Vegan experience in Madrid

So back in Spain but this time in a big city. My fiancé is half Spanish so we had been to Spain together before (as a vegan) but in Galicia, where I found it very hard to eat, in all fairness we had not looked for 100% veg places at the time because we were not alone on holidays so I had a hard time - also because I had just turned vegan and wasn't so used to ask people to veganise things on the menu.

Well in Madrid this time on the first night we went to a tapas place, special promotion everything was 50 cents ! Wow. But unfortunately there was nothing vegan or possible to veganise - they had never heard about veganism before and were very interested about what vegans eat, even apologised for not having anything else than eggs, cheese and meat - so we headed to a Chinese buffet. From all the buffet the vegan things we found were: spring rolls, rice noodles, potato croquettes, tempura, mushroom; unfortunately even the fried rice had bacon. It was not much given the size of the entire buffet but hey it was good and it was vegan.

On the second day we tried the all vegan "Vega" restaurant just off the Gran via, tube station "Callao"

We were delighted - everything was very tasty, vegan and the music was great too. Deco was very rustic and DIY.

We had the mushroom croquettes, grilled seitan, kebab and coconut chocolate mousse.

In the afternoon we tried to get a latte at plaza mayor (the thing to do in Madrid) but they had no soy milk so we ended up having an espresso. Soy milk is not something that is widely available around here :(

At dinner we cooked at the apartment and made white & red beans in spicy tomato sauce, wild rice and (bought frozen) mushroom croquettes. And drank a kiwi and strawberry juice

Also we made a chocolate microwave cake 

On the 3rd day we had our regular smoothie for breakfast with kiwi, banana, orange and strawberry. At lunch we tried the all vegan restaurant "B13", not far from the other one (2 streets down, we also found a Chinese all veg buffet there which has quotes of vegetarianism at the door if someone is interested). 

Again we were very impressed: a full menu of burgers and tapas all vegan!! Really happy with their tortilla (which tasted like the real deal with eggs!!) and their patatas Bravas. We didn't try the cheesecake because we were so full but all the desserts looked amazing, as well as the chocolate smoothie with melted chocolate we saw at the neighbour table. They sell tote bags for 5€ in aid of local animal charities and I got one with the animal liberation logo :)

Deco was really cute with an open cage and birds flying out :)

In the evening we had a dinner with friends at the Hard Rock Cafe. We had the Veggie Leggie burger. Soy protein burger topped with grilled vegetables and  mushrooms. A bit pricey 18€ but really big and tasty, with handcut fries on the side.

The next day we had our regular kiwi, mango, strawberry and banana smoothie. We headed back to Vega and this time had the daily menu. This consists of starter, main and dessert for 6,90€ !! We had the miso soup with tofu, penne with asparagus and bell peppers, meatballs with wild rice and some kind of brownie for dessert. To drink we tried a nice wheat local craft beer "La Cibeles".

At dinner we were at the airport and found it very difficult to find vegetarian, I'm not even mentioning vegan... The only places we found to eat at gates A+B were a grill house and the Burger King. Then we found a Japanese place which turned out to be amazing: teriyaki noodles with vegetables (and no egg). Tasty tasty tasty !!

Recipe #105 Fry's Chicken À Braz

Bacalhau à Brás (Cod à la Brás) is made from shreds of salted cod (bacalhau), onions and thinly chopped (or sometimes Chicken or Sausages) fried potatoes in a bound of scrambled eggs. It is usually garnished with black olives and sprinkled with fresh parsley. The origin of the recipe is uncertain, but it is said to have originated in Bairro Alto, an old quarter of Lisbon. The noun "Brás" (or sometimes Braz) is supposedly the surname of its creator.


Ingredients

• 175 gr Fry's chicken strips (1/2 frozen package)

• 1 medium onion

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup soy or almond milk

• 1 block silken tofu (350gr)

• 150 gr Potato Sticks * See below

• Sea Salt

• Black pepper

• Handful fresh parsley

• Turmeric (2 teaspoons)

• Cayenne pepper (1 teaspoon)

• Olives (optional)

How to prepare 

1) Prepare the "eggs";In a food processor blend the tofu with the milk and season with turmeric, salt, pepper. Blend until it's a smooth and egg like mix.

