For this month’s food swap, we were each supposed to make a traditional holiday dish from the country of our ancestry. My assignment was to cook a protein. Now while my ancestors from Austria were Jewish, I decided to go with a traditional Christmas meal. (To be honest, I’m kind of tired of potato latkes…)

While researching Austrian Christmas, I kept coming across fried carp as their traditional Christmas Eve dinner. I was not too keen on attempting a vegan fish meal, so decided to keep looking.  The next most popular Austrian holiday dish: wiener schnitzel. Most people think wiener schnitzel comes from Germany, but it is in fact Austrian. To go along with it, it seemed German potato salad was the best side dish, so to make it a bit more fun, healthy and colorful, I went with something else.

So…introducing:

Vegan Schnitzel and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad!

Vegan Schnitzel

• 5 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 cups Soy Milk
• 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
• 1 teaspoons Pepper
• 4 Tempeh Patties (4 ounces)
• 2/3 cup Bread Crumbs unseasoned
• 1/2 cup Organic Parsley chopped
• Lemon slices to squeeze

Combine 2 tablespoons oil with the soy milk and half the salt and pepper. