Health is something precious. All of those fame, success, beauty, money, would mean nothing if you ain’t got a healthy body to live your life. In order to gain this, people do many things, from dieting to being a vegan. Well, there might be another reasons for being a vegan, but that’s all for the sake of our health.
However, it’s true that it might be tricky at times as a vegan, but who says being vegan means can’t eat delicious foods? That’s just far from true, since nowadays, great cooks have invent brand new way of processing fruits and veggies in a creative way.
Guess what? Russia do have yummy recipe for vegan that will truly let you enjoy being a vegan. Aside from its best Russian food for party or celebration, Russia will also make your mealtime much more exciting, vegans. Of course, not only you who are vegan, but this most delicious Russian vegan recipe that you must try can also bring a new varieties to your menu, even if you’re not a vegan at all. So, who’s prepared for the yummy recipes?
Russian Vegan Recipes
Talking about being a vegan, of course it can’t go far from fruits and veggies. A healthy lifestyle that some people chose to take in their life. As a non-vegetarian, you might be wondering how could that be possibly done in an interesting way. But, did you know that salad is not your last and only safe choice, both vegan and non-vegan? There are a lots of varieties in the recipes that Russian have for you who’s currently avoiding eating meat, perhaps also eggs and dairy products, depend on what kind of vegetarian you are. Russia will not only provides you the most popular autumn foods in Russia as well as favorite foods in Russia during summer, but also vegan cuisine!
Here are few recipes that you can use as your reference about what to cook with alternatives on each recipe so that you can do it as you like :
1. Shchi (Without meat)
S is for soup. Well, that would probably be the easy way for you to remember what kind of dish is Shchi. Shchi is one of the Russian soup with the main ingredient of carrots. Aside from carrot, cabbage can also be used, but it is more known as sour shchi. Originally, this dish use meat as the ingredients, but here, we can modify it by putting out the meat, but still not losing the deliciousness of the soup.
Ingredients :
- Olive oil or other vegetable oil
- Onion
- Cabbage, carrots, or your own choice of greens
- Celery
- Potato
- Mushroom or mushroom broth
- Salt and pepper
How to Make :
If you’re someone who love cooking a lot, then you might feel familiar with how to make this yummy Shchi soup. First come first, you can melt the butter or if you choose olive oil, then just put in the onion. Once both’s transparent and hace a nice fragrance, you can start adding the vegetables of your choice and let it simmer with your mushroom broth. After you season it with salt and pepper, it’s ready to serve along with the chopped celery on top.
2. Borscht
Here comes the red soup of Russia, waiting for you to take a spoonful of it and enjoy every taste it offers to you. This soup is made by beet, which gives its natural red color and sourness to the soup. With simple ingredients, which sometime is quite similar to Shchi, this soup bring a truly different taste for you to enjoy, both in vegetarian or non-vegetarian version.
Ingredients :
- Beets
- Olive oil or other vegetable oil
- Vegetables of your choice ( carrot, cabbage, tomato,etc. )
- Potato
- Onions
- Salt and pepper
- Vegan sour cream or yoghurt (optional)
- Parsley or chives ( any greens you’d like for garnish)
How to make :
There are various way of making this beet soup, you can do the simple way just like how you usually cook soup, or using the other method. For the beets, you can braised it separately or add it after you sauté the onion in the oil of your choice. After the beets come in, you can add the other vegetables, especially the hardest one first. For potatoes, you can bring it to boil in another pan first. When the beets and vegetables almost come to boil, you can put the boiled potatoes inside and season it. As for this soup, you can choose to enjoy it hot or cold.
3. Pelmini
Here comes the main course that can spice up your meal, while still being vegan. Pelmini is dumplings that’s one of the most delicious Russian vegan recipes that you must try. Again, cooking as vegan can let your own creativity goes wild. People usually fill this dumplings with many kinds of meat, but you can create your own, vegetarian version that will be as delicious as that.
Ingredients :
- Flour
- Water
- Eggs ( optional)
- Onion
- Mushroom
- Vegetables (optional)
- Vegetable oil of your choice
- Salt and pepper
How to Make :
For the dough, simply knead flour, water and salt with your hands. In some recipes, you can also add a little bit of eggs. Prepare the fillings of your choice, be it mushroom only or with vegetables, it’s all up to you. You can first sauté the ingredients of your choice with vegetable oil and put it aside. Pick a ball of the dough and flatten it out. Put the filling inside and fold it the way you want. After all the dumplings have been folded, you can put them inside the boiling water and let it cook with medium heat. Once it’s ready you can enjoy it with vegan sour cream or just eat it right away. Match this up with soup will also give you a real energy boost for the day.
4. Blini
Soup with different styles, check, yummy main course, check, now it’s time for dessert to rise, isn’t it? Blini, this one from the dessert line comes in and will welcome you with its delicious taste as the famous spring foods in Russia. This Russian pancakes, or more like crepes, is traditionally made of wheat or buckwheat flour, but you can also make it your own version at home, vegans.
Ingredients :
- Flour
- Soy milk
- Sugar or honey
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Vegetable oil of your choice
How to cook :
If you ever make pancake or crepe, then this should not be hard for you to make. All you have to do is to first prepare the batter by mixing flour, soy milk, baking powder, salt to season it a bit, and sugar or honey if you prefer that to make it sweet. After it’s mixed up, you can start heating the pan with the oil. Pour your about a spoonful of batter in the middle of the pan and make a circular motion with your hand to flatten out the batter. Serve your hot Blini with toppings of your choice and enjoy.
If you’ve been wandering around Russia, feeling full of the most popular foods in Yekaterinburg Russia, then you should also be looking for this wonderful recipes that will help you being a vegan while still enjoying good food. Actually, cooking your own meal can be the right key to enjoy delicious Russian food of your version–vegan. It’s all limited by two thing. Your effort to look out for various types of cuisine and your creativity. Let your creativity run wild and enjoy your meal!