Make and/or eat some thing inspired by a book or film.
Day seven of Vegan MoFo and it is the delightful Bridget Jones Diary inspired, Blue Leek and Potato Soup.
The Diary of Bridget Jones is one of my favourite books and movies. I love how imperfect she is. If you want a good laugh, then this is the movie for you.
Bridget Jones Blue Leek and Potato Soup
Now, of course you do not have to turn the soup blue……I did , just for fun with a couple of drops of blue food colouring. Poor Bridget had the misfortune of using blue string to tie up the leek in her soup which gave her the blue version.
blue-soup
This soup is delicious in either colour.
Enjoy,
(Blue) Leek and Potato Soup
Serves 4 – 6
2 Tblspns olive oil
5 medium potato’s peeled and roughly chopped
3 leeks, trimmed, thoroughly washed and sliced
4 cloves garlic chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tblspn lemon juice
salt to taste
finely chopped green onions for garnish if wanted.
Sauté the potato’s, leeks and garlic in the olive oil until vegetables start to soften a little and brown. Add the vegetable stock and simmer covered for 30 mins until the vegetables are soft.
Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. (or you can wait until the soup cools a little then place in small batches in a blender and process. Be Very Careful that the soup is not too hot or it could explode out of the top of the blender and cause serious burns).
Add coconut milk, lemon juice and stir to combine.,
Wow, here we are at day six already, time is flying by as usual. There should be a term “mofo time” kind of like tropical island time, but the opposite. In mofo land, time speeds up and flies by before you know it.
Beefless Wellington
Anyway back to mofo day six and our prompt “Re-create a restaurant meal”. I have two restaurant meal recipes for you. The first is Beefless Wellington. You see this at high end restaurants and I wanted to try and replicate the concept of roast beef smothered in a mushroom garlic pesto then wrapped in puff pastry and baked to perfection.
KFC (Kentucky Fried Cauliflower)
The second is a take on KFC, but this time it is Kentucky Fried Cauliflower. Now, there could be a debate on whether KFC is a restaurant, but I am not going there. Last summer I did a post on this and explained how I live one block “down wind” of a local KFC and the aroma that greets me almost on a daily basis has me drooling in my driveway. So for this post, I will link back to that post for the commentary regarding KFC and here for a recipe to satisfy your “finger licking good” cravings.
Enjoy,
Beefless Wellington
Beefless Wellington
Serves 4
1 beefless roast
2 Tblspns Dijon mustard
2 Tblspns olive oil
1/2 lb mushrooms cleaned and sliced
4 Tblspns dry red wine
3 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 tspn thyme
6 – 8 slices vegan chicken or turkey
1 packet vegan puff pastry
2 Tblspns non dairy milk
Beefless Roast
1 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
4 Tblspns chickpea flour
4 Tblspns nutritional yeast
2 tspns onion power
2 tspns garlic powder
1 Tblspn vegan worsteshire sauce
1/4 tspn ground pepper
1 cup water
1 Tblspn olive oil
1 Tblspn tamari
1 tspn browning liquid (optional)
8 cups vegetable broth for simmering
Combine all liquid ingredients. In separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add liquid ingredients to dry and mix well. If necessary add a little more chickpea flour to make a dough like ball. Knead for 5 mins to develop gluten. Form into a loaf. Wrap in cheesecloth loosely and tie the ends.
Bring vegetable broth to a boil, lower dough in and bring back to a slow simmer. Cover and simmer (do not boil) for on hour turning occasionally. Allow to cool in broth. When cool, remove from broth and put in a Ziploc bag with 1/4 cup of broth and refrigerate overnight,
Brush roast with mustard on all sides. Preheat oven to 400 F,
Place mushrooms, garlic and thyme in food processor and process into a pesto. Add to frying pan with olive oil. Sauté for 10 mins until mushrooms have released their moisture and most of it has cooked down. Cool.
Lay out piece of plastic wrap on counter. Place turkey/chicken slices on top overlapping to make a square that is slightly wider than your roast and long enough to wrap completely around.
Spread mushroom pesto on top of turkey slices. Place roast in the middle and wrap with turkey slices using the plastic wrap to help you roll it up. Tuck in ends as you go. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 mins.
Lay pastry down on lightly floured surface and roll out to a rectangle slightly larger than the previous turkey square.
Place roast in middle of pastry and roll up inside pastry, securing the ends and making sure the roast is completed encased.
