For the patties
Peel and finely chop the carrot and onion. Heat the canola oil in a saucepan and sweat the chopped carrot and onion.
When the onions are transparent, add the green spelt, sauté briefly, and deglaze with the vegetable broth. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the green spelt is soft to al dente. Remove from the heat.
The mixture should be moist but not too wet.
As soon as the mixture has cooled, add the vital wheat gluten (seitan powder) and season to taste with marjoram, salt, and pepper.
Wet your hands and shape into patties.
For the gnocchi
Peel the potatoes and cook in well-salted boiling water until soft.
The author recommends that you use all-purpose potatoes.
Press the warm potatoes through a potato ricer and then combine immediately with the flour and unenriched semolina.
Finely chop the herbs and fold into the mixture. Season to taste with nutmeg and salt.
After cooling, the dough should have a soft, smooth consistency and not be sticky. If it is still sticky, add a little more flour.
Roll out the potato dough into the shape of a thick sausage (about 1 cm) and use a knife to cut into pieces. Now lightly press each piece with a fork to get the classic gnocchi ridges.
For the mushrooms
Cut the oyster mushrooms into slices about 5 millimeters thick. In a saucepan, bring well-salted water to a boil.
In the original recipe, the author uses king oyster mushrooms whereas we have instead used oyster mushrooms.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet and fry the green spelt patties on medium heat until golden brown. Then remove from the pan.
In the meantime, reduce the temperature of the boiling water as much as needed so that the water is just simmering.
Add the gnocchi and as soon as they float to the top, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water and then rinse off with cold water.
Turn up the heat so that the oil in the skillet gets hotter, crush the garlic clove, and then sauté the oyster mushrooms along with the crushed garlic clove until the mushrooms take on some color. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove the mushrooms from the pan and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Green spelt patties served with potato gnocchi and oyster mushrooms is an artistic vegan dish that works well as a warm entrée.
Coarsely ground green spelt: You can easily grind the green spelt needed for this recipe yourself. If you use an (electric) coffee grinder, which is good for grinding small amounts, it is a relatively quick process. Green spelt you have ground yourself is usually of higher quality than the processed products available in stores as these have been exposed to oxidation processes. If you don’t have a coffee grinder, you can also soak the green spelt, cook briefly, and then blend using an immersion blender. If you do this, it is important to limit the cooking time so that the spelt doesn’t lose its bite.
Green spelt patties with potato gnocchi and oyster mushrooms is an exquisite recipe that yields good results.
Tips
Tip from the author: When cooking with vegetables that have a high water content, it is best to salt them later so that the mixture for the patties doesn’t get too moist. Salt and sugar both draw water out from the vegetables.
Alternate preparation
King oyster mushrooms: Instead of the oyster mushrooms listed here, you can instead use king oyster mushrooms (as in the original recipe), or a combination of the two types.
Red and white onions: Thanks to their sweet and milder flavor, red onions work especially well for these patties. Red onions also contain higher levels of antioxidants than white onions.
