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Jerusalem artichoke and Cauliflower Soup

9 February 2010

First of all, http://seitanismymotor.wordpress.com is now http://seitanismymotor.com.  No worries, you’ll end up on the new site automatically.

I started a vegan food blog in German, which is called “Seitansbraten“. I’m about to transfer my German entries to that site. There’s not much going on yet, hopefully I’ll be able to move all my German entries over there soon. Visit me over there!

Jerusalem artichoke soup with cauliflower

This soup is another quick, easy, and comforting winter dish. Its colour reflects the dominant colours this winter: white and grey. Yes, I’m complaining a bit about the weather and I’m waiting for spring. The chilies look like spring, don’t they?

Jerusalem artichoke and Cauliflower Soup (serves 2)

[German version of this recipe here ~ Deutsche Version des Rezepts hier]

1 t olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
170 g Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and chopped (4 bulbs)
150 g cauliflower, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 T semolina
2 t fresh thyme
1 small red chili, chopped
juice of 1/2 small lemon
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-size pot heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic and fry for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Purée and serve immediately.

Posted in soup, vegan, vegetable dishes | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments »

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Oh no, she’s after us…

4 February 2010

[Click here for the German version~ Deutsche Version hier]

…with more bread. I know, but I can’t help myself. There’s nothing better than a fresh slice of bread. Call me carb queen.

Crispy and still warm

This bread is  slightly dark, has a crispy crust, and it’s smoky. No, I didn’t burn it, I added smoked spelt and chipotle powder.

I have written on this blog about grünkern before: unripe, smoked, and then dried spelt berries. Grünkern is not available outside of Germany I guess, but apparently you can get something very similar in many countries. It is called freekeh, farik, or green wheat and is basically the same as grünkern only that it is made from unripe wheat berries. You can buy it at Middle Eastern stores or  online and grind it into flour yourself, if you have the possibility. Of course you can substitute whatever flour you have on hand (wheat and spelt is best) and add a little more chipotle powder to the dough for similar results.

Grünkern. Grün means green.

Smoked Spelt and Chipotle Bread

100 g smoked spelt, ground into flour*
400 g German Type 1050 wheat flour**
350 g water
10 g fresh yeast or 3 g instant dry yeast (1 t)
10 g salt
1 t chipotle powder (1 1/2 if omitting the smoked spelt. Substitute mild smoked paprika, if you think it might get too spicy.)

* Use whole wheat or whole spelt flour instead
** This is similar to first clear flour (but first clear flour has a higher gluten content), use first clear flour or 50% whole wheat and 50 % bread flour instead.

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, knead for ten minutes until the gluten is well developed and the dough isn’t sticky anymore. Add more flour or water, if necessary. Cover and let rise for one hour or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F). Shape the dough and let rise for 45-60 min, or until doubled in size again. Brush with water and sprinkle with spelt or corn meal. Transfer to oven, reduce temperature to 200°C (400°F) and bake for 45 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Posted in Auf Deutsch, German recipes, bread, vegan | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments »

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Gluten-free Pizza and Bread Recipe

2 February 2010
Gluten-free pizza topped with jerusalem artichokes, garlic, and olive oil

What started out as a small pantry challenge, ended in a very delicious, moist, and fluffy gluten-free pizza and bread dough. Whith the help of my grain mill I was able to turn lots of untouched grains into flour, which ended up in a gluten-free pizza dough.

As a frequent bread baker I am quite fond of gluten and would never have thought that a gluten-free pizza could be equally good. (Yes, I know, the usual tiresome prejudices.) But this was. And the crispy crust paired up so well with the toppings: olive oil, garlic, and thinly sliced jerusalem articokes.  Because made I way too much dough for our two person household, I used the remaining dough for a gluten-free loaf, which also came out pretty well:

gluten-free bread

When I searched online for gluten-free bread and pizza recipes, I realized that many recipes call for three or four eggs to replace the missing gluten. Usually, when a recipe calls for four eggs, I turn around and look somewhere else. But researching gluten-free baked goods made me aware of a completely awesome egg replacer which I have never used before: psyllium husk. It works similar to flax, but has stronger binding abilities. I was able to find a box at an Indian market. (German health stores only sell whole psyllium seeds and not husks.) The husks look like this. Usually they are used as a laxative, but these little seeds also have miraculous binding qualities. To repalce four eggs, I whipped up one tablespoon of psyllium husk powder with one cup of hot water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Slimy, but working:

Psyllium egg replacer

Gluten-free pizza crust and bread recipe

(makes one large pizza crust and one loaf of bread, loosely based on this recipe.)

