threepeacesoul

In Hungary, we have a whole type of dishes called "főzelék" best described by the English word "pottage". It's a lovechild of a soup and a stew made of vegetables and a staple of Hungarian school canteens. The most popular ones are lentil, yellow split-pea, green pea, potato and bean.

I often make lentil, yellow split-pea and green pea pottage. on the picture you can see the one made of lentil.

The recipe: I soak the brown lentils (I use 500g, which serves 4-6 people, but since my boyfriend does OMAD and I make this dish very, very good, it's often gone within a day) overnight. The next day, I chop up two onions (red, white, doesn't matter) and sweat them a little on some oil, typically olive or sunflower seed. Then I add the spices: about a tablespoon of paprika, two teaspoons of salt, a tablespoon of marjoram, a pinch of black pepper and some dried vegetable mix. I mix it all up, but make sure to add water almost straight away to avoid the paprika burning (it burns quick and turns bitter!). I add the drained lentils and top it off with some water. I let it boil for about an hour, or until the lentils are soft. Meanwhile, I make some "rántás" to thicken it. In a separate pot, I heat some oil of my choosing, then add about a tablespoon of flour and stir it until it becomes slightly brown. Then I turn off the heat under the pot and add some cold water. After letting it sit for a while, I mix it all up (this way, it won't turn lumpy). I add a couple tablespoons of mustard to the mixture, then slowly pour it into the other pot with the lentils (it has to be boiling while I do this) and mix it all up. It should thicken within a minute.

The consistency should be like a really thick soup, but it will thicken further as it cools down. You can add some water if you go too far with the rántás :)

I usually serve it with some vegan bangers or tofu, but it makes a great meal on its own. You can add some fried onions or sour cream to top it off, and I recommend serving it with some fresh bread.

The pizza rolls: The recipe for the dough is not mine, and it's from a Hungarian video, so I cannot really share it, I think. However, it's just a pretty basic cinnamon roll dough with some oregano and chili flakes added to it. The filling is a spicy marinara sauce and hella nutritional yeast. You can top it with some vegan cheese or seeds of some sort. I sometimes also add corn to the filling.

I'd love to start start sharing some dishes on here as cooking (and eating) is something I enjoy dearly, especially since I went vegan six months ago.

I love making seitan because it has a texture I really enjoy and it's rich in protein, which helps me feel full for a long time.

The recipe: I make my seitan from scratch by mixing 200g of wheat gluten with a tablespoon of some flour (chickpea, corn or whole-wheat works fine) a pinch of baking soda and more spices than one might think they need (salt, pepper, chili, garlic powder, paprika, curcuma, whatever I have on hand). I slowly add cold water while mixing the dough until it comes together. It should be a rubbery, stiff ball. I rest it for about ten minutes, while I boil some water or vegetable stock with some bay leaves or garlic, you get the idea. First, I boil this ball of dough for fifteen minutes, then I remove it from the water and cut it into slices which then go back into the boiling water for another fifteen minutes. After this, I remove them from the water and using a colander, I drain them (I often push the water out with a spoon or fork) then leave them to cool. You can use them right away or freeze them for later, too. Seitan makes a delicious steak or stew and you can even ground it!

This time, I marinated the seitan slices in a mixture of red pesto (Tesco's Free From is vegan!) and soy sauce, then fried them using some olive oil.

As a side, I made some roast potatoes and sweet potatoes by cutting them into big pieces and coating them in some olive oil, salt and rosemary. I also cut up some cauliflower and added the leftover marinade from the seitan to it. I baked them in the oven and halfway through I added some chopped up onions and red peppers. I also love cutting a whole head of garlic in half and putting it in the oven too. You can sorta squeeze it out of the shells and it's so creamy!