The Baking Biker Chic

A few months ago I made one of those spur of the moment purchases at a vegan festival in Edinburgh. I found something called Vege Soy Fish Crisp and was told I could make fish cakes with it. But I wasn’t really listening and a few months on, it was still lying in the cupboard and despite my best efforts, had failed to discover a purpose for this bizarre vacuum packed substance.

I went to VEGfest in Glasgow at the weekend and despite bitter disappointment, I did find the lady from Gillie Food again and told her my confusion. She was so lovely and gave me clear instructions. However she also let me into the secret of recreating salmon with the product. Well that was me listening very intently and now I’m going to share the secret (or probably not secret) with you.

At Christmas in our house, the starter is traditionally made from salmon, with cheese, smoked and flaked salmon wrapped in filo served with a spicy mayo and salad. It’s legendary but of course it’s a long time since I have tasted it.

Now though thanks to Gillie Food, I’ve finally created a compassionate alternative. I baked them this evening to get my Mum and Dad to test them – they both eat fish so it’s important to get their feedback to see if this was a truly credible alternative. And they gave me the thumbs up – they loved them.

First up – get yourself over to Gillie Food and order your Vege Soy Fish Crisp – as of today 9 December it is on special offer.

Ingredients

• 1 packet of vege soy fish crisp
• 3-4 tablespoons of vegan mayo
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• dash of lemon juice
• vegan puff pastry
• non dairy milk

The vege soy fish crisp is dry and fibrous and can be sprinkled as is on sandwiches. It’s truly a product that deserves much more attention from me in the future and I will be ordering a whole load more as soon as I’ve published this blog.

Method

• Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with non-stick liner
• In a bowl mix the vege soy fish crisp with the onion, lemon juice and mayo, adjust the mayo and lemon juice to taste and texture – you could add seasonings but I didn’t, it tasted just perfect to me
• Roll out your pastry and cut into rounds, or any other shape it doesn’t matter – as long as you can fold it over
• Spoon a little of the mixture into the centre of the pastry and then with a little non dairy milk around the edges to help seal, fold the pastry over on itself to create a moon shaped parcel
• Brush with the non dairy milk and bake in the oven until golden brown and the pastry has puffed up (about 15 minutes but depends on your oven.

Serve straight from the oven or allow to chill and eat cold. I am going to make these as a starter for my Christmas dinner and serve on a bed of rocket with a spicy mayo (just add paprika, tomato puree, garlic and onion powder to some mayo with a dash of lemon).

They would be great for buffets or picnics – the choice is yours. You could also try adding other ingredients – like a little soy cream instead of the mayo or a soft cheese.

However you serve them, enjoy and feel free to share your variations with me.