Plant-based ravioli (for borsch)
When it comes to Christmas Eve dinner, there are so many recipes for the right dough for ravioli or dumplings. The argument over adding an egg to the dough goes on and on, but one thing is certain – the dough for ravioli and dumplings without the addition of eggs can be enjoyed by both vegans and carnivores.
Ingredients
- 2-3 handfuls of dried mushrooms
- 1 onion
- 2 glasses of flour
- 3-4 spoonfuls of warm water
- 2-3 spoonfuls of oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Pour cold water over the dried mushrooms after washing them. Cook on low heat until soft (about 40-60 minutes), then drain. Finely chop the onion and cooked mushrooms, then fry the whole thing in oil for about 5-10 minutes until the onion is glazed. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside to cool.
Put the sifted flour into a wide bowl or onto a pastry board. Add oil to the centre and start kneading the dough, gradually adding warm water. When the dough has a uniform consistency, set it aside for 15-20 minutes. After this time, divide the dough into three equal parts, then roll out one of them. Cut out small circles from the dough using a glass, then place the filling in each piece and wrap. Boil the finished ravioli until they float.
Vegan dumplings with cabbage and mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 glasses of flour
- 3-4 spoonfuls of oil
- ⅔ glass of hot water
- 30 g of dried mushrooms
- 300 g of sauerkraut
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 grains of allspice
- 1 onion
- salt and pepper
Preparation
You can soak the mushrooms for stuffing the day before in cold water or boil them for 40-60 minutes until soft. When the mushrooms are ready for further processing, chop them finely along with the onion. Chop the cabbage slightly. Fry the whole thing for about 20 minutes along with bay leaf and allspice. You can drain the finished stuffing from the remaining water in a sieve.
Put the sifted flour into a wide bowl or onto a pastry board. Add oil to the centre and start kneading the dough, gradually adding warm water. When the dough has a uniform consistency, set it aside for 15-20 minutes. After this time, divide the dough into about 8 equal parts, then roll out each part thinly and use a glass to cut out equal circles. Place the stuffing in the centre of the circle, fold in half and seal the edges carefully. Cook the dumplings for about 3-5 minutes after they float to the surface.
Greek-style celery-fish
Christmas Eve dinner is based on fish dishes. In the vege version, it’s easy to recreate this flavour by adding nori algae – those commonly known from Japanese cuisine and sushi – to the dish.
Ingredients
- 1 celeriac
- vegetable stock for cooking
- 1 packet of nori
- 2 spoonfuls of soy sauce
- 6 bay leaves
- 4 grains of allspice
- 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
- wheat flour and plant-based drink for battering
- 1 onion
- 5-6 carrots
- 2 parsnips
- 1 leek
- vegetable oil
- 3-4 spoonfuls of tomato paste
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Boil the vegetable stock together with two nori sheets, soy sauce, coriander, allspice and bay leaf. Cut the peeled celeriac into slices about 1 cm thick, then place them in the boiling stock. Cook the celeriac until soft, for about 20 minutes, then drain and cool. Season the cooked celeriac slices with salt and pepper, then wrap them in nori and dip the whole thing in plant-based drink and then in flour. Fry the formed chops in hot oil on each side until golden.
Grate the root vegetables. Finely chop the onion and leek, then fry all the vegetables in oil along with the bay leaf and allspice. Season with salt and pepper, add water and stew until soft, for about 20-30 minutes. Towards the end of cooking, add tomato paste.
Put a layer of vegetable sauce on the bottom of the platter, then place slices of celery-fish on it. Repeat the process so that there is a layer of sauce on top of the finished platter.
Oyster mushrooms in oil with onion
Herrings in various configurations are another must-have of the Christmas Eve table. A good substitute in terms of texture and protein content will be oyster mushrooms — on their own, they have a neutral taste, but when properly processed, they can please all fans of herring dishes.
Ingredients
- 1 packet of oyster mushrooms (400-500 g)
- 1/3 glass of flaxseed oil
- 1/4 glass of vinegar
- 4-5 spoonfuls of hot water
- 2 onions
- 1-2 sheets of nori
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 grains of allspice
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cut the larger oyster mushrooms into smaller, about 2 cm pieces. Fry for a few minutes in a frying pan. In the meantime, slice the onion into feathers, then mix flaxseed oil, vinegar, hot water, nori, sliced onion, bay leaf and allspice, salt and pepper in a bowl. When the marinade is ready, add the oyster mushrooms. Put the finished marinated oyster mushrooms to jars and marinate for a minimum of 24 hours before eating.
Spice oyster mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1-2 packets of oyster mushrooms (approx. 1 kg)
- 1 onion
- 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
- ¼ glass of soy sauce
- 2 spoonfuls of mustard
- 1/5 glass of apple or rice vinegar
- ¼ glass of flaxseed oil
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 star anise
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon of cumin
- ½ teaspoon of ginger powder
- ½ teaspoon of cardamom
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Preparation
Fry the oyster mushrooms in a frying pan until golden, meanwhile chopping the onion into feathers. In a separate dish, mix the remaining marinade ingredients. Put the cooled oyster mushrooms together with the onions to a platter or jar and pour the marinade over them. Marinate for a minimum of 24 hours before eating.
Vegan mayonnaise (for a vegetable salad)
In many Polish homes, no Christmas is complete without a vegetable salad. It is very easy to substitute mayonnaise for the vegan version in the plant-based option, and to boost the egg flavour, the whole salad can be seasoned with Kala Namak black Himalayan salt.