2) cut the chicken strips into smaller chunks and chop the onion into thin slices.

3) Now in a pan heat the olive oil and the onion, and allow to cook until the onion has golden. Then add the chicken chunks and season with black pepper & cayenne pepper; let it cook for some minutes on medium heat. Cover with the potato sticks straight from the package and pour the tofu mix on top of it all.  

With a wooden spoon carefully blend everything together and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes to cook the tofu. Sprinkle with fresh cut parsley and serve. Decorate with olives (optional)

* Tesco Potato Sticks alternatively you can cut fresh potatoes into very small and thin pieces and fry them for about 2-3 minutes (you don't want them too crispy but more on the soggy side)

Recipe #104 Baingan Da Bhurtha

Ingredients (2 people)

• 1 medium onion
• Ginger (small piece, around 15gr)
• 2 big aubergines/ eggplants
• 2 tablespoons of tomato pure
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Turmeric 1 teaspoon
• Garlic Powder 2 teaspoons
• Black pepper 1 teaspoon
• 7 cardamoms
• Cayenne Pepper 1 teaspoon
• Cumin 1 teaspoon
• sea salt.

Roast the aubergines in the oven at 220o C for 45 minutes.
Scoop the aubergine meat out and chop it in a food processor (or if you don't have a food processor you can chop the aubergine into very small bits). Separately chop the onion and ginger.

In a frying pan add the coconut oil and fry the cardamom seeds until they start to crackle. Then add the onion and ginger and let them golden. Spoon the tomato pure in and stir. Next add the aubergine pure, the olive oil and the seasoning.

Cook basmati rice in another saucepan and serve the aubergine Bhurtha over a rice bed. 

Vegan Dinner on Women's Day

Pomegranate and apple cinnamon couscous salad

Roasted peppers, tomato and coriander salad

Pasta bake with red Lentils and carrots

Falafel with plain couscous

Mushroom risotto with parsley

Rice pudding with cinnamon 

Almond tart

Avocado chocolate mousse tart (raw)

Chocolate brownies 

And thanks to Violife and Sheese we also had a nice cheese platter with violife smoked, violife mozzarella, violife pizza and cream sheese with chives 👍

Recipe #103 Portuguese Rice Pudding

Recipe adapted from Portuguese recipe blog, link here
Rice pudding is a very traditional Portuguese dessert, made with cow's milk and eggs. Here - the same flavour - veganised. 

Ingredients

• 250gr risotto rice or rice pudding rice
• 750ml warm water
• pinch of sea salt
• Lemon rind (1 lemon)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• cinnamon powder
• 1lt of soy milk (or other dairy free milk such as Almond)
• 250gr sugar (pref. brown light soft sugar)
• Lemon zest (1 lemon)

Rinse the rice with water until the water is clear. Put the washed rice in a big saucepan with the water, salt, cinnamon stick and lemon rind. Cook it on medium heat until the water has evaporated.

Then add the milk (don't let the rice stick or burn) and wait till it bubbles; keep staring. Now add the sugar and keep stiring for some minutes until everything is creamy.

Even if it's a bit runny, don't worry, it will thicken once it's cold. Turn off the heat and add the lemon zest. Pour everything into a low dish and let it cool down, as it cools down it will thicken more. When it is cold have fun decorating with cinnamon powder.

Recipe #102 Almond Tart

Almond Tart has been a family special. But now not eating eggs and milk the original recipe is a no go for me. But we all know how tradition plays a big role in our life, so I am really not ready to give up completely the tart ;) So, i decided to veganize it !

Here it goes:

1) the base

• 1 1/2 cups of plain flour
• 1 cup of freshly pressed orange juice or water (if using water, instead of vanilla add 2 teaspoons of almond essence)
• 3/4 cups of white sugar
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon (yes, table-spoon!) of baking powder
• 1 teaspoons of liquid vanilla or almond
• 1 tablespoon of vegan butter (for the tin)

Let this cook for around 45 min on 180oC

Once the base is ready, NOW make the topping (only make it once the base is ready).

