circle with the potato ball or a rounded tablespoon of mushroom and sauerkraut filling, and pinch together the edges. Make sure they are well sealed. Lay out flat on a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper and floured (it is a sticky dough!), and place in the freezer until all perogies are frozen solid. Transfer to freezer bags and keep frozen until ready to prepare. Boiling until they rise to the top is the minimum, but I like one side fried until a little crispy and a side of slightly burnt onions with non-dairy sour cream and fresh dill. I am not a fan of caramelized onions with these dumplings, I think the bite of the onion is important and caramelizing makes them much too sweet.

Notes

The amount of chickpea brine you’ll have to reduce to get 2/3 cup of a thick and egg-like texture really depends on what you’re starting with, as some are thicker than others. This recipe is pretty forgiving, so a little less or more can easily be made up for with a bit more water – just until the dough comes together. This is a good place to experiment with chickpea brine and to get a feel for reducing it to the right texture. You simply bring it to a boil and then cool to see the consistency.

I have made a gluten-free perogy dough before and it was quite successful in texture and taste, but it does crack a lot easier, so if doing so go easy while rolling it out. I always, always recommend you use this all purpose recipe, with brown rice flour for the rice portion as white rice flour leads to a gritty texture, which is the biggest drawback to gluten-free doughs.

Chervil Pesto / Pesto au cerfeuil

June 12, 2016 by theleafycauldron

La version française de cette recette suit plus bas.

Coming off of such a difficult winter, our deck garden has really been a saviour. Everything is so lush and green, you can’t help but want to sit out in such a magical spot. One of the most delightful parts of the garden so far has been my favourite herb growing – chervil. We took a trip to Ritcher’s Herbs and picked some up, along with marjoram, Genovese basil, Thai basil, garlic chives, lemon gem marigolds, lavender and French tarragon. Chervil is a delicate herb, most often seen in French cooking. It has a slight anise flavour; I would describe it as a cross between basil, French tarragon and the loveliest Italian parsley you’ve ever eaten. Everything else is growing wonderfully – the tomato plants are basically out of control, but we’ve been able to eat the most of the chervil so far.

A pesto seemed like a natural for this herb and so I whizzed one up – only took me about five minutes total. It is so savoury, with a strong cheese-like flavour and the hint of the unknown, while being like the thing you already know so well. It would be perfect on grilled veggies, sauteed tofu, boiled new potatoes or our fried gnocchi. We used toasted sunflower seeds to keep it nut-free and allergy-friendly, but pine nuts would be just as well if you’d prefer. I am actually partial to alternatives to pine nuts in pestos, as the last time I ate them, I got the so-called pine mouth.
Chervil Pesto
Makes ~1 cup
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

2 cups fresh chervil, some stems included, roughly chopped
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 clove garlic
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper, both to taste

Combine chervil, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor or mortar. Pulse several times to start to break it down. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse several more times while slowly drizzling the olive oil in until all combined. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.
Après un hiver ardu notre jardin de terrasse arrive à point. Cet havre féerique est si vert et si luxuriant qu’on se tarde de s’y retrouver. Un aspect des plus agréable du jardin est l’apparition de mon représentant préféré des fines herbes – le cerfeuil. Nous sommes allés chez Ritcher’s Herbs pour en acheter, ainsi que de la marjolaine, du Basilico Genovese, du basilic thaï, de la ciboulette, de la tagète citron, de la lavande, et de l’estragon. Le cerfeuil est une herbe délicate, légèrement anisée, qu’on retrouve particulièrement dans la cuisine française. Elle se décrirait comme un croisement entre le basilic, l’estragon, et un persil italien le plus frais et le plus tendre. Le reste du jardin prolifère – les plants de tomates sont hors de contrôle ! – mais nous avons tout même pu consommer presque tout le cerfeuil.

Il me semblait parfait pour un pesto alors j’ai improvisé celui-ci en un tour de main. Il est si savoureux, fromagé, avec un goût à la fois indéterminé et familier. Il se marierait parfaitement aux légumes grillés, tofu sauté, pommes de terres fraîches bouillies, ou bien avec nos gnocchi frits. Nous avons utilisé des graines de tournesol afin d’éviter les noix, allergènes communs, bien entendu, mais vous pouvez remplacer par les pignons. Pour moi-même, ayant subi une dysgueusie dû aux pignons, je favorise toujours une quelconque substitution.