Update: A reader suggested to add some sugar to the dough to avoid bitter undertones in the finished pizza crust. If you feel like it, you can add a tablespoon or two of your favourite sweetener.

110 g Milchreis, ground into flour. Yield: 2/3 c *
45 g amaranth, ground into flour. Yield: 1/3 c**
117 g millet, ground into flour. Yield: 3/4 c
157 g Harina P.A.N. (1 c)***
70 g cornstarch (1/2 c)
70 g gluten-free flour mix (1/2 c)****
1 T ground psyllium husk ++
1 c hot water
2 T olive oil
2 2/3 c lukewarm water
10 g salt
42 fresh yeast (or 14 g [0.5 oz] instant yeast = 2 envelopes)

* Milchreis (“milk rice”) is a rice used for rice pudding. In Germany it’s a staple in most households. It’s a short grain rice. You can use glutinous rice, arborio, or any other sticky short grain rice instead. Use regular white or sweet rice flour, if you don’t have a grain-mill.
**Quinoa works, too.
*** Use masa harina instead.
**** I used the gluten-free flour mix which I have previously used for muffins. Fell free to use a store-bought gf all purpose flour mix.
++ ground from 2 T whole husks, in a coffee grinder

In a large bowl, combine all flours and mix well. Pour the psyllium husk powder into your food processor. Add hot water and olive oil. Pulse until everything is well combined and has thickened up (see picture above).

In a large bowl combine remaining 2 2/3 cups of water and yeast. Stir and pour into flour mixture. Add egg-repalcer mixture and salt. Use a hand-held mixer to blend the mixture properly. The dough will be more like cake batter than like bread dough. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place, for about 30 minutes.

Grease a round pizza pan (28 cm [11inch] in diameter) with olive oil and scoop out  1 1/2 cups dough into the pan. Spread evenly and set aside.

For the bread, pour the remaining dough into a loaf pan (make sure to grease it very well) and sprikle with sesame seed. Set aside the loaf pan and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Spreading the dough.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and prepare your pizza topping. We used three jerusalem artichokes, sliced very thinly. The wonderful flavour of those starchy vegetables goes very well with this kind of crust. But of course you can use any topping you like.

Spread the dough with olive oil. Slice 3 cloves garlic very thinly and sprinkle on top. Slice the jerusalem artichokes very thinly and place on the dough. Season with salt, pepper and more olive oil, if you like.

Preparing the pizza.

Bake for 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Serve immediately and don’t forget to bake your bread. 200°C (400°F), 45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, remove and let cool on a rack.

This stuff is good!

Posted in bread, vegan | Tagged , , , | 34 Comments »

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Dark Chocolate Brownies with Caramel Frosting

29 January 2010

[Click here for the German version ~ Deutsche Version hier]

Dark chocolate brownies with caramel frosting

Some weeks ago the wonderful Jenny saw my complaint about not being able to find unsweetened baking chocolate where I live. She was very sweet and immediately sent me a package with four large bars plus some other awesome chocolate treats. She included peanut butter cups, taza drinking chocolate, a huge chunk of bittersweet chocolate, and even a raw chocolate bar. Thank you, Jenny! So far I have shared the taza hot chocolate with some people who all loved it. I didn’t touch the rest of the package though. It all looked so special and if I would eat it, it would have been gone.

But yesterday I couldn’t stop myself any longer and opened the wrapping of an unsweetened 100% baking chocolate bar. I know that you are not supposed to eat it all by itself, but I never listen to advice. And it was good I didn’t because biting into the chocolate bar an absolutely interesting and wonderful taste experience. At first it was bitter, but then I could taste cocoa nibs, something sour, even some coffee, and lots more. It was a very complex flavour, almost as complex as red wine. I admit that I went back to that chocolate bar to break 2-3 more small bits from it. I could have spent the whole evening doing that. Am I crazy?

