Vegan Nutmeat Bolognese with Zucchini and Carrot Spaghetti (low carb)

Like every other Australian kid, I grew up eating a lot of spaghetti bolognese. It's so commonly cooked in Australian homes that it's practically a national dish. Nobody in my family was vegetarian or vegan at the time, but my father used to switch around between making our bolognese with meat or with nutmeat. Even as a kid, I loved the nutmeat one more than the meaty one. When I grew up I learnt to cook it for myself and made it often. I introduced it to my Italian best friend and even he loved it more than the meat version. He wasn't a vegan then, but he is now and it's become the lunch we always cook whenever we catch up at, in either of our kitchens. So, it's a sentimental dish for me, and one I probably should have shard on the blog earlier.

Usually, I'd have it with thin spaghetti (the thinner the better!), but cutting back on my carb intake has meant experimenting with other options. These zucchini and carrot noodles taste wonderful with this sauce, and make for a much lighter meal. I've left mine raw, and then ladled the hot sauce over them which cooks them just slightly. You can also blanch them for a minute before eating to soften them up, but don't cook them much or they will break apart and become mushy. You'll want a julienne slicer to get them nice and noodle-y, but I seem to recall mine cost less than $2 from eBay.

 

Vegan Nutmeat Bolognese with Zucchini & Carrot Spaghetti

Ingredients1 tbsp. Olive oil

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 x 400g can of nutmeat, chopped finely

2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes (or even better - 1 can diced, 1 can crushed)

1 tbsp. Tomato paste

1 tbsp. Soy sauce

Pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup fresh oregano, chopped finely

Cracked pepper, to taste

1 zucchini, julienne sliced into noodles

1 carrot, julienne sliced into noodles

(or, use spaghetti)

To Make:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion until just starting get translucent. Add the garlic and carrot and fry for a moment. Then add 1/3 cup water and simmer, covered, until the carrot is cooked through.

2. Add the chopped nutmeat, cans of tomatoes, tomato paste, soy sauce and nutmeg. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered,  for about 15-20 minutes by which point the sauce should have reduced and thickened nicely. Stir in the fresh oregano and add cracked pepper to taste.

3. Shred your zucchini and carrot into noodles using a julienne slicer and divide between two bowls. Ladle the hot sauce over them. If you like, sprinkle with some (vegan) parmesan cheese.

Makes enough sauce for 3-4 people, and enough noodles for 2.

Vegan Ohn No Khao Swe (Burmese Noodles) with Chickpea Tofu

The first dish I'm sharing for Burmese food month is Ohn No Khao Swe, one of the countries most common and popular dishes. It's traditionally made with chicken, but I've substitited another Burmese food staple, chickpea tofu. I made my own chickpea tofu according to this recipe from a blog called Girl Eats World. I followed the recipe to the letter when I made it, so rather than reproduce her hard work I've linked to her original recipe. It was delicious and surprisingly easy to make! If you don't feel like doing it, you can substitute some bought tofu, although it won't have the beautiful flavour of the chickpea tofu.

The soup that these noodles and tofu are immersed in - oh my goodness - I don't think I have adequate words to express it! It's the tastiest curry soup I've ever made, no exaggeration! Really something special! It utilises my lovely home made fish sauce, as does many of the Burmese recipes I'll be sharing over December.

Vegan Ohn No Khao Swe with Chickpea Tofu

Ingredients
2 tbsp peanut oil
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 shallots, sliced
2 onions, 1 sliced and 1 diced
2 tbsp chickpea (besan) flour
3 cups "chicken" stock (use a veggie based chicken stock or substitute with vegetable stock)
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp paprika (optional)
2 tbsp vegan fish sauce (plus more to taste, if you like)
1/2 batch chickpea tofu
300-400g Thin rice or wheat noodles 
Lime, cut into wedges to serve
Fried shallots, to garnish (optional)
Fresh coriander, to garnish (optional)

To Make
1. Heat oil in a large frypan or wok and cook the sliced onion until golden. Combine cooked onion, fresh ginger, garlic and shallots and make a paste (i.e. in a food processor or a mortar and pestle, add 1/3 of a cup of water if using a blender or food processor).
2. Cook the diced onion in the remaining oil in the pan for 2-3 minutes and then add your paste and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Mix chickpea flour with 1/4 cup cold water and add to the pan along with the 'chicken' stock, coconut milk, turmeric, chilli flakes and paprika. Bring to a simmer and then add the vegan fish sauce.
3. Cook your noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Once cooked, distribute evenly amongst four bowls (or, serve in one large bowl like in the picture above) and top with cubes of chickpea tofu. Ladle the hot soup/sauce over the noodles and tofu and garnish with lime wedges, fried shallots or coriander. Drizzle additional fish sauce over the dish to taste.

