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Tofurky Kielbasa Sweet Bites

About 10 years ago I was out with a bunch of friends “parrandeando” – which in Puerto Rico is when you go from house to house in Christmas time singing “parrandas”, which is our very typical version of Xmas carols.

The idea of “parrandas” is to create a group of friends who will surprise an unsuspecting friend while they’re sleeping and wake them up playing music outside… the person who was woken up opens up their house to their surprise visitors and offers them things to eat and drink while the group continues to sing songs. Afterwards, you take the friend you just woken up with the rest of group to wake up another friend… and so forth about 3-4 times in a night.

I remember when I was little to go in “parrandas” with my parents, in a huge long line of cars that would visit people and play music all night long. Now with neighborhoods having access controlled gates is not as easy to sneak up on someone and surprise them in the night, but we have our ways to get around that…

So, back to the recipe… the thing is that about 10 years ago in one of these parrandas we went to wake up a friend of my then-boyfriend. His wife made these kielbasa pieces covered in strawberry preserves… they we’re heavenly!!! They were sweet and spicy all at the same time. They became a staple every time we had a get-together to watch a basketball game or a boxing match.

But since I became a vegetarian, I had not had these polish sausage wonders. One of the last times I went to Whole Foods in Miami I saw these Tofurky Kielbasa sausages. I had never seen them in PR, although I now know Freshmart has them. When I saw them I wondered if they tasted just like I remembered, but the second thought was… I need to try if they’ll work to make the polish sausage sweet bites I remembered and loved…

kielbasa-sweet-bites

TOFURKY KIELBASA SWEET BITES

2 Tofurky Kielbasa sausages, sliced on a bias

1/3 cup strawberry preserves

About 1 tbs canola oil

When I used to make this using the real sausage, the sausage rendered a lot of fat that later I had to drain… but because the Tofurky has almost no fat to it, we will sauté them in a bit of oil…

kielbasa-pieces

In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium -high heat. Once the oil comes to temperature, add the Tofurky kielbasa pieces and sauté them lightly until they reach a nice golden color.
When they have all a nice golden color, turn off the heat of the stove and add the strawberry preserves. It will heat up and soften with the residual heat of the skillet. Toss the kielbasa pieces with the preserves until they’re all well coated.
Transfer them to a dish and allow them a few minutes before eating them. The preserves will be too hot if you attempt to eat it right off the skillet.

I also like to eat these Tofurky Kielbasa sausages with some ketchup and mustard, like a hotdog. I usually slice them in half length-wise and grill them in my George Foreman grill… nice!!!

Tags: strawberry preserves, tofurky sausages

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Categories appetizers, snacks, Xmas

Rioja-style Potatoes

10 Jul

This recipe is an adaptation from a recipe presented by chef José Andrés in his PBS show Made in Spain and made by him later on at the Martha Stewart show.

I’ve been fascinated with Spanish cooking all my life, but after my recent trip to Spain 2 years ago, I’ve become a fan of chef Andrés and his cooking. The thing is that most these recipes are not vegetarian per sé, but we just need to give them a few nudges to make them perfect for us. Besides, he’s so passionate about Spain and its cuisine it’s contagious. I TiVo his show every weekend and already know many episodes by heart.

What I liked about this recipe is that it’s simple and hearty. You can eat it as a tapa, alone or even over rice – very versatile. And the ingredients you probably have already in your pantry.

Papas a la Riojana

RIOJA-STYLE POTATOES

2 medium-sized potatoes, russets work fin here – cut into 1-inch cubes, but cut them haphazardly to get some rough edges on them

½ onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 link of Tofurky kielbasa-style sausage, sliced on a bias into ¼ inch pieces

1 tsp Spanish sweet pimentón – paprika in English

½ tomato, grated

Salt and Pepper to taste

Spanish olive oil

Filtered Water

In a medium sized skillet with tall sides over medium heat, heat olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. The idea is to cook and soften the onions, not necessarily to get color on them.
Add the pieces of tofu sausage and cook to get a golden brown color on them.
Now we add the potatoes… stir them into the onions, garlic and sausage pieces and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the pimentón and enough water to almost cover the potatoes.
Cover for a few minutes to bring the water to a boil. After water is boiling, uncover and let it simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and the water is reduced in half.