Meatless dishes for Great Lent 2017

The start of Lent always brings memories of being a kid and growing up in a Catholic home that observed lent and the fasting that went with it.  The small barrel of herring that was brought into the house by my Father and then the opening of the barrel to check the herring.  My Mom would then pickle the herring with tons of fresh lemons and onions.  The recipe my Mom had copied from the local radio station and I have found a Pickled Herring recipe that is close to what she had used, although she had layered more lemon slices in each jar. I do remember that great care was taken in washing the herring before pickling and removing the milt which looked like a white balloon.  

With Lent came meals of pyrohy, herring, sardines and fish (White Fish and Pike), all of which I did not eat but would enjoy a plate of french fries or scrambled eggs.  Sardine sandwiches and tea were the norm after Station of the Cross on Friday Evenings.  

This time of preparation for Easter was not seen as a hardship but rather as a time of refections and a feeling of satisfaction that you were able to change the pace in your normal life.  This year, the church bulletin has indicated fish days for Monday, Wednesday and Friday.   I decided to pick up the challenge and prepare Meatless and sometimes dairy less meals for these fish days. 

It has been most interesting for me as not being a fan of Pryohy and after checking that the suppliers of fish being mainly from China even the Highlander brand, I have been researching dishes that I have come across on Instagram.  

Here is a list of dishes I have prepared and blogged about!  I will be added the different dishes as Lent progresses.  You can still find Pryrohy, Cabbage rolls on my site.

A blogger, Suburban Grandma, who I follow from the states has also compiled Twenty Five Meatless dishes for the Great Lent



Asian Noodles

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Bruschetta Soup

Pan Fried Dough

Poached egg on Roasted Asparagus covered with a White Sauce

Breakfast Pizza

Jamaican Coconut Fish

Smoked Salmon Sushi 

Chirashi Sushi 

Garlicky Shrimp Onigirazo

Okonomiyaki, Japanese Pizza

Banh Xeo Vietnamese Crispy Pancake

Kisir, Turkish dish

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

 Fresh Spring Rolls have never been my favorite in a Vietnamese restaurant, packed with rice vermicelli, a few shrimp and tasteless!  However, you will find Spring Rolls that you make at home can be very tasty as you add your favourite vegetables and seafood.  This is also a perfect Lenten dish.





The rolls use rice paper wrappers which are dipped into water before rolling up. These wrappers are easily found in Superstore or any Asian Market. 

It does take some practice to master handling the rice paper.  I would disregard any of the directions about warm water and timing as you still have a glutinous mess of rice paper.  I have found that the best way to make firmly wrapped rolls is to first have all your ingredient ready before starting.

The temperature of the water does not seem to matter. Using a round pan, dip the wrapper into the water only to wet the wrapper and turn over quickly so the other side gets wet and take it out when wrapper is still stiff.

Place your seafood in the middle and then layer your filling, 






Bring the bottom of wrapper up over the filling, then both sides of the wrapping and then roll up to top of the wrapper.  By doing this you can see the seafood through the transparent wrapper.  If making the rolls ahead of time, I found that you did need to spray the plate with oil so that the rolls doesn't stick to the dish and rip. 

Fillings

• Garlicky Shrimp
• Alaskan Pollack
• Carrots julienned
• Cucumber julienned
• Red pepper julienned
• Scallions, sliced thinly
• Rice vermicelli, cooked
• cabbage, shredded
• avocado
• bean sprouts
• Fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, mint

Dipping Sauces such as Hoisin Sauce, Peanut Sauce and Sriracha are set out for dipping the rolls in!  Lettuce can be added to the fresh roll, in fact wrapping the fresh veggies in the lettuce can help prevent the vegetable ripping the wrapper. I like to use the Romaine lettuce leaves as another wrapper and roll the fresh roll in the lettuce before eating.