Vegetarian Filling
- 2 cups Soy Kebab
- 1 Onion (big, thinly chopped)
- 1 cup Mushrooms (fresh or canned, sliced)
- 1/2 cups Olive Oil
- 1/2 cups Raisins (dried apricots and plums)
- 1/2 cups Pinecone
- 1/2 cups Brandy
- 1 cup Chestnuts (boiled)
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Allspice
- 1 teaspoon Cajun (Indian spice (optional))
- 1 teaspoon Salt (flavored with Celery (optional))
- 1 tablespoon Tasty (homemade or store-bought)
- 1/2 teaspoons Clover
- Salt
- 1/2 teaspoons Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Butter (optional)
- Tortillas (mini)
Put the soy kebab in a bowl and cover it with water. The soy will absorb the water and soften so that it cooks better.
Let it sit for at least 2 hours or even better let it soak from the night before.
Moving on, strain it, put it in a pot with water and let it boil just for 5 minutes.
After it is done, strain it carefully so that it looses all the water that has been absorbed.
Let the soy kebab on the strainer, put it on the side, and start cooking it as you would be cooking regular meat.
Pour the olive oil into the pot and start by sautéing the onion. Continue with the mushrooms and dried fruit. Add the pinecone and stir after extinguishing the dish with half the brandy.
As the alcohol starts evaporating, and the liquids start being absorbed, add the spices and tasty.
Lastly, add the well strained soy kebab, stir and once it boils once, lower the fire and slow cook it for 20 minutes.
Let the lid half open, so that the liquids evaporate.
Since the kebab usually holds a lot of water and we want it to have a nice sauce, I suggest you add some good butter to it in the end.
Let it cool before you start feeling the tortillas.
- The steps of prepping the soy kebab, are very important. If you skip them and cook it right away, the recipe will most probably fail and you probably will not be trying it in the future. For this reason don't rush while making it. It's better that you try the recipe when you have more time and are in the mood to cook.
- You can boil it first in vegetable broth or water with wine so that it takes a better flavor. You will definitely be straining it well before cooking it together with the rest of the ingredients.
- If you don't serve it right away, you can save it for the next day and you will see that it has some more liquids (not sauce type ones). Ideally, boil it once before serving it.
- You could use the same recipe for regular meat, chicken or even salmon.
- Choose dried fruit and nuts you like or have at home but always keep the same when it comes to quantity.
- Serve it together with some mashed sweet potatoes or carrots
You can serve it in:
- mini tortillas as I suggested,
- soup bowl on a holiday buffet,
- colored raw peppers,
- vol o vans or pastry baskets.
It is a great choice for your New Year's Eve Menu as well as when having Vegetarian Guests over.