Serves 4.

This month I'm featuring vegan recipes from Myanmar (Burma).

Check out my other Burmese recipe posts:

Vegan Fish Sauce

Burmese Tomato Salad

Gin Thoke (Ginger Salad)

Burmese Sticky Rice Cake

Vegan Fish Sauce

After a couple of months of minimal blogging and no featured countries, I'm getting back into the swing of it. This month's featured country is Myanmar, which I was really excited about. You should be too, it's completely delicious and I have some great thing to share with you this month!

Fish sauce is pretty ubiquitous in Burmese cuisine, so it was an obvious starting point for this country. I'm not big on buying substitutes, they tend to be full of letters and numbers and sometimes don't even taste like the product they're trying to replace. So I figured I would make my own. 

Fish sauce has a couple of distinct elements - 1) salty, sour flavour and 2) rancid smell. I think this version does pretty well on both! I kept a bottle of the real stuff next to me on the bench while I was concocting it and I think actually they tasted pretty much the same. This vegan version won't be as clear as the real stuff, it goes a bit cloudy because of the miso, so remember to shake it up before you use it.

A lot of recipes for vegan fish sauce add sugar, however, when I was tasting the actual fish sauce I didn't get sweetness from it so I think it's not necessary at all & lets face it - less sugar in our lives can only be a good thing.

Vegan Fish Sauce

Ingredients

1 tsp red miso

1 tsp black miso

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup light soy sauce

1 tbsp pineapple juice

To Make:

1. Place the two types of miso in a small bowl or jar and add a little bit of the water. Stir vigorously to make a smooth runny paste with no lumps. 

2. Gradually add in the rest of the ingredients, stirring as you go to keep the consistency smooth.

3. That's it. Bottle it up and store in the fridge.

Use in any recipe which calls for fish sauce or just add to any Asian style dish.

Makes about 1 cup vegan fish sauce.

This month I'm featuring vegan recipes from Myanmar (Burma).

Check out my other Burmese recipe posts:

Ohn No Khao Swe with Chickpea Tofu

Burmese Tomato Salad

Gin Thoke (Ginger Salad)

Burmese Sticky Rice Cake

Panamanian Empanadas (Vegan Style)

This month is Panama month on Gormandize! Panamanian cuisine is fun - lots of corn and lots of empanadas. I can't pass up an opportunity to make empanadas, they're so cute and so very yummy. When we had Argentina month I also made a couple of batches of empanadas - Sweetcorn Empanadas and Pumpkin and Jalapeño Empanadas. When we had Brazil month I also made Olive & Hearts of Palm Empadinhas, which are similar but in little cute pie form - they were spectacular!

Panamanian empanadas can be filled with many things, but they're most often filled with beef. I've made these with a substitute, nutmeat which is what I use to make my bolognaise. The filling is really rich and delicious.

Making empanadas in the past, I've struggled with the fact that none of the recipes in my cookbooks or on the internet for empanadas tell me to poke holes in the top of the empanadas to let the steam out while they cooked. So I didn't when I first tried making them. The result was that they puffed up a lot and many of them burst open while they were cooking. So I poked holes in my later attempts and they worked much better - none of them burst open and they didn't puff up so much. If anybody knows the secret to not poking holes in them and still getting them to work then please let me know!

Panamanian Empanadas

Ingredients
1 batch empanada dough (I just used this recipe from Global Table Adventure, but I used 1 1/2 cups white flour and 1/2 cup wholemeal flour)
Soy milk, for brushing

Filling
1 x 400g can of nutmeat
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

