The funniest part is when you want to introduce someone from another country to what you eat here. At first, mash and potica come to mind, then I quickly correct myself that basically no one is, especially not every day. I think hard about what we usually have on our plates. Our tour listens with interest to rough culinary translations. Of course, I explain that I manage to veganize most everyday dishes. In the end, we choose buckwheat porridge for presentation. Fortunately, he does not encourage! I make pretty good buckwheat porridge, plus there’s a glass of homemade sauerkraut left in the fridge, which you have to use up as soon as possible. Who else will eat sauerkraut at the beginning of summer, if not culinary tours quite far from our tradition.
Lunch was great and a good starting point to talk about their dining habits. “Ah,” laughs our young guest from Belgium, “we have donuts, chocolate and beer. Well waffles. Especially donuts, you can find them on every street corner.” It turned out that beignets, fries, are a Belgian national and daily dish that is also popular with young people. Unlike mashed potatoes. Overall, she described their dishes as completely unhealthy and unimaginative, very tasty and popular. Belgium is not in favor of vegans, she described the most common dish as, you know, steak and potatoes. Potatoes are usually fried, so fries? By no means what the the whole world knows like french fries are not originally belgian donuts belgians have fries for themselves brown sauce plate steak and fries sorry with donuts is considered dish Belgian tradition.
I did some research to find out how this happens and came across a long-standing dispute over the right to fries, which really benefits Belgians. Anyone who cooks, the Belgian said, has a potato slicer at home.
The next day we cooked in Flemish. We vegetated the classic recipe with a meat substitute, everything else was according to the recipe. The potatoes are cut the old fashioned way, with a knife. I really liked that part of the recipe that includes dark beer. From our pizza stock, I chose Reservoir Dogs unfiltered and unpasteurized strong Starvation dark beer, which was brewed in Nova Gorica. You don’t need a whole bottle for the recipe, what a sip left me. Already during cooking it became clear to me that the Belgian recipe is excellent for the first of May. It would be a shame to get lost. Beer and fries, for a chocolate dessert, ideal for a May Day picnic under the roof. We explain to the guests the meaning of this holiday in our country, which surprises her a lot and she deeply regrets not staying until the official start of the picnics, that is to say on May 1st. The plate was excellent, apparently only the mayonnaise was missing.
We finished the international visit with satisfaction; I had donuts and she had a picnic. We’ve had both before, but not in the right context.
Deloindom.si: Self-sufficient garden: With good planning for more crops
Donuts and side dish
- 4 potatoes
- carrot
- 180 g plant-based meat substitute (tofu, tempeh or seitan)
- 250 g of mushrooms (mushrooms, shiitake or mixed)
- onions
- spoon of mustard
- 3 slices of white bread
- thyme and rosemary (if possible fresh herbs)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- spoon of soy sauce
- 100ml dark beer
- 200 ml soup base (or water and soup spices)
- oil for cooking or frying potatoes
Preparation
1. Cut the potatoes into sticks and leave them in the water. Cut carrot the same size as potatoes, firm tofu (or tempeh or seitan) into chunks for one bite, mushroom caps into quarters, onions into slices. Spread mustard on bread. Peel and chop the herbs.
2. In a large skillet, first sauté the onions in the oil, add the bread, mushrooms and carrots. When it starts to stick, pour in the soy sauce, beer and add the herbs. When it evaporates, add the tempeh and soup base. Cook for about 15 minutes, the measure is the carrot. The bread will melt and bind the sauce.
3. Swirl the sliced potatoes in salted boiling water for three minutes, then cool in a colander. Shake it into a greased pan and bake in a preheated oven (180 degrees) for about 10 minutes or fry it in portions in plenty of fat.
We also advise you: From now on you will only prepare polenta like this
