Happy Sunday, cuties! Are you surviving the “Artic Blast”? The weather forecast for our area was saying that there would have been a lot of snow, but in the end, we had only a sprinkle and not much else! However, it has been below zero for a few days so this called for some warm and comforting food and I was in the mood for a goulash: I still remember when my granddad was making this dish, all the care he was putting into it and how delicious and comforting it was. Obviously, it wasn’t vegan, but I was looking to recreate that feeling again and I managed to find the perfect recipe! ForkfulOfPLants’ recipe for a Vegan Goulash with Mushroom and Smoked Tofu is just what you want.

Ingredients  

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 brown onions chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 500 g mushrooms sliced
• 2 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 200 g carrots chopped into ½ inch pieces
• 300 g potatoes chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 block smoked tofu (approx 225g) cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tbsp flour
• 400 g chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 3 springs fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Method 

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the chopped onions and pepper, and sauté over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add the mushrooms, and cook for 5 minutes more, or until they start to release liquid. Then, add the smoked and sweet paprika, and the garlic powder.
3. Stir the spices through, then add the carrots, potatoes and tofu. Sprinkle over the flour, and mix well again.
4. Finally, add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, vegetable stock and fresh thyme. Stir to combine, then bring the goulash to a steady simmer.
5. Cover and cook for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes has passed, remove the lid, stir, and allow to cook for a further 20 minutes uncovered, or until the potatoes are soft and the vegetable goulash has thickened.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Alternative

You can swap the smoked tofu for the same quantity of soy chunks – rehydrate them in warm water, drain them and add to the recipe instead of the tofu.

I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe!

Love,

TVCL xx

Hi kittens! How are you? It’s been a very cold week: snow and ice have covered where I live and I was really a Winter Wonderland! Just perfect for the pre-Christmas period. And it’s a great time to have some comfort food like this Vegan Vegetable Wellington by ConnoseurusVeg.

Ingredients

• ½ cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 cups diced (½-inch) butternut squash (Note 1)
• 8 ounces diced ½-inch) cremini mushrooms (about 3 cups of mushrooms)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup whiskey (Note 2)
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 sheet (about 9 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed (Note 3)
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted

Instructions

1. Place the rice, broth, thyme, sage and rosemary into a small saucepan and set it over high heat.
2. Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat and cover. Allow the rice to simmer for about 40 minutes, until the liquid is fully absorbed.
3. Remove the pot from heat and allow it to sit with the lid on for at least 5 minutes before uncovering.
4. While the rice cooks, preheat the oven to 400°.
5. Toss the squash with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and and toss the mushrooms with 2 teaspoons of oil. Arrange them separately on the baking sheets.
6. Place the baking sheets into the oven and bake until the squash and mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes.
7. Remove the baking sheets from the oven but leave the oven on.
8. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
9. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
10. Add the garlic and sauté another minute, until very fragrant.
11. Lower the heat and carefully add the whiskey (Note 4). Raise the heat back to medium, bring the whiskey to a simmer it simmer for about 2 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked off.
12. Add 1 cup of the cooked rice (Note 5), squash, mushrooms and pecans to the skillet. Stir a few times to mix everything up.
13. Taste-test the mixture at this point (careful, as it will be hot) and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
14. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to incorporate. Remove the skillet from the heat.
15. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
16. Place the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it to about a 12-inch square. Transfer it to the baking sheet.
17. Pile the filling on the puff pastry, forming a long rectangle extending down the center of the puff pastry sheet. Shape the filling with your hands and pack it in. It should seem like a lot, but you can remove some if it’s way too much.
18. Option 1: Braid the dough. Use a knife to cut approximately 1-inch strips down either side of the rectangle, stopping about a half in from the strip of filling. Starting at the bottom, fold the strips inward at a slight diagonal, over the filling, pinching opposite strips together.
19. Option 2: Simply fold the top and bottom ends of the puff pastry over the filling, then wrap the sides overtop to form a log shape, pinching tightly at the seams to form a seal. Poke a few holes in the dough to allow steam to escape.
20. Brush the pastry with the melted butter.
21. Bake the log until golden and puffy, 30-35 minutes.
22. Allow the vegetable Wellington to cool just for a couple minutes, then slice and serve.

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Love,

TVCL xx