Unsweetened baking chocolate

I don’t have any experinence in baking with unsweetened chocolate. Chocolate is used very often in German baking, but recipes usually call for bittersweet  or couverture chocolate. I have several books about baking with chocolate and I found very many recipes calling for that ingredient. Unfortunately most recipes that call for chocolate also call for ridiculous amounts of eggs. Chocolate and eggs make the finished cake dense, moist and sometimes gooey inside.

Finally I found a recipe for brownies which called only for two eggs and no fancy ingredients. Chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, flour, ground vanilla, and baking powder. That was all.

My adapted version calls for some more ingredients and I made a caramel frosting for them. These brownies are absolutely amazing. They are crispy on the outside with a very moist crumb. Moist, not fudgy. They are small and thin, so there is a perfect balance between moist and crispy. They are fairly un-sweet, if there was such a word (even though I increased the amount of sugar) with a very deep chocolate flavour.

I know you want to make these right now. What are you waiting for?

The caramel frosting is absolutely fantastic, too. I used coconut milk and barley malt syrup as a base, which resulted in a buttery and complex taste. Barley malt syrup adds a deep, almost smokey caramel flavour. The frosting very creamy, smooth and buttery. It complements the chocolate taste and adds just the right amount of sweetness. You can substitute brown rice syrup, but I would recommend to try the recipe as it is. It’s worth it, barley malt syrup is a miracle.

Dark chocolate brownies with caramel frosting (makes 16 small)

Cake:

1 T ground flax seed
3 T hot water
100 g (3.5 oz) unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped roughly
50 g (3 1/2 T) good quality margarine
50 g (1/4 c) solid coconut fat (the refined but not hydrogenated kind)
150 g (3/4 c) sugar
50 g (1/4 c) sucanat
60 g (1/4 c) soy yoghurt
100 g (3/4 c + 1 1/3 T) all purpose flour
1 t ground vanilla (or 2 t vanilla extract)
1/2 t baking powder
1/8 t baking soda
1/4 t salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 20 cm x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch) brownie pan with parchment paper.
Combine flax seed and hot water. Set aside. In a small saucepan combine chocolate, margarine, coconut fat, sugar, and sucanat. Carefully melt the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning the chocolate. Remove from heat as soon as only a few lumps of chocolate and fat are left. Stir until completely melted and well combined and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a bowl combine flax mixture and soy yoghurt. Mix well and add sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Carefully stir in chocolate mixture. Mix until well combined and pour into brownie pan. The batter will be rather thick. Spread out evenly and transfer to oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Carefully remove from pan and let cool on a rack. Slice when completely cooled.

Brownies cooling on the rack.

Frosting:

40 g (3 T) coconut fat (refined, but not hydrogenated)
80 g (1/4 c) barley malt syrup
120 ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk
80 g (3/4 c) unsifted confectioner’s sugar
1/4 t salt

In a small saucepan combine coconut fat, barley malt syrup, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. The mixture should bubble and be fairly foamy. Set aside and let cool for five minutes. Stir in confectioner’s sugar and salt. The mixture will be full of sugar lumps but that’s okay. let cool for five more minutes and transfer to food processor. Process until no lumps remain and the mixture is slightly lighter in colour.(1-2 minutes). Transfer to fridge and let cool for at least one hour. The mixture will set over time. The longer you keep it in the fridge, the firmer it gets. Whip it up with a spoon before using.

Frost your brownies and serve with a strong cup of coffee.

Update: Cassie asked me if the frosting could be made without powdered sugar. So here’s a version without the sweet powder. It tastes exactly like the first version. If you use less barley malt  syrup (2 T)  and more corn syrup (4 T), you can make this into a wonderfully mild and buttery frosting. One brownie, endless frosting possibilities. I need to get out of that kitchen.