Pesto au cerfeuil
donne ~1 tasse
temps de préparation: 5 minutes
temps total: 10 minutes

2 tasses de cerfeuil frais, avec quelques tiges, coupé grossièrement
1/4 tasse de graines de tournesol grillées
1/3 tasse de flocons de levure alimentaire
1 c. à thé de jus de citron, fraîchement pressé
1 gousse d’ail
2/3 tasse d’huile d’olive extra vierge
pincée de sel et poivre moulu, au goût

Rassembler cerfeuil, graines de tournesol, levure alimentaire, jus de citron, et ail dans un robot culinaire ou un mortier. Battre quelques coups. Ajouter sel et poivre. Battre plusieurs coups en ajoutant l’huile jusqu’à ce que le tout soit bien combiné. Goûter et assaisonner au besoin. Conserver dans un contenant hermétique au réfrigérateur.

Rosewater Cupcakes with Halva Buttercream (Vegan with a Gluten-Free Option)

April 22, 2016 by theleafycauldron

When we visit Montreal, our first stop is always to see Bob, our old grocer at Fruiterie Mile End. He’s one of our strongest ties to the city and it’s always more emotional than I can explain. I like to take him something homemade and this time I wanted to be able to include what he’d mentioned is his favourite sweet – halva. There are several kinds of halva in the world, but the one he means is a sesame based, fudge-like dessert, often with pistachios in it.

These cupcakes are delightful; such a surprise with a delicate floral flavour topped with a creamy, dreamy frosting that’s not unlike a peanut butter one – except I think tahini makes a much nicer buttercream than peanut butter could ever dream of. Unfortunately, my husband is allergic to all of what makes these great, so they’re for guests only. Rosewater is an incredible flavour, but like all floral desserts, restraint is needed with it or you enter soap territory pretty quickly.

Rosewater Cupcakes
Makes 16
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: ~1 hour

1/2 cup silken tofu, firm or extra firm
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon rosewater
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour (gluten-free mix is here, please use brown rice flour)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup non-dairy margarine, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk

Rosewater syrup

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon rosewater

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin with liners. In a blender, blend silken tofu, 1/2 cup non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and rose water until smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, combine together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the non-dairy margarine and mix until it resembles sand, no clumps of margarine should remain. Add the blended tofu mixture and combine. Add the final 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk, mix on low until just combined and then turn the speed up to high for about 2 minutes. The batter should be completely smooth. Scoop into prepared muffin tin, filling each 2/3 of the way up. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the tops spring back at your light touch. While the cupcakes are cooking, prepare the syrup. In small sauce pan, whisk together the sugar and water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the rosewater and set aside to cool. Once the cupcake are done, remove from the oven, poke the tops several times with a toothpick and pour about a teaspoon of rosewater syrup over the still hot cupcakes. Let cool part way on baking racks, remove from tins, place on baking racks and finish cooling completely before frosting.

Halva Frosting

1/4 cup non-dairy margarine, softened
1/2 cup tahini
3 – 4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon rosewater
Non-dairy milk, if needed
Crushed and whole pistachios, for decorating

Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the margarine and tahini until lighter in colour and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add about half a cup of powdered sugar, the vanilla and rosewater and beat to combine. Add the remaining powdered sugar in small amount, beating to combine well and monitoring until you get the buttercream texture you like. Add non-dairy milk to thin, or more powdered sugar to thicken, as you like. An extra tablespoon or two of tahini never hurt anyone, either. Top with pistachios, both whole and crushed.

Roasted Beet Risotto (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

April 4, 2016 by theleafycauldron

Risotto is my husband’s favourite meal. It’s so creamy and comforting and you can stuff it full of vegetables and have a one pot meal. There’s always this idea that risotto is too fancy to make at home, but it’s really something you can generally finish in less than an hour – and still impress everyone around you. This one takes a bit more planning, as the beets need roasting time, but you can do that ahead of time, if you like. I love the colour of this particular risotto; it’s so romantic! Perhaps I should save it as a Valentine’s post, but when I save recipes I just tend to forget about them and the pictures pile up so that my Google storage is now entirely full. I don’t use the stems in this recipe, as it throws off the texture of the dish, but they are delicious and you can eat them. Save them to put in soup, or sautee them as a side.

As an aside, we’re currently starting our first garden! We have a large deck as a part of our second floor apartment above a commercial space and we’re so excited to have the chance to try to grow some of our own food! We have four types of heirloom tomatoes: Pink Brandywine, Roman Speckled, Tiny Tim and Chadwick Cherries, as well as Jamaican hot peppers, Chinese Five Colour hot peppers, mini bell peppers, sage and basil. There’s some cilantro started for an indoor herb garden, as it doesn’t like to be transplanted. We have plans for lots more, but we won’t start those from seed. Hopefully we’ll have something more to show you in a month or two!