Ingredients:
- 50 ml of unsweetened soy drink
- ½ teaspoon of wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of mustard
- 100 ml of vegetable oil (such as rapeseed oil)
- ½ teaspoon of inactive yeast flakes
- ¼ teaspoon of Kala Namak black Himalayan salt
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Blend the soy drink with the vinegar until smooth, then add the rest of the ingredients (except the oil) and put the whole thing in a narrow, tall vessel (if you are using a hand blender). Blend the whole thing for about a minute, then start slowly adding the oil in a thin stream. When the mayonnaise reaches the target consistency, you can use it in a vegetable salad, for example.
Tofu-fish in jelly
Ingredients
- 1 block of natural tofu
- a few spoonfuls of soy sauce
- 1 piece of nori
- 1-2 spoonfuls of oil
- 1 carrot
- 2 glasses of vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 grain of allspice
- 1 teaspoon of agar
Preparation
Cut the tofu into six thick slices, place in soy sauce and put in the fridge. In the meantime, cut one nori sheet into six equal pieces. Then wrap the tofu in the nori pieces and fry in oil on each side. If the nori doesn’t stick to the tofu, you can soak the whole thing in a little bit of plant-based drink.
Slice the carrot, then cook it in stock with spices. When the carrot softens, add agar and mix thoroughly. Put the fried tofu to a platter and pour the cooled jelly over it. Set aside to cool.
Mushroom soup
Mushroom soup would be a fully plant-based dish if it weren’t for... whitening with cream. For a vegan version, you can use a plant-based substitute for cream (such as soy or oat). The soup can also be whitened with wheat flour.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of soup greens
- 2 litres of water
- 100 g of dried mushrooms
- 1 packet of plant-based substitute for cream
- half a block of vegan butter or margarine
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 grains of allspice
- salt and pepper
- lemon juice
Preparation
Prepare stock from the soup greens by adding allspice and bay leaves. After about an hour of cooking, add the dried mushrooms and cook for about 30 more minutes. Remove the vegetables from the soup (leaving the mushrooms) and add lemon juice, butter, tempered vegetable cream and spices to taste.
Plant-based Old Polish gingerbread
Gingerbread is traditionally made with honey. If you want to make a plant-based version of gingerbread, you can replace honey with maple syrup, agave syrup or molasses.
Ingredients
- 1 kg of wheat flour
- 500 g of maple or agave syrup
- 1 ½ glasses of sugar
- 1 block of margarine
- 2 packets of sugar-free gingerbread spice
- 3 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 spoonful of apple vinegar
- 3/4 glass of soy drink
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 2 jars of plum jam
- 2 bars of dark chocolate
Preparation
Old Polish gingerbread requires adequate maturation time, so it is advisable to prepare the dough from 2 to 6 weeks before baking.
Heat the maple syrup with the margarine and sugar until the ingredients are fully dissolved and combined, then set aside to cool. Add sifted flour, salt and gingerbread spices. Mix the soy drink with vinegar and baking soda (it will foam), then add to the dough and knead until smooth. Put the dough in a dish, cover with a cloth and set aside in a cold, dark place for 2-6 weeks to mature.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Divide the dough into 3 parts and roll out each part flat to the size of a large baking sheet. Bake each top for about 20 minutes, then set aside to cool. Spread the two tops with plum jam and lay on top of each other. Cover the whole thing with the third top and spread with chocolate melted in a water bath. To give the gingerbread a regular shape, you can trim the edges.
Tofu-cake
How about another piece of cheesecake? Many claim that we have a separate stomach for this cake. In the plant-based version, cottage cheese can be easily replaced with natural tofu to enjoy the traditional taste.
Ingredients
- 100 g of tea biscuits
- 2 spoonfuls of vegetable oil
- ¼ glass of millet groats (raw)
- 2 blocks of natural tofu
- ½ glass of powdered sugar
- 2 spoonfuls of potato flour
- 1/3 glass of lemon juice
- grated peel of 1 lemon
- 1 ¼ glasses of plant-based drink
- salt
Preparation:
Blend the tea biscuits with oil until coarse crumbs form. Spread the bottom on the cake pan and pat it with your hands, then put it in the fridge. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Blend the remaining ingredients thoroughly to a smooth paste, then pour it over the previously prepared bottom. If you like, you can add raisins to the dough. Put the dough in the preheated oven. After a dozen or so minutes, reduce the temperature to 120 degrees and bake for another hour. After baking, cool the cake for at least 2-3 hours. You can coat the tofu-cake with melted dark chocolate.
Kutia without honey
Ingredients
- 200 g of ground poppy seeds
- ¾ glass of maple syrup
- ½ glass of millet groats
- 1 glass of nuts (any, can be mixed)
- ½ glass of peeled almonds
- ½ glass of raisins
- 1 vanilla pod
- 30 g of candied orange peel
Preparation
Pour boiling water over poppy seeds until fully covered, then set aside to cool. Cook the millet groats, then cool. Drain the poppy seeds with a sieve or cloth and strain well. Roast the nuts in a skillet until brown and chop. Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and take out the seeds. Mix all ingredients to a smooth paste, then place in the fridge for a minimum of two hours.
A vegan Christmas Eve can also be tasty... and traditional!