150 ml (1/2 c + 2 T) coconut milk, separated
80 g (6 T) coconut fat
80 g (1/4 c) barley malt syrup
1/4 t salt
1 T cornstarch
40 g (2 T) light corn syrup (substitute agave or brown rice syrup)

Mix 2 tablesppons of coconut milk and cornstarch. Set aside. Combine remaining coconut milk, coconut fat, barley malt syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat (don’t turn off stove) and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook for one more minute until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in corn syrup. Let cool to room temperature, transfer to fridge, and let cool for at least an hour. Whip up with a spoon before using.

Posted in Auf Deutsch, cake, chocolate, recipes, vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 40 Comments »

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Bean and Seitan Stew

27 January 2010

[Click here for the German version of this entry. ~ Deutsche Version hier]

January can be a very cold month here in the east of Germany. Right now I feel like living in Siberia. The year started with lots of snow, there were one or two days when the snow started to melt, but then father frost returned. He took over the whole country. Personally, I had to fight him a couple of times and returned with a very cold nose and cold feet. But an hour later I was sitting in the warm kitchen with a bowl of hot stew like it never happened.

Fight Father Frost with Stew

Bean and Seitan Stew (makes 3 very large servings)

1 t olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (150g)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped (130 g)
3 cloves garlic, minced
160 g (5.7 oz) seitan*
2 cups cooked beans**
2 400 g tins canned tomatoes
2 cups water
1 T creole seasoning
1 T Hungarian paprika
1 t cumin
1 t fresh thyme
1 t salt or to taste
freshly ground black pepper

*I used the leftovers from my seitan roast
** chickpeas, pintobeans, and Lima beans is what I used, approx. 150g raw)

In a large stockpot heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion, pepper and carrot. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add garlic and seitan and cook for 5 more minutes. Deglaze with some water, if the mixture sticks to the pot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

Posted in recipes, seitan, soup, vegan | Tagged , | 32 Comments »

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Onion Crusted Seitan Medallions

24 January 2010

In Germany a roast is usually served for lunch on a Sunday. People over here eat their main meal at noon, while having something lighter for dinner. I have never had much interest in veganizing a huge brown chunk of meat, until I came across an onion crusted meat something on TV. The idea of slicing a roast into medallions and baking them with a mix of fried onions, mustard, and bread crumbs suddenly sounded delicious.  And it is perfect with baked potato wedges and garlic-thyme mushrooms.

This recipe is a little time-consuming, but if you prepare the seitan one day in advance, the rest will take less than an hour, while most of this time is inactive baking time. It’s for sure a perfect meal for a lazy Sunday when you feel like spending some time in the kitchen.

Sliced Roast

For the medallions, you will need half of the seitan recipe, which makes four slices. The potatoes and mushrooms will serve two people, so if you want to make this dish for four, prepare the double amount of potatoes and mushrooms.

Seitan (based on the ppk recipe)

dough:

1 1/2 cups  gluten powder (vital wheat gluten)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (20 g)
1 T onion powder
1 t lemon zest
2 t fresh thyme, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup cold vegetable broth
1/2 cup cold dry red wine

broth:
11 cups cold vegetable broth
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red balsamic vinegar
2 T jerk sauce
1 T Worcester sauce
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme

To make the seitan dough, combine gluten powder, yeast flakes, onion powder, zest, thyme, garlic, and black pepper in a bowl. Mix well and  add vegetable broth and red wine. Knead until an elastic dough has formed and all ingredients are incorporated well. In a large stock pot, combine all ingredients for the broth. Slice seitan dough into two equal pieces and place in cold broth mix. Place on stove and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let seitan simmer for an hour.

Let seitan sit in the broth until completely cooled. I let it sit in the pot in a cool place over night. You will need some of the broth later in the recipe, so don’t discard it.

For the onion-crusted seitan medallions:

1 t olive oil
2 medium onions (about 250 g), diced
1/4 cup medium-hot yellow mustard or Dijon
3 T panko bread crumbs
1 T jerk sauce
1 t fresh thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add onions. Fry over medium heat until slightly brown. Deglaze with 1/4 cup of seitan broth and keep cooking until all the liquid is absorbed. In a bowl combine mustard, bread crumbs, jerk sauce, and thyme. Add onions and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease a baking dish with oil.
Slice one of the seitan pieces into four equal slices (2.5 cm [1 inch] thick). Place in baking dish and spread a generous amount of onion mix on top of each seitan piece. Set aside.