Place seam side down on a baking tray. lightly score the top with slits to allow steam to escape. Brush with milk, bake in oven 25 – 25 mins until golden.
Beefless Wellington
Let sit 10 mins before slicing and serving with your favourite gravy.
Day five of Vegan Mofo and we are sharing the best sandwich ever.
Toasted Ruben
Before I was vegan, I loved a good toasted Ruben sandwich. Layers of corned beef topped with sauerkraut, cheese, russian dressing and mustard, yum.
Toasted Ruben
Obviously, I no longer have the corned beef, but, through the wonders of seitan, I can now make a very close replica of this iconic sandwich.
Enjoy,
Toasted Ruben
Toasted Ruben
Bread of choice
Vegan Cheese
Saurkraut
Mustard
Corned Beefless
1 Cup Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Tblspn dried onion flakes
1 Tblspn smoked paprika
1 Tblspn ground fennel
1 Tblspn ground caraway
1/2 Tblspn salt
1 tspn dry hot mustard powder
1/2 tspn ground cloves
1/2 tspn white pepper
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tblspn Maple syrup
1/2 Tblspn balsamic vinegar
Russian Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn Dijon mustard
1 tpn grated onion
1 Tblspn hot chilli sauce
Toasted Ruben
Prepare Corned Beefless:
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Mix together to form a dough. Knead for 2 -5 minutes to develop gluten strands.
Shape into a log and wrap in cheesecloth loosely, tying the ends.
Bring large pot of water to a boil (if you want to add additional flavour, add a cut onion, a few chopped garlic cloves and 2 or 3 tablespoons of soy sauce to the water). Place gluten log into the boiling water. Bring back to a slow simmer and allow to continue simmering (not boiling) for 1 1/2 hours. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool in simmering liquid.
When cool, remove from cheesecloth and place in Ziploc bag with 1/4 cup of simmering liquid. Place in the fridge and leave overnight. When ready to use, slice thinly.
Russian Dressing:
Blend all but the olive oil together in a blender. Once totally combined, very slowly drizzle the olive oil in while continuing to blend on high.
Toasted Ruben
To assemble,
Toast bread slices of choice, top with multiple slices of Corned Beefless, add a generous amount of sauerkraut. Top with vegan cheese, mustard and Russian dressing.
Day three of MoFo and all is well……. Well, sort of.
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
I was browsing around the internet, soaking in all the wonderful vegan posts, and wham, go attacked by a computer virus. Basically the virus attached a secret encryption to all my files and the only way to get my files back was to go to a website and pay to get the secret code…………..I think not……. fortunately I do regular back ups, so a quick loading of the original dvd’s that came with the computer, everything is wiped off and reloaded. Thank goodness for external hard drives and backups. A little inconvenient but nothing too serious.
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
Continuing on with the theme of quick and easy (didn’t take too much time or effort to restore my computer) and delicious, todays recipe is for Zucchetti with Sundried Tomato Marinara Sauce. You could sub out they zucchetti (spiralized zucchini) with a pasta of your choice if you prefer.
This meal can be totally raw or if you like (as I did) you can add in fried mushrooms.
Enjoy,
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
Serves 2
2 or 3 zucchini spiralized (or 2 cups of cooked pasta of choice)
1 Cup sun dried tomato’s soaked in 1/2 cups hot water for 10 mins (reserve water)
1 Tblspn olive oil
2 plum tomato’s
1 handful fresh basil
1 garlic clove
Sauteed mushrooms and nutritional yeast if desired to garnish
Place spiralized zucchini on paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
Combine drained sun dried tomato’s, olive oil, plum tomato’s, basil and garlic in a blender or food processor. Process until fairly smooth. Add reserved tomato soaking water a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Place zucchini on two plates. Spoon marinara sauce over top and sprinkle with sautéed mushrooms and nutritional yeast if using.
You may also gently heat the marinara sauce in a small pot before serving if you prefer a cooked sauce.
I like the sauce “raw” and it avoids one more pot to clean, adding to the “quick and easy” part of the recipe…….and it truly is delicious.
Well, it is hard to believe it is already the second last day of MoFo. Time has really flown by. I have enjoyed reading all the new blogs I have discovered and have a list a mile long of recipes I want to try.
I am ending the traditional soup recipes with a vegan version of a favourite of my children. When they were young, my son and daughter loved Hamburger Soup. This soup was filled with tasty vegetables, barley and ground meat.
