This Thursday we celebrated Groundhogs day with our northern neighbors in Canada! Angela chose this week for the Poutine, and it was a great decision. Personally, I’ve never had poutine, and I have not a clue on what Canadians eat besides Canadian Bacon, which I do get semi often from Whole Foods when I want to make a kick ass breakfast sammich. I used to love Taylor Ham, Egg and Cheese sandwiches when I was a kid! So off to Pinterest for some ideas. I found an image I just couldn’t shake…”The Famous Atlantic Canadian Donair” I had to make this!
Vegan Donair Meat
So, to veganize this puppy. Found a good handful of vegan donair meat recipes. I was surprised. This one caught my eye the most, and I made it with little substitutions. I lowered the amount of hot pepper so the kids could try, and I steamed that puppy in my Instant Pot.
Here’s a picture of mine, shaved and ready to be stuffed into hot pitas.
HaliDip
Another picture I came across while on my Pinterest hunt was of this Hot Donair Dip, aka HaliDip for it’s Halifax origins.
So, lots of alterations here….For the ground beef I used tofu crumbles, my favorite brand that I have only found at Publix. Any ground beef tofu would do. Daiya shreds were on sale, and another fav, Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese.
And for the finished product….
Side note…my android camera suuuucks in my kitchen. This stuff was great. Served with pita chips, and when we ran out of those I threw in some Ritz crackers. I have to say the Ritz over powered, and I wouldn’t recommend serving this dip with them .
Jeanie has been on a cocktail kick for our Thursday nights, and this week she did not disappoint. A maple rum concoction she so cleverly coined…
Rum Away From Trump
Poutine
So the thing about me doing this blog is I’m gonna have to hold my fellow contributors feet to the flames for the deets on their dishes. This poutine dish was out of control!!
Can you tell this one was taken with a different camera? I can. Stupid phone. French fries with a Dijon Thyme Beer Gravy, topped with cheese “curds” which was some cubed Chao, which is the best largely marketed vegan cheese I’ve ever had. This was the Creamy Original. Woo dang these were tasty! Here is the recipe for the Dijon Thyme Gravy. We ending up having to make a few cornstarch slurries to make this one thick enough to pour over the fries. Erica’s Recipes – Vegan Poutine
So, here’s the plate!
Yummy!!
How to Assemble a Donair*Pita *Donair Seitan *Onions *Tomatoes *Donair Sauce *Vegan Mozzarella Shreds
- 1 cup of canned white kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1/2 small onion peeled and cut into large chunks
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbs Italian seasoning
- 2 tbs dehydrated chopped onion
- 1 tbs garlic salt
- 1 tbs smoked paprika
- 2 tbs nutritional yeast
- 1 tbs miso paste
- 2 cups cool water
- 2 + 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten
- Tin Foil
- Spray Oil
- Something to Steam in I used an Instant Pot
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Add garlic, onion and spices to a food processor and process until you form a paste. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth, but cannot have any visible chunks.
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Add beans, olive and sesame oil, miso paste and liquid smoke and process until smooth. Add to the bowl with the spice paste and stir with a spoon until all is combined.
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Stir in the cool water and once everything is consistent, add the vital wheat gluten. The mixture will almost instantly becomes hard to stir, the gluten forms fast and while you don’t want to over mix it, make sure there is no sign of raw flour in the dough.
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Spray a large piece of tin foil with non-stick spray. Place the dough in the center of the tin foil and shape into a fat log about 10″ in length and about 4″-6″ tall/wide. Wrap well in foil making sure that water cannot get into the seitan and steam for an hour.
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**Instant Pot Instructions. Put the wrapped seitan on a metal rack in your pot with 1 cup water. I set mine to steam for 60 minutes with a natural pressure release.
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At the 45 minute mark, heat your oven to 350°. Once the seitan is finished steaming, remove all the foil and place on a prepared baking dish and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature.
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Do not slice until it is completely cool if you want thin shavings.
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Pan fry with a little spray oil when you're ready to serve.
- 1 lb tofu crumbles
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper each
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese I used Tofuti
- 1/2 cup shredded Daiya mozzarella
- 1 cup donair sauce recipe below
- 1 tomato seeded and diced
- 1 bag pita chips
- 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked for at least 8 hours
- 3/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon tablespoon plus 1apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
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In a non stick skillet heat the tofu with seasons. When warmed and toasty, add the cream cheese and mix until incorporated.
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Transfer mixture into a small casserole dish, and fold in mozzarella and donair sauce.
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When ready to serve, bake in 350° oven for 20 minutes. Top with diced tomatoes and serve with pita chips.
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Drain cashews and blend with milk and agave. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a boil with remaining ingredients. Lower heat until thick.