To Make
1. Make the empanada dough and put it in the fridge while you make the filling. You'll also want to preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Finely chop the can of nutmeat (you could also pulse a couple of times in the food processor until it has the consistency of mince meat). 
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the diced onion. Sauté until the onion is softened and translucent and then add the garlic and chilli flakes. Cook for a further 30 seconds.
4. Add the minced nutmeat, tomato paste and water. Simmer until the liquid has reduced down. Season to taste and set aside to cool.
5. Roll the dough out on a floured bench top quite thin. Use a cutter or a bowl with a diameter of 12-13cm to cut out circles in the dough.
6. Place about a dessert spoon of the filling in the centre of the circle. Dampen the edges with water and press them together. You can just use a fork to press the edges together or you can try the traditional repulgue edging - there is a video on Global Table Adventure.
7. Continue with remaining dough and filling - you will have some filling left over (you can use these in some store bought puff pastry to made little triangles or money bags).
8. Arrange on a tray and use a fork to poke some holes in the top. Brush with milk and bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Makes about 12 medium sized empanadas (and a little leftover filling).

This month I'm featuring recipes from Panama.

Check out my other Panamanian recipe posts:

Sweet Corn Cake with Lemon Glaze
Bollos de Mazorca
Panamanian Black Eyed Beans

Mushroom and Bean Vegan Jambalaya

A month of American food wouldn't be complete without my favourite American dish - jambalaya, a Louisiana speciality. Discovering this delicious dish essentially made me want to go to Louisiana! This jambalaya uses field mushrooms and vegetarian sausages instead of the traditional meat. Traditional jambalaya is also laden with green capsicum, however, I've left this out because it makes me sick - but if you are partial to a bit of green capsicum feel free to add it in, although I don't think it needs it!!

I've also made this recipe using brown rice instead of white, it was also fantastic. You just need to increase the amount of water by about 2 cups and increase the cooking time by at least 20 minutes. 

Ingredients

5 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 field mushrooms, washed and chopped in large chunks

3 vegetarian sausages, chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

1/2 cup dry sherry

4 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups basmati rice

6 cups vegetable broth

1 tin diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

2 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp sweet paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tin cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tin Kidney beans, drained and rinsed

(More hot water, as required)

To Make

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot. Sauté the onions and celery for 2-3 mins. Add the mushrooms and veggie sausages and sauté until the veggies are cooked.

2. At this stage you'll notice the bottom of the pan is getting all brownish from frying the veggies. So - deglaze the pan by adding the sherry (you'll notice all the browny bits come right off the bottom and make your dish a lovely rich colour). Add the tomato paste as well and heat through.

3. Add the uncooked rice and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3-4 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, tinned tomatoes, bay leaves and all herbs and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring very frequently for about 30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through, you may need to add more water as you are going to stop the rice sticking onto the bottom depending on how thirsty your rice is.

4. When the rice is almost cooked stir the tinned beans through. When the rice is fully cooked serve.

Serves 4.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Southern USA!

Check out my other recipe posts:

Mint Julep

Peach and Bourbon Cobbler

Vegan Chili Pone (Chili Cornbread Casserole)

Succotash

Pecan & Molasses Pie with Spiced Pumpkin Whipped Cream

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Vegan "Fried Chicken" and Waffles

Home Made Smoky BBQ Sauce

I've submitted this recipe to the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck - click here to see the other entries.

Vegan Swedish Meatballs

I apologise - this is not the best photo that I have ever posted! The main reason behind this is because I cooked these for a dinner party which meant that a) it was evening when I finished them - so the light was bad, and b) we just wanted to eat it and not wait around while I took glam shots. It's just meatballs with 'creamy' gravy anyway, so not the most glamorous subject to photograph!

When Sweden was requested as a country I was specifically asked to create a vegan meatball recipe, and here is my best shot! There are a couple of recipes on the net for vegan meatballs, I looked around a bit as I started. But none of them really looked good to me. Most of them were basically meatball recipes which used some sort of vegan "mince" product - i.e. heavily processed soy or TVP which generally costs more than actually buying meat. I prefer something a bit more original and a little less processed. I did find one recipe that used black beans, which I'm sure would have been delicious but I don't think would have been quite the right texture.

What I ended up was a completely original concoction which made surprisingly delicious meatballs! I'm not going to lie to you - they don't have exactly the same texture of meat meatballs. I'm not sure anything would have the same texture as meat meatballs. What I can say is that they were delicious! They also held together perfectly when I rolled them and fried them even with absolutely no "egg substitute", which just shows that you don't need one! Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with a creamy gravy, which I have managed to adapt here using almonds to create the creaminess

Nutmeat! In case you haven't met it yet!