This vegan version is equally tasty with finely diced mushrooms replacing the ground meat. The soft pretzels are fantastic. They are soft and light with a slightly sweet taste. Perfect for dipping in the soup.
My last post for September tomorrow will be a dessert. Strawberry Champagne Pearl Soup with Cashew Creme and Palmiers. A fitting finale for this years Vegan MoFo.
Enjoy,
Mushroom-burger Soup with Soft Pretzels
Mushroom-Burger Soup
Makes 6
1 Tblspn olive
1 Tblsp vegan butter
750g white mushrooms finely diced
1 onion, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, thinly diced
1/2 cup barley
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups water
3 cups vegetable broth
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 bay leaf
1 Tblspn parsley
1 tspn minced garlic
1/2 tspn dried thyme
ground black pepper, to taste
Heat olive oil and butter in large soup pot over medium-high heat, add mushrooms. Cook stirring until the mushrooms have softened and released their liquid.
Stir in the onion, carrots, celery, and barley. Pour in diced tomatoes, water, broth, and tomato soup. Season with bay leaf, parsley, garlic, thyme, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cover; simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently. Remove bay leaf before serving.
Mushroom-burger Soup with Soft Pretzels
Soft Pretzels
Makes 6
1 cup non dairy milk
1 package active dry yeast
3 Tblspns packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
2 Tblspns vegan butter, plus more for greasing
1 rspn fine salt
1/3 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons coarse salt
Warm the milk in a saucepan until it’s about 110 degrees; pour into a medium bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let the yeast soften, about 2 minutes; stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup flour with a wooden spoon. Dice 2 tablespoons butter and soften; stir into the mix. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and the fine salt to make a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 and grease a large baking sheet. Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 30-inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch. Form each rope into a pretzel shape.
Dissolve the baking soda in 3 cups warm water in a shallow baking dish. Gently dip each pretzel in the soda solution, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
Today was lovely and sunny and warm. What a wonderful treat, after all the rain and cool weather we have been having. It was so nice out, I ate my Chilli Soup on the back deck and was able to get some nice photo’s in natural light.
This soup is full of vegetables and nice and spicy. Paired with Cornbread, it is a (yet again) new favourite. It seems like every time I make a new soup it quickly becomes a favourite.
This one will be top of the list for a brief time, probably only until tomorrow’s post, but definitely only until the last recipe. I have a special finale planned for September 30th post, a dessert soup with champagne and strawberries,,,,,,mmmmm, can’t wait.
Enjoy,
Chilli Soup with Cornbread
Chilli Soup
2 Tblspns olive oi
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 zucchini, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, grated
1 small tin corn
1 large can diced tomatoes along with their juices
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tblspn chili powder
1/2 tspn ground cumin
1/2 tspn thyme
2 Tblspn cornstarch + 1/2 cup cold water
Heat oil in large pot. Add onions, red bell peppers, zucchini and celery. Saute, stirring occasionally for 12 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Add garlic, corn, crushed tomatoes and kidney beans. Cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.. Add crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, ground cumin, & thyme, stir to combine. Bring to a light boil. Mix the cornstarch with cold water to dissolve and add to soup while stirring constantly. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Chilli Soup with Cornbread
Cornbread Ingredients
•2 cups cornmeal (non-GMO)
•1 cup all-purpose flour
•2 teaspoons baking powder
•1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
•2 tablespoons maple syrup
•2 cups almond milk (room temperature)
•2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (or fresh squeezed lemon juice)
•1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
Combine the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) in a medium-sized bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
Combine all dry ingredients together (cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt) in a medium-sized bowl and stir until well combined.
Add the melted coconut oil and maple syrup to the non-dairy milk mixture and whisk until foamy and bubbly.
Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. (The batter will be somewhat thick).
Use a spoon or spatula to transfer the batter into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 – 35 minutes.
What a crazy week, there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Is it just me, or are the days actually shorter. I don’t mean the amount of sunlight, but actual time. I swear I used to have more time to get things done…..
One great thing about posting all these soups and breads, is that I have lots of yummy meals always ready. Today’s post is a Lentil Curry Soup with Pita Bread. I am really loving making all these flat breads. They are quite simple and very tasty.
This weekend I will be cooking up a storm with the last of the recipes. including Gnocchi, Pretzels and Sourdough.
