Let's Twist This!

A few years ago, my company held a regional cooking competition, and I was able to represent my workplace in Chicago. We were tasked with creating two dishes: one sustainable seafood and the other a vegan dish. Since the pierogi is such a big part of my culinary beginnings, I challenged myself to create a delicious vegan pierogi!

Now, I can’t say whether or not I was successful but I had two meat and potato fellas at work, when prompted, said they “couldn’t believe they were eating vegan food”…..oh and I did advance to the national competition, so….yeah….I think they are pretty successful.

The inspiration behind these pierogies is an adaptation of the cabbage and mushroom pierogi filling my family makes. Since they are vegan, I wanted to have them pop with flavor but also be nutrient rich! So instead of cabbage, I used kale, and instead of a traditional white flour, I substituted spelt flour.

Vegan Pierogi Dough Ingredients: 2 cups Spelt Flour (white or wheat can substituted) 1/2 cup warm water 1/4 cup olive oil 1 tsp Salt

Preparation: 1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients. 2. Knead until blended. Dough should be pliable but not sticky.

Beer Braised Kale and Oyster Mushroom Filling Ingredients: 6 bunches kale, chopped 1 pound oyster mushrooms, sliced 5 cloves of garlic, minced 1 white onion, diced 2 12-ounce bottles of stout beer 1/4 cup lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste

Preperation: 1. Sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms till halfway cooked. Add chopped kale. 2. Once the kale begins to wilt, add the beer to the vegetables. Continue cooking till there is a little bite left to the greens and almost all of the liquid is cooked out. 3. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper. 4. Remove from heat and chill. The mixture must be cold before assembling.

The assembly of the pierogies will be the same as the previous post…roll…ring mold cut…fill…seal…and boil. Then, when the time comes to eat, sauté in a nonstick pan with oil.

Just like the more traditional pierogies, they can be eaten cooked plain or fancied up a bit. For my competition dish, I served with pickled kohlrabi, artisanal sauerkraut, and tofu ‘sour cream’!

Tofu sour cream is super easy to make! Ingredients: 1 package tofu, crumbled, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, and salt and preferred sweetener to taste. Preparation: Throw all ingredients in a blender and run until it reaches a nice smooth consistency. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow it to set.