Pelmeni recipe and some photos from Russia

My diet hasn't been an exemplar one during this holidays: although usually I had a good breakfast, my lunch and dinner were disastrous. I skipped lunch many times, or substituted it with a couple or three of sorbets: ice cream is incredibly cheap and it is sold everywhere (yeah, even in winter). When the weather was not good a cup of coffee would do. Nevertheless, I managed to make some shots of my decent meals.

My shopping. This was the only time I found soymilk. I also bough bread with dried fruits, kvas, beans and zucchini paté.

Fresh sauerkraut, bought in a market.

Zucchini paté.

I will upload the best photos of the trip on Flickr.  I have already uploaded some of them, but not all yet. Be patient ;) Although, I think that I have almost exceeded my bandwidth
limit xD

I definitely miss Russian food. Don ’t misunderstand me: there are some products which I discovered while living in Spain I couldn’t do without. But now many of them are even easy to find in Moscow: I saw in many supermarkets a bottle of Carbonell extra virgin olive oil, exported from Spain, and even a bottle of vine of Vilafranca del Penedès, a place 20 minutes from the town where I live (I don’t like vine, but I found it curious). And Spanish ham (jamón), which costs a fortune there (almost 100€/kg in some places) is obviously not a problem for me.

But Russian food is not as easy to find here. One possible solution is to cook it yourself. In Russia nobody would make pelmeni from scratch because you can find them in every supermarket or grocery store, as well as nobody would make  its own sauerkraut (it is sold in all the markets), kvass (Russian bread drink) or mors (a berry drink). But I am not living in Russia at this moment, so here is my recipe for veganized pelmenis. Enjoy.

From Wikipedia: Pelmeni (Russian: пельмени — plural, пельмень pel’men’ — singular) is Russian national dish (Siberian cuisine), a type of dumpling consisting of a filling that is wrapped in thin unleavened dough. […]The filling can be minced meat (pork, lamb, beef, or any other kinds of meat), fish, and mushrooms. The mixing together of different kinds of meat is also popular.

Vegan pelmenis with seitan and adzuki beans It must be said that this is a laborious dish. As laborious as it would be making raviolis or dumplings from scratch. You must make the filling, the dough, assemble it.  It involves some kneading, which some people fear so much (although I think it’s a good way to work out without visiting the gym). If so much steps overwhelm you, you can cook the seitan, the beans and make the filling the day before. Using canned beans also makes it easier. But all the work worth it. The filling is superb (although I should say it): I had to make a bid effort to don’t eat it by spoon, because after trying it I couldn’t stop. It was addictive. Traditionally it is served with “smetana” or sour cream, but you can try with vegan mayo, mustard or even ketchup. In my case is like having a plate of steaming homesickness. -1/2 cup white flour -1 ½ cup whole wheat flour -4 Tbsp corn flour (*I used this because this flour is finest than wheat flour and it makes the dough more elastic) -3/4  cup milk/water (*I used soy milk) - 1 tsp salt -1 Tbsp oil - 2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds + 5 Tbsp water - extra flour for kneading -250 g cooked seitan (half of the recipe below) -1 onion, finely chopped -1 cup cooked adzuki (*you can use any beans of your choice. I think that chickpeas would taste great here) - Breadcrumbs (*I used garlic and parsley flavored breadcrumbs) -A few Tbsp of non dairy milk -salt and black pepper to taste Dough Mix the ground flaxseeds with the water. Add the milk and oil. Set aside. Now mix the dry ingredients: the flours and the salt. Make a hole in the middle and add the wet mix with flaxseeds, milk and oil, mixing with a spoon. The dough must be firm enough to handle it but not too much, because you will add more flour while kneading it. Knead it very well on a floured surface. If it sticks too much, don’t fear adding flour on the surface and on your hands every time. To prevent from adding too much flour, add some vegetable oil on your hands: the dough will stick less to your hands and it will become more elastic. Knead it until it doesn’t stick to your hands and it is elastic enough to roll it easily. Leave it to stand while you make the filling Filling  Put the cooked seitan in the food processor, and pulse for a minute or so: it must ground, but you don’t want a seitan powder. It must have some texture. Mix it with the finely chopped onion in a bowl. Add the cooked beans (adzuki beans in my case) and mix again. Take 1/3 of the mixture and put it in the food processor again, adding a few Tbsp of milk, and a Tbsp or two of breadcrumbs. Process again, until it becomes a paste. Add salt (if necessary) and black pepper to taste. Return it to the bowl with the rest of the filling. That will give extra moistness to the mix, and it will hold better. Assembling Divide the dough in 4 or 5 parts and make a ball of each. Roll the dough: it should have more or less the thickness of a pasty. Sprinkle some flour on a plate, and put the pelmenis as you make them. With the help of glass make circles of it. Put about 1tbsp of the filling in each circle, and close the borders. Cut the remaining dough of that borders with a glass (see photo below). It also helps to close them better. Now, you can freeze or cook them. Cook them as you would cook raviolis or any other pasta: put them in boiling, salted water. There must be enough liquid so they don’t touch (take in account that they will increase in size after cooked) or stick together. Cook them for about 5 min after they come to the surface. They keep very well in the freezer.