Enjoy,
Lentil Curry Soup with Pita Bread
Lentil Curry Soup
Serves 6
3 Tblspn Olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 large garlic cloves, chopped, divided
2 Tblspn (or more) curry powder
1 cup French green lentils
4 1/4 cups(or more) water, divided
1 16-ounce can chickpeas drained, rinsed
1 Tblspn fresh lemon juice
2 Tblspns vegan butter
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add half of chopped garlic; stir until vegetables are soft but not brown. Add curry powder and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add lentils and 4 cups water. Add extra salt and pepper if required. Increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, puree chickpeas, lemon juice, 1/4 cup water, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and remaining garlic in processor.
Add chickpea puree and butter to lentil soup. Add additional curry powder, if desired. Add water by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency.
Divide soup among bowls. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions and serve with lemon wedges.
Lentil Curry Soup with Pita Bread
Pita Bread
Makes 8 Pita’s
1/2 tspn dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (approximately 105 degrees F)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
1/2 Tblspn salt
1 Tblspn olive oil
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bread bowl. Stir to dissolve. Add whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, then 1 cup white flour. Stir 100 times (one minute) in the same direction to activate the gluten in the flour. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes or as long as 2 hours.
Sprinkle salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add white flour, one cup at a time. When the dough is too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured bread board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Return the dough to a lightly oiled bread bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least double in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Gently punch down.
This amount of dough will make approximately 8 pita’s if rolled out into circles approximately 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4-inch thick. :
Place baking sheets, on a rack in the bottom third of your oven, leaving a one inch gap all around to allow air to circulate. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough into eight equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter. You may wish to roll out all eight before starting to bake. Cover rolled out breads, but do not stack.
Bake 2 at a time (or more if your oven is larger) directly on baking sheets. Bake each bread for 3 or 4 minutes, until the bread has gone into a full “balloon” or until it is starting to turn lightly golden, whichever happens first. When baked, remove, place on a rack for about five minutes to let cool slightly, then wrap breads in a large kitchen towel (this will keep the breads soft).
For todays soup, I have made a Chickpea and Pasta soup with a Light Rye Bread. Very fitting for the first day of Fall.
Time is really slipping by this month. It is hard to believe we are already in the fourth week of Vegan MoFo. In order to complete my 20 posts, I will have to be a little creative and double up one day, as I have just realised that I will only be able to squeeze 19 in before the end of September. Oh Well, I guess I will just slip in one extra…..:)
Enjoy,
Chickpea and Pasta Soup with Light Rye Bread
Chickpea and Pasta Soup
Serves 10
1 lb dried chickpeas
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp salt
3 litres vegetable stock or water
3 rosemary sprigs
8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lb skinned fresh tomatoes, seeded
10 oz small tubular pasta such as ditalini
flat-leaf parsley, optional
Put the chickpeas in a bowl and cover with plenty of water. Mix together the bicarb of soda, flour and salt and add enough water to make a thin paste. Stir this mixture into the bowl with the chickpeas and leave to soak for at least 12 hours – preferably overnight.
When the chickpeas have doubled their size they are ready to be cooked. Drain and rinse. Put them in a large stockpot and add the vegetable stock or water. Tie the rosemary sprigs in a muslin bag and add to the stockpot. Do not be tempted to just add the rosemary sprigs without the bag, as I did. The rosemary will fall apart and you will spend a long time fishing out the stems and leaves.
Add the garlic to the stockpot and pour in half the oil. Cover the pan tightly and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook over the lowest simmer until the chickpeas are tender, which can take two or three hours. Do not uncover the pan for the first hour and a half, or the chickpeas will harden. For the same reason, do not add any salt until the chickpeas are nearly ready.
When the chickpeas are tender, remove the rosemary bundle. Purée the tomatoes through a food mill or in a food processor and add to the soup with their juice. Stir well, add salt and pepper to taste and cook for a further 10 minutes or so. .
Before you add the pasta, check that there is enough liquid in the pot. You may have to add some boiling water. Now, add the pasta and cook till al dente. I like to add some freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, but the glory of this soup will be undiminished if you prefer not to. Garnish with flat leaf parsley and drizzle with extra olive oil if you like.
Chickpea and Pasta Soup with Light Rye Bread
Light Rye Bread
Makes one loaf
1 ¾ cups + 3 Tablespoons warm water
2 ¼ teaspoons, or one ¼ ounce package active dry yeast
2 ½ cups bread flour
1 ½ cups light rye flour
1 ¾ tspn salt
1 Tbspn sugar
2 tspn caraway seeds
Activate the yeast
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the warm water and yeast. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes so the yeast activates.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, light rye flour and salt until well incorporated.
