Vegan fillings for Yorkshire Puds?

[jeral Profile]

My usuals like roasted veg are becoming a bit too usual. Puds need gravy or jus also.

Any ideas welcome. Ta

[efcliz Profile Website]

Is your Yorkshire pud vegan?

[jeral Profile]

Hi efcliz, yes the Yorkshire puds are vegan, although the jury is still out on whether they could be called by that name being a rather different animal. Is that relevant as I was hoping for fillings or "serving with" whether puds were vegan or not. Ta.

[efcliz Profile Website]

Only relevant because I was hoping you'd share your recipe if so. I've tried lots of recipes and they've all been OK but none perfect.

I only ever use them as part of of roast dinner so don't use stuffing as such. I recently ate them out with a little stuffing ball in each one which was nice.

[jeral Profile]

Ah, the quest for perfect vegan Yorkshire puds... The ones I make (being the furthest I've got in the quest) is to use strong bread flour, chickpea flour, salt, soya milk, and sour apple (like Granny Smith) pureéd to which I add lemon juice and dried sage. More details on request although I do make things "by eye". They come out risen (well certainly not flat), crispy top and bottom - a delight, a bit spongy in the middle, more or less so depending on whether I get the temperature and timing right.

[jeral Profile]

Here are my vegan puds. Enough for a 4-cup tray. They need to be whisked intermittently and stood for longer than usual puds. The apple promotes a good rise.

Start c.2.5 hrs beforehand

Ingredients
Strong bread flour: 125g (c.4oz)
Chickpea/gram flour: 1 rounded dessertspoon
Table Salt: 1 level tsp
Unsweetened Soya milk: c.250ml (nearly 1/2 pint)
Apple puree: 1 tablespoon
Lemon: Juice of half a lemon
Dried herbs: Optional, c.1 level tsp
Vegetable oil: 1 tsp (to mix in) + 4 tablespoons for the tray

Method
Peel, core and chop a sour apple; stew in a little water. When soft, cool, then push through a fine sieve. Only a tablespoon is needed, so reserve the remainder for another use.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, gram flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
Make a well in the centre and start adding milk using a fork to stir vigorously each splash of milk, enough to form a thick paste. Ensure no lumps now. Add more milk, until the normal double cream consistency is reached. Add herbs now, if using.
Use a stick blender or balloon whisk to get air in and to start working the gluten.
Whisk again about every 15 mins over next 1.5 hrs or so.

After 1.5 hrs, put the oven on to heat to 230C.

Add a tablespoon of the cool, sieved apple puree to the mix.
Add juice of half a lemon.
Add 1 tsp of peanut or vegetable oil.
Stir in then whisk again.

When oven is hot, put 1 tablespoon oil in each of the 4-cup tray and put in oven for a minute or so until almost smoking.
Give the mix one last whisk.
Take out tray and put on hob on a very low heat. Pour mix into cups, not quite full, and put into oven on a high shelf.
Reduce heat to 225C after 10 mins.
Don’t open the door during cooking.
They should take c.20 mins in total to bake so if they look golden brown after 15 mins, reduce heat to 200C for another five mins. Eat

NB Not suitable as a crepe batter.

I mentioned Indianised okra elsewhere - that would be a change from my "usual" filling

[Happy Violas Profile]

I seem to remember having them with runny jam as a child

[karadekoolaid Profile]

How very curious. I've just answered a post on "Expensive Ingredients, Subtle Flavours", in which I mentioned it's all up to the Chef.
Yet I can't imagine a Yorkshire Pud in any form but its original.
Why on earth would I want to stuff one???
There you go - the complex cook fighting the simple one!

How about chickpeas with Hariyali Pudina?

[jeral Profile]

Hi karadekoolaid. The heading I used is perhaps a misnoma as the vegan puds I make don't rise in a way that they could be filled (plus it would undesirably make the crispy tops soggy), so intending to mean the equivalent of a toad in the hole with gravy, i.e. mostly a meal in itself.

The vegan puds are good even if not in the traditional form which of course a vegan wouldn't eat so are the nearest I've managed thus far; I haven't tried using egg replacer and soya milk - perhaps efcliz has?

I made a yellow bell pepper stroganoff (using soya milk; it's on my list to try oat cream) yesterday (for rice), which would have gone well with the puds (perhaps green would be better with puds). I suspect the Hariyali Pudina might be an acquired taste but it'd certainly be different so thank you and I'll bear it in mind.

@ Happy Violas: Golden Syrup too Honey or Nutella also good if a non-vegan.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Hi Jeral.
I'm basically vegetarian myself, rather than vegan, and since I live in the tropics, it's far easier for me to get hold of some exotic ingredients. For that reason, I don't think I've actually cooked Yorkshire pud for about 30 years.
If I were vegan, I'd be looking at adding some protein AND a little something to lighten both the texture AND the flavour, which is why I suggested the Hariyali Pudina ( For the uninitiated, it's basically a fresh mint chutney).
Have you thought of stuffing it with macaroni and tomato sauce? I know it sounds odd, but ya gotta be inventive!