Photos: pelmenis step by step

The flaxseeds with the water.

Adding the wet ingredients to the dry.

Kneading

About 250g of seitan and one onion, chopped

The seitan in the food processor.

Mixing all the ingredeitns of the filling.

The dough circles for the pelmenis.

You can use any glass for it.

You should have something similar to this.

The pelmenis ready to be frozen.

---

Beefy (and nutty) Seitan I don’t know if it really had a “beefy” flavor because I omitted so many things that I doubt it: I didn’t use a “beef” vegan bouillon, and I substituted the walnuts with sunflower seeds, the nutritional yeast with chickpea flour and omitted the onion powder, the marmite, the sage (I added a pasta seasoning mix instead) and the worchestershire sauce. I don’t know how it must have tasted, but mine was full of flavor (despite all the ingredients I skipped), the nuts added a nice crunchy texture and the baking gave to it color and firmed it outside, while inside it was still moist. Just how I think seitan must be. Definetly, a successful seitan recipe! Inspired in this seitan recipe from Beans&Greens 1 boullion cube (or to taste, depending on how strong is the flavor of the bouillon. It would be great to use a “beef” vegan bouillon, but I couldn’t find any, so I used just a vegetable one) 1 tsp salt 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten ¼ ground sunflower seeds 2 Tbsp of chickpea flour 1/2 tsp pasta seasoning (you can really use any seasoning mix you like) 1/2 tsp garlic powder 3 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp tomato paste Bring 4 or 5 cups of water to boil and add the bouillon and salt. Mix the dry seitan ingredients: gluten, sunflower seeds, chickpea flour and spices. Add the wet ingredients: one cup of the broth, 1 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of tomato paste. Knead it well. I left it to stand for 10 min, and it firmed up a little bit, so it was easier to cut. Flat the dough. Cut it. I cut mine in rectangular pieces (about 5cmx2cm), but you can make square pieces if you prefer it. Simmer on very low heat for one hour. Turn off the heat and leave it to stand in the stock for 30 or 40 min (although if you leave it for a longer time it won’t happen anything) Bake it for another 20 or 30 min at 170º (or 350ºF), on an oiled baking dish. Kristin recommends storing it in the fridge with the remaining bouillon. I used half of mine and froze the other half: it will keep in the freezer for month.

Seitan before baking

A hard summer ahead and a seitan ham recipe

Right now, I am sitting in front of my laptop devouring half of a refreshing, cold watermelon…and I could eat the whole one if I didn’t eat the other half yesterday. Today has been a long day. I have spent all the morning in Barcelona, and have just returned to home at 4pm. Nevertheless, starting from tomorrow I will come back even later because…I have found a job! Yes, at least, after two months of job haunting, dozens of e-mails without reply — I don’t understand that quirk. Why can’t they send a quick e-mail, even if it is to say that I am not what they are looking for? I won’t bite them! It’s frustrating when they don’t say anything at all— and with already no hope left, I have found a job. Yeah, it’s a crap job, but it’s a job, and it will help to pay the bills, the mortgage, maybe a new camera and the FCE exam I want to do in December (it costs almost 200€!!).

In the case you are wondering, I will work as a saleswoman. Well, actually I won’t sell anything, but inform, but in the end is the same: I must convince people who has got a certain gas rate to fill in a form because it will allow them to save a 10% in their bill. The gas company in question is called Endesa. Today I spent all the morning with other salesman and saleswoman who showed me what the work consist in. It’s not difficult, but some people is really stubborn. Aggressive replies and door bangs are quite common, sometimes even before you have opened your mouth.

I will tell you more about my first day yesterday…if I am not too shattered. My timetable is: training courses from 9.30 to 10.45 AM (compulsory) and work from 11.30 AM to 8.30 PM, with a stop for lunch. There is one hour by train from Cunit to Barcelona, at that means that I will come back not earlier than 9.30 PM….every day >.<

For the moment, when I still have time (this is my last weekday free afternoon!), I leave a Seitan ham recipe which I did last week. Have a nice week! =)

