The hubby has been doing a lot to take care of me while I recover from foot surgery, and now that I'm able to stand for a longer amount of time, I thought I'd do something new and indulgent while still being vegetarian.
Inspirations:
Grandmom's pedeheh (that's what she called pierogi)
Makes: 6 tacos | Time: 1.5 hr
Ingredients
Taco Shells
1⅓ cup all purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1½ tbsp vegan butter, melted
1 egg, whisked
½ cup warm water (1 tbsp at a time if dough is too floury)
5 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
Mushroom Bacon
1 ½ tbsp olive oil (I used Tubby Olive wood-smoked EVO)
1 ½ tbsp coconut aminos
½ tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp liquid smoke
8 oz cremini #mushrooms, sliced
Apple & Red Cabbage Sauerkraut (I ended up with extra)
1/2 head of red #cabbage, quartered, cored, and finely shredded with a knife
1-2 medium #apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup warm
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp coconut sugar (you can use brown sugar)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Remaining filling (I ended up with extra)
1 tbsp EVO
2 medium #potatoes, scrubbed and diced (no need to peel)
1/2 vidalia onion, finely diced
1 lb Beyond Meat sausages, cut into small rounds
Pinch of salt
To Serve
Light sour cream (make a cashew sour cream to keep dairy-free)
Equipment
Kitchenaid Stand Mixer
Rolling Pin or Kitchenaid Pasta Roller
Instructions
This recipe contains SEVERAL steps, so it will be a lot of balancing and a lot of keeping covered pots and pans on low to make sure everything stays warm. Read through all of the steps and chart your own path. Here's how I went about it.
First, I like to chop and measure everything out before I cook anything. It keeps me organized and I feel like I'm on a cooking show which makes it fun, right? And why go ahead and pre-heat that oven for the mushroom bacon at 375F.
Taco Shells
Now onto the taco shells. Combine all taco ingredients, save for the water and oil, in the bowl of your stand up mixer. Use the flat paddle attachment to mix all ingredients well. Replace paddle attachment with dough hook, set speed to to 2, and let the machine do its magic for 7 minutes. Add water if needed. Now remove dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
The Sauerkraut
When I left the machine to knead the dough for me, I put the cabbage and apples in a large covered pot over medium heat. Add water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, until cabbage is slightly softened. Combine remaining ingredients and add to cabbage. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together. Reduce heat to low and re-cover until you're ready to assemble.
Mushroom Bacon
As soon as I left the sauerkraut to cook the first 10 minutes, I got to work on the mushroom bacon. In a medium bowl, mix together the olive oil, coconut aminos, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Add the sliced mushrooms to the bowl and gently toss to evenly coat the mushrooms.
ine a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Spread the mushrooms slices in a single layer over the prepared baking sheet, and pour over any leftover marinade. Add to the oven and bake for 18 - 25 minutes until dark golden and reduced in size. Remove from oven and set aside.
Back to the Taco Shells
If you're using a rolling pin, prepare your countertop. Wash it with water and soap, dry and sprinkle flour on it. Divide the dough ball into 3 pieces. Roll each of them ( the dough pancake should be around 5 mm/0.2 inch thick). If the flour sticks to the rolling pin or the countertop, then sprinkle more flour.
I used my KitchenAid pasta roller. You still divide the dough into three pieces. Attach your pasta roller, and put it on setting 1. Turn the speed to 2. Form each hunk of dough into a rectangle shape. Pat with some flour. Run it through setting 1 twice, and through setting 2 two or three times. Keep strips on a floured surface. I put flour on a baking sheet to keep the flour contained.
Cut out the circle/oval shape for your pierogi dough shells. Approximately size of a coffee saucer or 5-6" diameter. I used a lid from a tupperware container. The egdes of the lid acting like a cookie cutter.
Put a skillet on medium-high heat with the vegetable oil. Fry 2 minutes on one side and then for about 30 seconds on the second side. Set the pierogi dough taco shells aside and pat them with paper towels to absorb some oil. I have a taco holder, and used them to form the shells a bit.
The Main Filling
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add sliced vidalia onion and potatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Then add Beyond Meat and cook another 7 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and mix in the mushroom bacon. Set aside.
Assembly
Add a portion of sauerkraut to each taco, then the main filling, and a dollop of sour cream. You should have extra filling even if you over stuff your tacos like I did.
Enjoy!