Roasted Beet Risotto
Serves four
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: ~1 hour 15 minutes

3 red beets, with greens
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, green and white parts
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
Pinch of dried thyme
1 1/2 cups arborio rice, or other short grain rice
3/4 cup dry white wine
~1 1/2 litres warm vegetarian chicken stock
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon non-dairy margarine

Preheat oven to 400 F. Remove the greens and stalks from the beets and quarter them. Make a foil packet for the beets, drizzling with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for about 30 minutes, until the beets have started to soften. Allow to cool enough to handle, peel and dice. Finely chop the beet greens; discard the stems. In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and sautee until they are soft. Add the garlic, thyme and rice and stir so all the rice is coated in oil. Sautee for an additional minute, but make sure no browning happens. Add the wine and stir until it has all been absorbed by the rice. Add the diced beets and a ladle full of warm stock and stir until it has been absorbed. Continue adding stock, by the ladle full, until the rice has expanded and is soft but still toothsome. You may not need all the stock. Add the beets greens, a final ladle of stock and stir until absorbed. Remove from the heat, add the nutritional yeast, lemon zest and juice and the non-dairy margarine, stir and let sit to settle for ten minutes. Serve immediately after. Save any leftovers to make arancini, as it’s the only way to eat leftover risotto.

Pumpkin and Tofu Stew

March 30, 2016 by theleafycauldron

I’ve mentioned before that my uncle is Trinidadian, so West Indian food is very familiar and comforting to me. What a delight that there is Caribbean food on every single corner in Toronto and that we moved within a few blocks of Little Bangladesh and have access to some of the most delightful spices. I made a fresh curry for this stew and recommend you do the same. The smell is heavenly and the taste is out of this world! You can easily control the heat in this stew, as well, so take heart if you’re not well versed in chili peppers. Figuring out that my husband is allergic to the flesh of the coconut and not the milk has been a revelation for us and has opened up so many new cuisines. Not sure what Caribbean pumpkin is or how on earth to find it? No problem! Substitute any winter squash you want, such as butternut or acorn. Even large sweet potato chunks would do that trick here. This stew is well-spiced, but there are no chilies in it, so it is not spicy. Add as many chilies as you like, of course. We like to top with Trinidadian pepper sauce.

I used fresh tomatoes and blanched them to make them easy to peel, but canned would work just as well. It may end up needing a little more simmering time, as there will be extra liquid. It’s not a really thick stew, as it you’d serve it over rice generally, so you could add a thickener in there if you’d prefer. And feel free to add more, or different, veggies as you feel comfortable; it’s very flexible. The second time we ate it, I added some soy chunks while reheating, which were lovely.

Trinidadian Curry Powder
Adapted from here and with the help of my most beloved Auntie
Makes ~ 3/4 cup
Total time: 15 minutes

1/4 cup cinnamon bark or sticks
1/4 cup whole cumin seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds (menthi)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon white poppyseeds
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
8 star anise pods
6 green cardamom pods
3 tablespoons ginger powder
1/4 cup turmeric

In a heavy bottomed skillet, over medium heat, toast all the spices except the ginger and turmeric until they become fragrant. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until you can handle them. Using a spice grinder, or all your strength and a mortar and pestle, grind until smooth. Run everything through a sieve and make a second pass at the large chunks left. Store in an air-tight container, in a cool, dark place.

Pumpkin Tofu Stew
Serves 8
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 90 minutes

1 lb firm or extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup canola oil, or other neutral oil
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1/4 cup garlic-ginger paste
8 medium Roma tomatoes, peeled
3 tablespoons Trinidadian curry powder, or more to taste
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 cans 440 ml (13.5 oz) full fat coconut milk
1/2 litre (2 cups) vegetarian chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups pumpkin, peeled and cut into small cubes
~1 1/2 cups chickpeas
2 large potatoes, roughly chopped
1 head of swiss chard, stems included, roughly chopped
10 okra, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon Trinidadian green seasoning, or to taste

After you’ve cubed the tofu, salt it generously. In a large skillet, heat half the oil over medium high heat. Add the tofu and brown on each side of the cube. Set aside when fully browned. In the meantime, add the other half of the oil to a large pot. Turn the heat to medium high, and add the onions and cumin seeds. Sautee until the cumin seeds become fragrant. Add the celery, carrot and garlic-ginger paste and stir to combine. Heat for another couple of minutes, stirring often to make sure the garlic-ginger paste does not burn. Add the peeled tomatoes, curry powder, thyme, coconut milk and chicken stock and taste for seasoning. Add the browned tofu, pumpkin, chickpeas and potatoes and bring to a full boil, stirring to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Once it has boiled, reduce the heat and simmer for about a half an hour, stirring occasionally. Test the potatoes for doneness and once they are tender, add the Swiss chard and okra and taste for seasoning again. Simmer until the greens are wilted and the okra is soft. You can simmer as long as you like, and longer is always better with a stew, but as soon as the vegetables are cooked it is ready for you to add the Trinidadian green seasoning and eat. Serve with rice, dhalpuri, salad or whatever you’d like, really.