To make the potato wedges:

2 large potatoes, washed and patted dry
oil for brushing
salt, pepper, and paprika or chili powder for sprinkling

Slice potatoes into eight equal wedges each. Grease a second baking dish with oil. Place wedges in baking dish and spray or brush with oil. Sprinkle with spices and transfer to oven. Bake for twenty minutes.  Then place the seitan medallions in the oven as well and bake both potatoes and medallions for another twenty minutes.  Stir the potatoes from time to time. Add 1/4 cup of seitan broth to the medallions after the first ten minutes to deglaze.

To make the garlic-thyme mushrooms:

1 t olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
210 g (3 cups) sliced white mushrooms
2 t fresh thyme, chopped
salt, pepper to taste

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet and fry garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme. Fry until the mushrooms are brown and crispy.

Remove seitan and potatoes from oven and assemble everything on a plate. Serve immediately.

Seitan roast served with baked potato wedges and mushrooms

Posted in German recipes, recipes, seitan, vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments »

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Spaghetti with Beluga Lentil Sauce

20 January 2010
Ingredients for the sauce

Ingredients for the sauce.

Recently, I have been on a lentil kick. Well, to be honest I have a full pantry and there are so many jars filled with all kinds of legumes, which I never touch. Like these pretty little beluga lentils. They are easy to prepare because you don’t have to soak them. Their cooking time is under 30 minutes and they are a great choice, if you feel like legumes, but don’t want to plan ahead too much.

Lentils are a fantastic base for spaghetti sauces and combined with tomatoes, peppers, and a decent amount of spices they make a very filling and delicious sauce, which will make you reach for a second serving. This sauce is very thick and comforting and if you have leftovers, you can spread them on toasted french bread or eat it with crackers and pretzels for a hearty snack.

Spaghetti with Beluga Lentil Sauce (serves 2)

50 g (1/4 cup) beluga lentils
150 g (1 cup, chopped) red bell pepper
1 small onion (1/3 cup, chopped)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup plain tomato sauce (passierte Tomaten)
1 chipotle in adobo + 1 t adobo sauce from the can
1 t salt (or to taste)
1 t Hungarian paprika
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried marjoram
15 g (1/4 cup) textured vegetable protein (TVP)
pepper to taste

whole wheat spaghetti for serving, prepared according to package directions.

Cook the lentils according to package directions (I cooked mine in 1 1/2 c of water, for 25 minutes).

Heat a large cast iron pan to medium-high heat.

Combine chopped pepper, chopped onion, garlic, tomato sauce, and chipotle + sauce in a food processor and process until mostly smooth. Drain the lentils Pour the puréed vegetables into the hot pan and immediately add remaining ingredients.  Lower the heat to medium and cook for 10-15 minutes until the consistency has thickened up. Mix with pasta and serve immediately.

Spicy and filling!

Posted in TVP, legumes, pasta, recipes, vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 30 Comments »

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Hazelnut-Fig Bread with Whole Grains

18 January 2010

Hazelnuts, figs, and spelt berries make this bread special.

More hazelnuts and even more bread, you ask? Why, yes! After talking about fruit bread in my last  bread post, I tried to come up with my own recipe for fruit bread. This version makes a wholesome loaf which will keep for a couple of days (and keep you full for a couple of hours). You can top it with jam or vegan cheese, if you like.

This recipe is still a work in progress. I was aiming for a very moist loaf, so I soaked the figs and added some soaked spelt berries to the dough as well. But the bread is not what I was looking for yet, so be prepared to see more fruit breads on this blog. And don’t get me wrong, this version is definitely worth a try. It has a great texture, it is firm and sturdy, but still light. The nuts add a great crunch and the figs some chewyness and of course a slightly sweet flavour.

Hazelnut-Fig Bread with Whole Grains (makes one loaf)

100 g whole spelt berries (or wheat)
100 g water

150 g dried figs (3/4 cup tightly packed)
120 ml (1/2 cup) apple juice

200 g whole wheat flour
200 g water
0.5 g (1/8 t) instant dry yeast

200 g whole wheat flour
3.5 g (1 t) instant dry yeast
10 g salt
1 T sugar
100 g hazelnuts

Coarse spelt meal for sprinkling.