In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, caraway seeds and stir until just combined. Whisk in the warm water mixture from
Mix the dough
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl containing the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon in one circular direction for 1 minute. Now stir in the opposite direction for 1 minute.
Coat the ball of dough in vegetable oil
Add about 1 Tablespoon olive oil to another medium mixing bowl and spread it around the inside with your fingers. Use a spatula to scrape the dough into the oily bowl. With dampened fingers, form the dough into a ball and rotate it around in the inside of the bowl so it’s coated in oil.
Let the dough rise
Cover the bowl with a plastic bag and let it rise in a warm place until it’s doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.
Let the dough rise once more
Degass the dough by pressing on it with dampened hands several times until no more gas comes out of the dough. Form the dough into a ball again and let it rise until it’s doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.
Proof the dough
The dough can now be proofed by gently forming it into a lightly oiled loaf pan and allowed to sit covered with a plastic bag until it reaches about 80% to 90% of it’s intended size, which should be about 40 minutes. The proofing stage is where the dough takes most of it’s shape. It’s important to leave room under the plastic bag so the dough can rise sufficiently.
Preheat your oven to 375F Remove the plastic bag so the dough can rest for about 10 minutes while your oven is preheating. During the baking process, the dough will rise another 10% to 20% of it’s intended size in the process known as oven spring. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when the loaf pan is tapped.
Cool the bread completely before removing it from the loaf pan.
Cold and rainy today, lots of leaves falling from the trees, looks like Fall has really arrived. Perfect soup day. What could be better than to curl up on the sofa with a nice cozy blanket, a good book and a big bowl of rich, bubbley, cheezy French Onion Soup. Mmmmmm 🙂
Growing up in Australia, the only onion soup I ever came across was a dry packet mix. While it was tasty it certainly was not drool worthy. When we moved to Canada, it was quite a few years before I tried the rich, cheesy, gooey concoction known here as French Onion Soup. It was love at first bite. I was also lucky enough to travel to Paris a few years ago and had to have a bowl there. It was even more delicious. Unfortunately one of the main ingredients to this lovely soup is cheese, so it was off limits……well, not any more. Thanks to the Cheez recipe I have used already in a few of the previous posts, the iconic French Onion Soup is here in all of its glory.
Cheezy French Onion Soup with French Baguette
The trick to this soup, is in the slow caramelizing of the onions. This is worth the trouble and the wait. By taking a slow approach to cooking the onions, the flavour really intensifies.
Now, you will notice in the photo’s, there is no “French Baguette” pictured. I made the baguette out of the same bread recipe as I used for the Rosemary Bread that paired up with the Chikn Noodle Soup, just omitting the rosemary. The baguette is cut into thick slices, lightly toasted, then placed in the bottom of the bowls before ladling the soup on top.
Enjoy,
Cheezy French Onion Soup with French Baguette
Cheezy French Onion Soup
Makes 6 serves
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegan butter
4 onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, or vegetable stock
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups vegetable broth
1 french baguette, sliced (recipe below)
1 recipe Cheez (see below)
Melt vegan butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Do not skimp on the amount of time you cook the onions. To truly develop the rich onion flavour, cook for at least the full 25 mins. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn’t burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the vegetable broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Cut the baguette into thick slices and gently toast. Place in the bottom of soup bows.
Ladle the soup in bowls and gently spread half cup cheez on top of each bowl.
Place bowls on oven tray and gently broil tops.
Cheezy French Onion Soup with French Baguette
French Baguette
Makes 2 Baguettes
Ingredients
1 1/4 -ounce packet active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon fine salt
Directions:
Stir the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer). Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the flour, the fine salt and 3/4 cup warm water; stir with a wooden spoon (or with the dough hook if using a mixer) until a dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting lightly with flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Or knead with the dough hook on medium-high speed, adding a little flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, about 8 minutes.)
Brush a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until more than doubled, about 2 hours.
Brush 2 baking sheets with olive oil. Generously flour a work surface; turn the dough out onto the flour and divide into 2 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, sprinkle some flour on the dough, gently shape into a baguette. Let stand, uncovered, until more than doubled, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the loaves 20 minutes or until golden brown, Transfer to a rack to cool.
Cheezy French Onion Soup with French Baguette
Cheez
Ingredients:
1 cup plain unsweetened soymilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 Tblspns tapioca flour
3 Tblspns nutritional yeast
3 Tblspns mellow white miso paste
3 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dry ground mustard
1/2 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
Add the ingredients to a mini or standard blender and process the contents until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan and cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring slowly and continually.