I used nutmeat as one of the main elements of my meatballs. I'm not sure how familiar people out there are with nutmeat - I remember my father (not a vegetarian!) used to make a delicious vegetarian nutmeat bolognaise which I love so much that I preferred it to meaty bolognaise even as a child. It has a great flavour, and is very adaptable into any recipe in which you might use mince meat.

I love nutmeat. In fact, while I was living overseas in China, nutmeat was pretty much the only thing that I couldn't get my hands on. So, when my wonderful friend Paul came to visit me in the Middle Kingdom I asked him to bring me some nutneat so that we would make bolognaise. He carried the tin of nutmeat through Thailand, Vietnam and Laos before it arrive in China with me, a well travelled tin of nutmeat! If you'd like to see the photo journal of this then check it out here!

Ingredients

The Meatballs

1 x 415g can of nutmeat

1 cup burghul

1 1/2 cups boiling waters

1 tsp 'beef' stock powder (use a vegan brand, like Massel)

1 onion, diced

1 large field mushroom (about 150g), chopped

3 slices wholemeal plain bread

2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1-2 tbsp chopped continental parsley

1 tbsp soy sauce

Spray of vegetable oil for cooking.

The Gravy

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup flour

3 cups boiling water

2 heaped tsp 'beef' stock powder (Massel)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup blanched almonds, soaked in cold water for an hour or two and then drained

Juice of half a lemon

Pinch of nutmeg

To Make:
1. Mix burghul and stock powder. Add boiling water and leave for 15 minutes.
2. Pulse bread in a food processor to form fine soft breadcrumbs. Put in a mixing bowl.
3. Sauté onions and mushrooms in 1-2 tsp water until the onions are soft and transparent. Process in the food processor briefly and then add to the mixing bowl.
4. Process the nutmeat until it is a mince like texture. Put in mixing bowl.
5. Process the soaked burghul for 1-2 minutes and then add that to the bowl as well. Add the spices and parsley and mix well with your hands.

6. Form into meatballs with your hands. It should make about 35ish walnut sized meatballs.
7. Fry in batches until browned and then transfer to a baking/casserole dish.
8. Then, make the gravy:
9. Puree the almonds with the lemon juice until it forms a smooth paste.
10. Heat the oil in a small saucepan. When hot, add the flour and stir well. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
11. Add the stock powder and they soy sauce to the boiling water. Add this a little at a time to the flour in the saucepan, stirring vigorously the whole time to prevent lumps forming. Continue until you've added all the water. Add the pureed almonds and stir well. At your own discretion you can add more water if you want to make it thinner.
12. Pour the gravy all over the meatballs and serve immediately.

Serves 4-5 people.

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing recipes from Sweden!

Check out my other Swedish recipe posts:

Ärtsoppa (Split Pea & Mustard Soup)

Vegan Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)

Chokladdarraksbolls (Chocolate & Aniseed Balls)

Almond and Cranberry Semla

Jansson's Temptation (Creamy Potato Bake)

No-Knead Cardamom Braid 

Kladdkaka (Gooey Chocolate Cake!)

Garlicy Field Mushrooms with Rödkål 

Vegetarian Cufte (kind of like veggie meatballs...)

I'll be very honest about this one! I found this recipe on the internet when I was researching Bosnian food and I have some reservations about it's authenticity as traditional Bosnian cuisine. It has several ingredients in it that I wouldn't even remotely associate with Bosnia - tofu, mustard, soy sauce and sesame oil?? But - I'm no Bosnian so I'm not really in a position to comment on it's authenticity (maybe a Bosnian reader could help me out with this one?).

Bosnian or not, I really wanted to try these because the combination of flavours sounded so intriguing! Toasted almonds, dijon mustard, sesame oil, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper, caraway seeds and basil seemed like the most exotic combination of flavours which I would never have dreamed of mixing all together in the one ball!