Seitan Ham I love seitan. If you have wheat gluten, it’s very easy to make (I tried once to wash wheat flour…don’t try it too, please. After it, my arms hurt for a week, and I only got a tiny, measly gluten ball. All the other  — not only the starch, but also a lot of the gluten — licked out through the waste pipe) and you can freeze it. Actually, I always do more seitan than I need and I freeze part of it. It keeps perfectly for months and it has saved my life many times when I didn’t have anything already cooked. Defrost the hamburgers you need, sauté some veggies, and you have an almost complete meal. That recipe makes a really tasty seitan. The key is not over simmer it, and let it cool in the broth: it will make a juicy, not too hard seitan, but full of flavor. I changed some things, like the ketchup and the soy sauce (I reduced a lot the amount of them) and it was still tasty. Actually, I think it was too salty (maybe my teaspoon of salt was too full), but it was great anyway. The next time I will try some other variations, like using chickpea flour instead of soy flour, or pumpkin seed oil instead of olive oil. I think that it will give a cool green color to the seitan! Adapted from I eat food Makes 8 hamburgers Simmering broth 7 cups water 1/3 cup soy sauce (instead of 1 cup) 2 Tbsp liquid smoke (I didn’t have, so I didn’t use it) 1 large onion, chopped 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried Italian herbs mix (instead of 1 tsp of sage) 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (I didn’t use it either) Seitan 1/3 cup soy flour 2 1/3 cups wheat gluten 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp white pepper 1 Tbsp sweet paprika 1 1/4 cups water 1/3 cup ketchup (instead of 1 cup) 1 Tbspoon extra virgin olive oil (or any other oil, preferably a strong flavored one. The original recipe didn’t have oil in it, but I added it to give a little bit more of flavor. Put the water of the broth in pot and bring it to boil. Add all the other broth ingredients. For the seitan, mix the dry ingredients ( soy flour, wheat gluten, salt, pepper and sweet paprika). Mix as well the wet ingredients (the water with the ketchup and the oil if used). Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mix (I used wood spatula)  and knead well. Separate the dough in 8 balls, and give them a hamburger shape with your hands. Renae, the author of I eat food, divided it into 6 balls, but I found the balls too big. Place the flattered balls in the broth and simmer for about one hour on a very low heat. I discovered that leaving the seitan cool in the broth for about another hour or so make it much tastier. Now, you can bake it or just brown it on a skillet. I just browned it on a skillet because I was in a hurry, but I suppose that baked it tasted better. If you want, you can try to bake it as Renae did it for her Easter dinner. Or if it is too much seitan for you (like it happened to me…yeah, my family is still reticent to try seitan. And eight seitan hamburgers are too much seitan hamburgers for one person, even if that person eats as much as I do) you can freeze them. I had to cut them lengthwise because they were still too big, but I liked the result because now they look even better =) Seitan can be kept in the freezer for many months. I even had in six month in the freezer, but I am sure that it can last more.

Jamón de seitan Adaptado de I eat food Hace 8 hamburguesas Caldo 7 tazas de agua 1/3 salsa de soja (en lugar de 1 taza) 2 cucharadas de liquid smoke **I don’t know how to translate it (no tenía, así que no lo usé) 1 cebolla grande, picada 1 cucharadita de orégano seco 1 cucharadita de hierbas italianas (en lugar de 1 cucharadita de salvia) ¼ taza de levadura en polvo (no lo usé tampoco) Seitan 1/3 taza de harina de soja 2 1/3 tazas de gluten de trigo 1 cucharadita de sal ¼ cucharadita de pimienta blanca 1 cucharada de pimentón dulce 1 ¼ tazas de agua 1/3 tazas de kétchup (en lugar de una taza) 1 cucharada de aceite de oliva extra virgen (o cualquier otro aceite, preferiblemente de sabor fuerte. La receta original no tenía aceite, pero yo lo añadí para darle algo más de sabor) Pon el agua del caldo en una cazuela y llévalo a ebullición. Añade los otros ingredientes del caldo. Para el seitan, mezcla los ingredientes secos (harina de soja, gluten de trigo, sal, pimiento y pimentón dulce). Mezcla también los ingredientes húmedos (el agua con el kétchup y el aceite si se usa). Echa los ingredientes húmedos en los líquidos, mezcla (yo usé una espátula de madera) y amasa bien. Separa la masa en 8 bolas, y dales forma de hamurguesa con las manos. Reane, la autora de I eat food, la dividió en 6 bolas, pero me parecieron demasiado grandes. Pon las bolas aplastadas en el caldo y hierve durante aproximadamente una hora a fuego muy bajo. Descubrí que dejar el seitan enfriar en el caldo durante otra hora más o menos lo hace mucho más sabroso. Ahora, puedes hornearlo o simplemente dorarlo en una sartén. Yo simplemente lo doré en la sartén porque tenía prisa, pero supongo que horneado sabe mejor. SI quieres, puedes probar a hornearlo como hizo Renae para su cena de Semana Santa. O si es demasiado seitán para ti (como me pasó a mi…si, mi familia sigue siendo reticente a probar el seitan. Y ocho hamburguesas de seitan son demasiadas hamburguesas de seitan para una persona, incluso si esa persona come tanto como yo) puedes congelarlo. Yo lo tuve que cortar a lo largo porque seguían siendo demasiado grandes, pero me gustó el resultado porque se veían aún mejor =)  El seitan puede congelarse durante muchos meses. Yo lo llegué a tener congelado durante medio año, pero estoy segura que aguantaría incluso más.

Starting from tomorrow, I will spend a loooot of time in Barcelona