Increase stirring speed as the mixture thickens and begins to form lumps. Stir vigorously until the mixture becomes very thick, smooth and glossy. Remove from heat.
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
One of my favourite pre vegan soups was Italian Wedding Soup. I just love the meatballs. Come to think of it, I love meatballs in spaghetti too. So, I have been trying to find a great meatball substitute. For a long time I have used button mushroom whole in spaghetti sauce to mimic the meatballs. While this is good, it never really satisfied my “meatball” craving.
Here I think I have found my ultimate meatball so, with my MofFo theme of Soups and Breads, I decided to tackle the old favourite, Italian Wedding Soup. The result was even better than I had hoped. I guess I may have cheated a little with the Basil Cracker, it isn’t really a bread, but, it just seemed the perfect fit. You will see in the Nutritional Info at the bottom that this dish is very high in sodium. If you want to lower the sodium content make sure to use low sodium broth and omit the additional salt. Also, the cracker recipe is Gluten Free, however, obviously the meatballs are not. If you are Gluten Free, you could use Gluten Free pre prepared meatballs, or even, in a pinch, use whole button mushrooms.
Enjoy,
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Italian Wedding Soup
Serves 6
4 Tbspns olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced plus 1 whole clove, peeled, divided
¾ cup diced carrot
¾ cup diced celery
1 Tbs Oregano
1 Tbspn Basil
1 Tbspn Parsley
8 cups vegetable broth
¾ cup ditalini pasta
18 – 24 vegan meatballs (recipe follows – the recipe is based on Vital Wheat Gluten)
1 5-oz. pkg. fresh spinach
1 Tbspn fresh lemon juice
Heat 2 Tbspns olive oil in large pot over med heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Stir in carrot and celery, and cook 5 minutes more, or until onion is soft. Add oregano, basil, and parsley, and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium, add ditalini, and cook at low boil 5 minutes, or half of cooking time stated in ditalini package directions. Add meatballs, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Add in a little extra water if necessary to thin to desired consistency,
Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 Tbspns oil in pan over med heat. Add remaining garlic clove, grated.. Add spinach; cook 3 to 5 minutes, turning constantly so spinach becomes evenly coated and wilted, but still bright green. After meatballs have simmered, add spinach and lemon juice to soup, and season with salt and pepper.
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Makes 24 crackers
Ingredients
1 cup gluten free flour blend
1 Tblspn melted vegan butter
1 tspn olive oil
1 tspn basil
½ tspn agave
½ tspn salt
Sea salt for the top
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour blend and salt. Add oil, melted butter, agave, and ¼ cup water and mix until the dough comes together into a ball.
Add more water if the dough seems too dry.
Pat the dough into a disk. Place the disk between two pieces of parchment and using a rolling pin, roll until very thin, about ⅛ inch.
Remove the top piece of parchment from dough and cut dough into 1-inch squares, but do not separate. Lightly brush the dough with water and sprinkle with sea salt.
Keep the dough on parchment paper and move onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until crisp and slightly puffed, about 15-20 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet after about ten minutes.
Cool then separate.
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Mix the following liquid ingredients
3/4 cup Cold water
1 Tblspn tamari
1 Tblspn vegetable oil
For the simmering broth you will need:
6 cups vegetable broth
Directions:
In a large pot, bring broth to a rapid boil.
Add the liquid ingredients (not the simmering broth) to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are combined. Dont overwork the dough or the meatballs will be tough. Cut off small pieces of dough and roll into small, round meatball shapes with the palms of your hands, about 1/2-inch in diameter.
Work quickly as the gluten in the dough becomes more elastic the longer the dough sits, and this will make rolling more difficult. Do not make the meatballs too large because they will increase in size when simmered.
Now add the meatballs to the boiling broth and immediately reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Cook uncovered for 25 minutes. Check frequently to maintain the broth at a very gentle simmer. Do not boil. Stir occasionally once the meatballs float to the top of the pot. When done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let the meatballs cool in the broth until they reach room temperature. Refrigerate the meatballs with about 1/2 cup of the simmering broth in a zip-lock bag or airtight container for a minimum of 8 hours, or for up to 10 days, before browning in the skillet. This will firm and optimize their texture. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months
Finishing the Meatballs:
Sauté the meatballs in a skillet with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until nicely browned
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
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