Combine spelt berries and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside. (Don’t drain the grains.)

De-stem and quarter the figs. Combine with apple juice in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 200 g whole wheat flour 200 ml water and 1/8 t instant dry yeast. Stir well, cover and let sit for two hours.

In a second large bowl, combine remaining flour, instant dry yeast, and sugar. Add grains and their liquid, figs and apple juice, and whole wheat batter. Mix well and knead for ten minutes. Place dough in a bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.

Preheat oven to 250 °C (480°F) and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Add the hazelnuts and knead until they are distributed evenly. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured working surface and shape into a loaf. Sprinkle with coarse spelt meal. Transfer to the pan and let rise until doubled (one hour). Transfer to oven, reduce temperature to 200°C (400°F) and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Sprinkled with coarse spelt meal.

Posted in German recipes, bread, recipes, vegan | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments »

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Gomba Paprikás (Mushrooms with Paprika Flavoured Cream Sauce)

14 January 2010

Gomba paprikás - creamy and comforting

I visited Hungary a couple of times to stay with a guest family. They taught me a bit about Hungarian food and the Hungarian language and of course they cooked fantastic meals for me. One of my favourite dishes back then was gombás pörkölt, mushroom goulash. A similar dish popular in Hungary is gomba paprikás, which means “mushrooms flavoured with paprika”. I found a wonderful recipe for this speciality in Celia Brook Brown’s book Vegetarisch Kochen. (The English version is called World Vegetarian Cuisine). (Unfortunately the author mixes up Hungarian and Czech and calls the dish Houby Paprikas. Houby is the Czech word for mushrooms.) The original recipe (which you can find here) calls for sour cream to make a creamy sauce. I used soy milk, sunflower seeds, and cornstarch to make a vegan version which tastes exactly like a non-vegan sour cream sauce. Made from the most basic ingredients it is creamy, mild, refreshing and comforting at the same time. I served it with store-bought whole wheat spätzle, which may be hard to find outside of Germany and Austria. Use whatever pasta you have on hand instead of the spätzle.

Gomba Paprikás (serves 2)

1 t canola or olive oil
200 g white button mushrooms, chopped into dice
1 small onion, diced

3/4 cup soy milk
2 T sunflower seeds
1 T cornstarch
2 t good quality sweet Hungarian paprika (substitute mild smoked paprika for a slighly different version)
juice of 1/2 small lemon
1 t agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 t dried dill
1 T freshly chopped parsley

Cooked pasta for serving

In a large pan heat the oil. Add onion and fry on high heat for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Reduce heat  to medium and add mushrooms. Cook for 5 – 7 minutes until the mushrooms release their liquid and start to brown.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce: Combine sunflower seeds with 2-3 T of soy milk and process until creamy and smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until combined. Add to the mushrooms and cook until the sauce has thickened to a desired consistency, slightly thick and creamy (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in dill and parsley. Combine with prepared pasta and serve immediately.

Posted in pasta, recipes, vegan | Tagged , , , , | 39 Comments »

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A present from the Three Kings: Gugelhupf

9 January 2010

Gugelhupf - probably the most hilarious name for a cake.

Gugelhupf is a cake with a very long tradition. There is a legend that this cake was first brought to Alsace (a region in France close to the German border )by the three kings (no, not these! I’m talking about Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar) after they returned from Bethlehem. Because people treated them so hospitably, the kings baked a cake to thank them. The cake had the shape of a turban, which is similar to today’s Gugelhupf pans.  Catholics celebrate Epiphany on January the 6th, where children traditionally dressed as the three magi, go from house to house to collect donations. We call them Sternsinger (star singer or star boys in English). I grew up catholic but I was never a star singer because I totally suck at singing. So today I am not coming to your house to sing and write the initials of the three kings on your wall but I’m bringing you cake instead.

