Austrian Vegan Home Cooking
ISBN 978-3-99025-198-0
©2015 Freya Verlag KG
All Rights Reserved
A-4020 Linz, Austria
www.freyabooks.com
Layout: freya_art, Daniela Waser
Translation: Adam Gordon
Editor: Rebecca Baker
Photos: Daniela Friedl, Christina Fink (Pages 41 and 81)
I dedicate this book to my Uncle Ferdinand (1950 – 2011), an expert in Austrian history and devotee of our inimitable cuisine, as well as to my dear Grandma Maria, the best donut baker in Salzburg. Thank you for your patience and valuable advice!
“Tradition is handing on the flame, not the worshipping of ashes.”
GUSTAV MAHLER
As I was born in the region of the Salzburg Lakes, my memories are shaped by Austria’s unmatched tradition of home cooking. I love to recall the dishes from my childhood – warming soups and hearty meals, followed by fine pastries and puddings.
Most of all I liked to help my Grandma in the kitchen, eating the dough that was actually needed for the cake. For the most part I would be preoccupied with rolling the sticky mass off my tiny fingers.
I enjoyed the warmth of the oven and its homely smells. In my little world, nothing ever smelled quite as good as Grandma’s fresh apple cake.
Even today I associate certain foods with home, family and a sense of belonging. So when I decided to live as a vegan, I was afraid I’d cut my ties with these cherished memories once and for all.
Being vegan however has nothing to do with renunciation or loss. Quite the opposite – a little bit of courage, creativity and imagination and you are ideally equipped for the “Vegan Home Cooking” adventure.
I wish you good luck, a lot of fun while cooking and Guten Appetit!
Daniela
Austria is associated with traditional regional cuisine and with particularly high-quality cakes and pastries. As the capital of Austria, Vienna was the culinary treasure chest of all the lands under Hapsburg control. These stretched beyond the borders of Austria and across territories which are now parts of Hungary, the Czech Republic (Bohemia and Moravia), Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Ukraine.
This multicultural and ethnically diverse cuisine is a true gift to the palate. The distinctive influences of traditional Imperial Austrian cookery make the culinary inheritance of this Alpine republic a rich and varied treasure trove to which each respective country has added its own unique gems. Classic dishes such as Palatschinken (derived from the Czech palačinka) or goulash (from the Hungarian gulyás) are timeless and inspire every generation anew.
Although Austrian cuisine is often equated with Viennese cuisine, every one of the nine Austrian federal states has its own traditional dishes, all influenced by its particular regional products.
A love of eating, a special atmosphere and classic Austrian comfort in the inns, wine taverns and coffee houses are still all-pervasive, even today.
tbsp = tablespoon
tsp = teaspoon
kg = kilogram
g = gram
L = liter
cL = centiliter
mL = milliliter
The terms “non-dairy milk”, “non-dairy whipped cream”, “non-dairy cream”, “non-dairy butter”, and “non-dairy cheese” are deliberately kept open and non-specific in the recipes. The word “non-dairy” is only included in the list of ingredients, and for greater ease of reading is not mentioned from then on in the recipe itself.
Non-dairy milk derived from soya, rice, coconut, spelt, oats, almonds, hazelnuts, quinoa and millet is available.
I recommend fresh soya milk on the basis of its taste and consistency and suggest that you take note both of whether it’s been manufactured using organic ingredients and also whether it’s been produced locally in the region.
Please take into account that both almond and hazelnut milk possess a particular sweetness all of their own and a distinctive nutty taste, and consequently these varieties will be listed separately in the recipes that follow.
Non-dairy milk derived from soya, rice and coconut is available and lends itself wonderfully to whipping.
Particularly worthy of mention is soya cream, an ideal alternative to sour cream and crème fraiche, and creamier and stronger than non-dairy cooking cream (currently available made from a soya, rice, spelt and oat base).
As a general rule, non-dairy cheese is manufactured with a foundation of various plant oils and/or tofu.
Both the taste and melting ability can vary according to the manufacturer, so it’s worthwhile just testing cheeses and thus discovering your own favorite product. Basically non-dairy cheese is available in block form, in slices, in spreadable form or also grated.
Non-dairy butter barely differs from cows’ milk butter in consistency, presentation and taste. It consists mainly of various plant-based oils.
Animal exploitation is concealed within many foods. Here is a brief list of the ingredients of animal origin that can be hidden in some frequently used products.
With few exceptions, I use local products in this book for reasons of sustainability. It is also advisable to cook seasonally, and with some of the dishes here I offer alternative ingredients should what’s currently available at the time of year not match the particular ingredients used in the recipe.
I recommend using local, organically grown produce where possible. When it comes to citrus fruit, I urge you to choose organic, as their zest is added to many dishes.
TIP
Harvest the dandelion flowers on a warm, sunny day, far away from busy roads.