Caramelised Onion Varenyky

My family lived together with a Russian family for most of my childhood. For that reason, I had some wonderful early food experiences. My favourite foods included salmon selyodka (pickled fish) and roe. Those, I wouldn't eat anymore (unless someone makes a vegan version...). But my absolute favourite food was sweet varenyky filled with apples. Varenyky are the Ukrainian-Russian version of pierogi.

For a long time I was put off making my own varenyky because of how hard I thought it would be. Then I tried making them, and it was really hard. The dough was extremely delicate. It stuck and tore. A few weeks ago, I discovered this pierogi dough on Vegan Sandra's website and tried again. The dough is a pleasure to work with. No sticking and no tearing!

When I was a child, a dumpling without apples inside wasn't really a dumpling for me. I can vividly remember the deep feeling of disappointment and offence I had after biting into a potato pirozhki (baked dumpling). These days I love potato-filled dumplings, and would be over the moon if someone made them for me. Not everything has to be sweet! But my favourite part is always the fried onions on top, so I thought I'd put them inside. Here are varenyky filled to bursting with caramelised onion, with a little potato to bind the filling.

Caramelised Onion Varenyky

Makes 16 varenyky, serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 a recipe of the crispy and simple pierogi dough from Vegan Sandra
5 onions
1 potato (200 ml)

Method

1. Chop the onions. Fry them in a little oil over medium heat for 30-40 minutes, until nicely browned. Stir every now and again and reduce the heat if they start to burn.

2. Peel, chop and boil the potato. Mash it and mix with the onions. Add salt and pepper. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Cover with a cloth.

3. Roll out the first ball into a circle on a lightly floured surface. Put 1-2 tsp of filling in the middle and pinch the varenyky shut. Put it on a lightly floured tray and cover with a cloth. Repeat for remaining balls of dough.

4. Boil the varenyky until they float, and then for an additional 2-3 minutes. Serve with margarine or vegan sour cream.

New Zealand Sweetcorn Fritters

Fritters have been popular in New Zealand for some time. Their fame was probably helped by their inclusion in the "Edmonds Cookery Book", New Zealand's most popular cook book. The book was originally published in 1908 to market baking powder, hence the slogan "sure to rise" that still stands on the cover.

You can sometimes buy seafood fritters at fish and chips shops, but corn fritters are normally made at home. They can easily be dressed up or down. I remember my dad cooking corn fritters made with creamed corn for me and my sisters a lot when I was a child. I've also eaten them on a date.

If you want fancier fritters, use fresh corn and chilli and throw some minced herbs into the batter.

New Zealand Sweetcorn Fritters

Makes 18 fritters
Serves 2 as a meal or 6 as a snack

Ingredients

1/4 onion
660 g canned corn (ca. 900 ml)
300 ml flour
1 tsp baking powder
350 ml soy milk
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Chop the onion finely. Drain and rinse the corn. Combine all ingredients. Heat an oiled pan over medium heat.

2. Spoon in a few fritters. Cook until browned, turn and brown the second side. Drain on paper towels. Cook remaining fritters, adding oil between batches as needed. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Simple Tomato Soup

One of the things I really enjoyed eating in my childhood was canned tomato soup. It was a rare treat since my mother didn't like to buy foods that were processed or high in salt. So, this is a recreation of canned soup, but it does taste better and is lower in salt than the original.

Simple Tomato Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 onions
2 cloves garlic
2 400 g cans chopped tomatoes
375 ml vegetable stock

Method

1. Dice onion and mince garlic. Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Fry the onion in oil until soft, then add the garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes, add salt to taste, and blend.

Lindsay's Bean Salad

It was always a treat for us kids to go on holiday to our grandparents'. One of the reasons was that my grandmother was a wonderful cook. She and my grandfather had a big garden in which they grew most of their vegetables, and she put them to great use. One of her dishes that I remember particularly well is this very simple but delicious bean salad. It goes perfectly with quiche.

Lindsay's Bean Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 400 g cans mixed beans or kidney beans (ca. 750 ml)

400 g green beans (ca. 1 litre)

1/2 onion

4 tbsp vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Method

1. Top and tail the green beans. Steam them until tender, drain, and rinse with cold water. Drain and rinse the canned beans. Slice the onion finely.

2. Mix the beans and onion with all the remaining ingredients. Leave to marinate for at least half an hour.