Gugelhupf pan

A gugelhupf a yeasted cake often made with raisins which is baked in a special pan. It is also called Elsässer Gugelhupf (gugelhupf from Alsace) The American bundt pan is very similar to the gugelhupf pan and in fact another name for gugelhupf is bundkuchen (bund means bundle, belt, or cord). The word gugelhupf may have been derived from the Middle High German word gugel (pronunciation just like “google”) which means hood. The shape of the cake looks like a hood worn for example by the Friars Minor Capuchin. “Hupf” may have been derived from the verb lupfen meaning “to uncover or to lift something”. Therefore a gugelhupf can be translated as “lifted hood”, if you like. The word gugelhupf is used in Southern Germany and Austria from where it came  to Alsace.

The spelling was there was changed to kuglof or kouglof. You might recognize the word kugel here (which in today’s German means ball (referring to the shape) but the word kugel for the dish is probably as well derived from gugel meaning hood). In fact the Jewish kugel is semantically related to the gugelhupf. In Northern Germany we often call the gugelhupf napfkuchen (Napf = bowl, pan; Kuchen = cake). Usually a gugelhupf is a yeasted cake but today the name refers only to the shape of the pan. Baking powder based cakes are common now. Most of you might be familiar with the marbled bundt cake, which is the same as a German Marmorgugelhupf. Gugelhupf recipes are legion and the cake has many relatives in different countries like Poland where it is called babka.

The gugelhupf is a simple and versatile weekday cake. So the recipe usually calls for staple ingredients. The only exception is probably the kirschwasser (aka Kirsch) which is usually used to soak the raisins. Raisins do provide most of the sweetness here as the cake is very low in sugar. The gugelhupf has an interesting and special texture, it is fluffy and light but also a little bit spongy and unlike other cakes the crumb has some spring similar to freshly baked bread. This cake is not a great and not too filling dessert, you can serve it all day long and you should definitely try it with some jam for breakfast.

Elsässer Gugelhupf
[Make sure that all ingredients have room temperature]

100 g raisins
60 ml (1/4 cup) apple juice (use Kirsch or rum for a more traditional version)

200 ml (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup) soy milk
25 g fresh yeast or 8 g (2 1/2 t) instant dry yeast
50 g (1/4 cup) + 1 t sugar, divided
500 g ( 4 cups + 2 1/2 T) all purpose flour, divided
200 g (3/4 cup + 2 T) vegan margarine, softened
1/4 t salt
3/4 t baking powder

80 g (1/4 cup) silken tofu
60 g (1/4 cup) soy yoghurt
2 T chickpea flour (or soy flour)
2 T water
1/8 t black salt (optional, provides a hint of egg flavour)

For the pan: margarine, 16 almonds

Place the raisins in a small bowl and pour the apple juice over the fruits. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine soy milk, yeast, 1 t sugar, and 30 g (1/4 cup) flour. Whisk until no lumps remain, cover the bowl and set aside for 15 minutes.

In a food processor combine tofu, yoghurt, chickpea flour, water, and black salt. Process until smooth.

Place the remaining flour in another large bowl and mix with remaining sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the margarine in small pieces and knead until you have incorporated most of the margarine.

Pour the tofu-mixture into the flour mixture. Add the soy milk mixture, which should have a creamy and bubbly consistency by now.  Knead until all ingredients are well incorporated. The dough will have a moist and sticky consistency, like a stiff cake batter not like bread dough. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled, around 90 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare your pan by greasing it with a generous amount of margarine. (You can use a bundt pan instead. Maybe you will have to adjust the baking time.) Place the almonds on the bottom of the pan:

Place almonds in the pan

Drain the raisins and add them to the batter. Knead shortly until incorporated and transfer the dough to the pan. Distribute evenly. Cover the pan with a kitchen towel and let the batter rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) in time. Bake for 60 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If the top of the cake gets too dark while baking, cover with aluminium foil.
Remove from oven, let cool for 2-3 minutes, remove from pan and let cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving and cut into 16 pieces.

Look how nicely the cake matches the weather:

A little bit of snow on the cake.

Snow in the street:

Lots of snow in the street. The weather forecast people shocked us a bit when predicting 50 cm (20 inches) of snow. Well, we are not there yet.

This entry was submitted to Susan’s YeastSpotting.

Posted in German recipes, cake, recipes, vegan | Tagged , , , , | 32 Comments »

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