Initially I was pondering whether or not to post this one up for a few reasons: 1) because I wasn't sure if they really were very Bosnian!, 2) because they didn't really photograph well and 3) because it wasn't really my own recipe (and I like to post up only original recipes where possible!). In the end though these three reasons fell at the feet of the fact that these Cufte were delicious! In the end this blog is really about sharing great flavours and recipes with everyone and not really about competition-winning photography or authentic world cuisine. It's about sharing new experiences and new dishes with people because of how they taste not because of how they look or where they came from! I'm also blogging it for my friend Paul who helped me make them because I'm pretty sure he is dying to make them again and needs the recipe :)

One thing you really must appreciate when you cook these is the smell that you are subject to while they're baking! The sesame oil and spices in this give off the most delicious aroma. Paul and I kept hovering around the oven and opening the door a crack to breathe in the goodness - kind of like some sort of scent addicts. But it doesn't stop at the aroma - because of the complex flavour combinations these babies have a beginning, a middle and an end like all good stories (and food). First, you taste the sesame oil and soy sauce, then suddenly the middle hits you and it tastes like herbs and spices - the basil, the fennel and the caraway with a hint of toasted almond. Finally, just when you think you have experienced it all you suddenly realise you mouth is tingling with the cayenne pepper!

Ingredients 
2 onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 carrots, grated
4 tbsp arrowroot powder
2/3 cup cold water
2 cups breadcrumbs
1 cup almonds, toasted lightly in a dry frying pan for a few minutes
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp fennel seeds, ground in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp caraway seeds, ground in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder
3 tbsp fresh basil (or 1 tbsp dried basil)
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tsp dried Italian herb mix
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
900g hard tofu (this means that it should be very solid and should keep it shape when you squeeze it)

To Make:
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in a large fry pan and sauté the onions and garlic until golden. Add the carrots and cook for about 5 minutes, or until carrots are softened and cooked.
3.. Dissolve the arrowroot in the cold water and stir well until the mixture is completely smooth and watery.
4. Grind the toasted almonds finely in a food processor (or substitute ground almonds but they won't have the same toasted quality).
5. Squeeze any liquid you can out of the tofu and crumble finely into a very big mixing bowl. Add sautéed veggies, dissolved arrowroot and all remaining ingredients to the bowl. Mix well - the best way to do this is to just get your hands right into it.
6. Line a tray with baking paper and roll the mix into large balls (about the size of a billiard ball). This mix should make about 32. Alternately, get some spunky guy that appears in your kitchen to do it:

7. Spray lightly with olive oil and bake in the oven for 10 minutes (you may want to turn them around about half way to ensure even cooking).

Makes 32 cufte.

Check out our other Bosnian recipes:

Bosnian Zeljanica (Spinach, Leek and Cheese Pie)

Razlevjak (Bosnian-style Cornbread)

Easy Bosnian Chocolate Walnut Cake

Prebranac (Bosnian Baked Beans)

Bosnian Spinach and "Cheese" Plait

Bosnian Walnut Baklava 

Tufahija (Walnut-stuffed Poached Apples in Syrup!)

Croatian Pizza (with "Kulen" and Vegan Feta Cheese)

I have certainly had such a great time digging around for amazing Croatian-inspired dishes to share with you this month. This particular one might seem a bit odd, I know, since you're all thinking "Pizza comes from Italy right?" - unless of course you're Croatian in which case you are probably thinking "Naša pizza je najbolja pizza na svijetu" (Ok - I used Google Translate for that so if you are Croatian and it doesn't make any sense I sincerely apologise). 

I have two people to thank in the creation of this dish - firstly my awesome and well-travelled friend Amy, who I asked for ideas on Croatian food since she had been to Croatia quite recently. She gave me the usual reply: "lots of seafood". Hmmm. But then she said something which surprised me quite a lot - she said that the pizza she ate in Croatia rivalled the pizza she ate in Italy. After this interesting conversation I jumped on that incredible resource - the internet - and did some reading. Apparently there is some contention among Italian and Croatian people as to whose pizza is superior. I have been to Italy and sampled some sensational pizzas, however, have not (YET) been to Croatia thus cannot provide any opinion. However, as Amy is neither of Italian or Croatian descent/allegiance I trust her opinion and thus thought I would try my hand at a Croatian-inspired pizza. 

The next step is of course..... what do I put on a Croatian pizza? I couldn't find much about this on the net so I was very lucky when I managed to have some great twitter conversations with the other important person in this story (a Croatian person!): Enola (@rhelune). Through these fantastic conversations I gleaned a few key ingredients to a Croatian style pizza. The first of them was "Kulen" - a spicy fermented paprika sausage. Obviously real kulen is out of the question for a vegan (and for an Australian, for that matter - as I am as of yet unaware of any underground market in imported Croatian sausages) but I figured I could make something replicating the flavours of this without too much difficulty. The other is ingredient was cheeses - Enola told me about Kaymak, which is a type of clotted cream. However, I thought I might try my hand at something a bit less heavy and remembered coming across quite a few Croatian recipes on the internet that used feta cheese. So - my challenge with this dish was to invent Vegan Kulen and Vegan Feta Cheese - both of which are featured on my Croatian Pizza below. I invented both from scratch and I'm very happy with how they both turned out - delicious!