In a saucepan add

• 150gr Light brown soft sugar
• 125gr vegan butter
• 3 tablespoons of Soy or Almond milk

Let this melt together while stiring, keep stiring... When the butter is melted add

• 200 gr of flaked almonds

and combine everything on low heat.

Now pour this over the cake base. Spread this evenly. Now put this back into the oven for around 15min on 180o C. It needs to get dark brown. Let it cool and enjoy !

Recipe #101 Bread

I have done my own bread for a while. I use this recipe

• 500g white or brown flour
• 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 325ml lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

I make this in a bread machine. Sometimes when i am in a hurry I use the quick program1h20 min but i think it tastes even better on the normal program of 3h20min. Enjoy !

Melanie Joy - Intro to Carnism

Recipe #100 "Francesinha"

Francesinha is a typical dish from Porto, Portugal (my homecountry )

It is the most unhealthy and unvegan dish I know. So, I veganised it !
It's a huge soy meat sandwich with a beer-tomato like sauce on top.

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 1 block smoked tofu
• 3 Linda McCartney sausages
• 4 slices of vegan ham
• 4 slices of non dairy based cheese
• 4 slices of bread (loaf bread)

>> for the sauce:

• 1 can of lager beer
• 3 tablespoons tomato pure
• 1 tablespoon mustard 
• 1 tablespoon plain flour or cornflour
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup moscatel or brandy
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 vegetable stock cube 
• Salt
• Pepper
• Hot Paprika (3 teaspoons or more)
• Garlic powder

Slightly fry the smoked tofu (cut the block in 1/2) and sausages.

Now make the sauce:

Pour the beer into a saucepan and add all the remaining sauce ingredients except for the flour. Bring it to a boil. Soft in the flour and stir until it's diluted. Keep this on a low flame stiring occasionally.

On a plate place one slice of bread, spread a bit of mustard on it, then one slice of cheese, then the tofu, the sausages and one slice of ham. Close this with another slice of bread. Now carefully pour generously* the sauce all over the sandwich, it is supposed to sog into the bread. On the top place a slice of cheese and serve immediately. You can sprinkle with parsley for decoration.

*(this is the trick, don't hold back on the sauce quantity!) 

Sharing: Vegan Black Metal Chef

Recipe #99 Vegetable Lasagna

Shopping list (6 people)

• 500 gr lasagna sheets
• 2 medium onions
• 1 can plum tomatoes
• 1 aubergine
• 1 courgette
• salt & pepper & garlic powder & dry parsley & nutmeg
• 1 stock cube
• 2 cups of soy milk
• 1 tablespoon of vegan butter
• 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 300 gr white or mixed mushrooms
• 1 can of cooked carrots
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Heat in a saucepan 1/4 cup of olive oil and add the onions chopped finely. When slightly cooked add the can tomatoes (chop the plum tomatoes or buy chopped canned tomatoes). Then season with salt, pepper and garlic. Add the courgette, aubergine, mushrooms, carrots chopped finely (the smaller the better). Pour in the wine, 2 tablespoons of water and the stock cube. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

Make the lasagna by layering the vegetables with the pasta 3x, finish with a layer of pasta.

In another saucepan make the bechamel sauce:

heat the milk (2 cups) with a dash of nutmeg, salt, pepper and the butter. When the butter is melted sift in the flour, add the nutritional yeast and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

When the sauce is thick pour it over the lasagna.

You can sprinkle with vegan parmesan - check the recipe here

Recipe #98 Bechamel Sauce

• 2 cups of soy milk
• 1 tablespoon of vegan butter
• 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• salt, pepper and nutmeg

In a saucepan make the sauce:

heat the milk (2 cups) with a dash of nutmeg, salt, pepper and the butter. When the butter is melted sift in the flour, add the nutritional yeast and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

When the sauce is thick pour it over pasta, lasagna, baked dishes.