Big, big thanks to Amy and Enola and I hope they like what I came up with on their suggestions! If you are Croatian or Italian please feel free to argue passionately about whose pizza is better in the comments section below :)

Ingredients:

Kulen:

3 vegetarian sausages, thinly sliced

1 heaped tablespoon smoky paprika

1 tsp hot paprika

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp water

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Feta Cheese:

125-150g hard tofu (that means it should NOT be in a punnet and should retain it's shape completely when you squeeze it)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Pizzas:

6 small thin crust pizza bases (I like these because you don't have to cut the pizza up at all - just pick it up and eat it! But you can make this on a larger pizza base of course)

12 tbsp passata (or tomato paste for a richer tomatoey flavour)

Baby spinach

5-6 mushrooms, sliced

5-6 cherry tomatoes, sliced

Olive oil, to drizzle

To Make

1. To make the Kulen: Combine all ingredients in a bowl - mix well and set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients so that they can marinate (try to leave for at least 15 minutes - but longer is greater).

2. To make the Feta: Squeeze as much of the water out of the tofu as you can and crumble it into a small bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt and garlic and mix well. Taste test - it should be nice and salty and sour. If it is not salty enough add more salt, if it is not sour enough add more lemon juice. Set aside for at least 10-15 mins while you prepare your other ingredients.

3. To assemble: Place the pizza bases on a lined baking tray. Spread 2 tbsp passata on each base.

4. Layer the ingredients on: first the baby spinach, then the mushrooms, then the tomato, then the kulen. 

5. Finally, grab a small handful of the feta cheese and sprinkle it in the middle of the pizza. Drizzle with a little olive oil.

6. Bake in the oven at about 180 degrees celcius for about 10-15 minutes, or until the crusts are nice and crunchy and the feta cheese is slightly browned on top. This will vary depending on the type of bases you buy and how hot your oven is - so keep an eye on them.

This is what they looked like before baking.

Makes 6 mini pizzas (serves 3).

Check out our other Croatian Recipes:

Poppy Seed and Almond Kolache

Yumuşacık Poğaça

Paprenjaci (Cracked Pepper Biscuits)

Posna Sarma

Makovnjaca (Poppy Seed Strudel)

Vegan Spinach, Walnut and Sumac "Sausage Rolls"

These are absurdly simply and make a tasty snack food or if you serve them with a nice salad on the side it's dinner for four. Although they are so damn tasty that you might just want to make that dinner for two so you get to have seconds :)

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely diced

Olive oil, for frying

3 vegetarian sausages, chopped up

1 generous teaspoon sumac

7-8 big spinach (silverbeet) leaves

Salt and cracked pepper to taste

1/3 cup walnuts

2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry, thawed

Soy milk, for brushing

Sesame seeds

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to a moderate 180 degrees C.

2. Add a splash of olive oil to a saucepan or frypan (preferably non stick because you'll need less oil) and heat. Add the diced onions and sauté until completely cooked.

3. Add the chopped vegie sausages and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Wash and remove the thick white stems from the spinach and chop finely. Add to a saucepan with 1/3 cup water and cook, covered, on a low heat until the spinach is completely wilted (takes 5-10mins). Drain spinach in a strainer (but don't squeeze as it will mush up your spinach).

5. Break the walnuts up with your hands. In a bowl combine the onion and sausage mix, spinach, sumac and salt and cracked pepper to taste. Mix well to combine.

6. Cut each of the pastry sheets in half. Add 1/4 of the mix to the centre of each pastry strip and fold the edges over the top of it to make a large sausage roll (will be bigger than the kind of sausage rolls you buy at bakeries!). Place each sausage roll with the fold side down on a tray lined with baking paper.

7. Brush the top of each roll with soy milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 minutes, or until nice and golden on top (you will probably want to turn the tray around about 10-15mins in to make sure that all4 rolls cook evenly).

8. Devour!

Makes 4 sausage rolls.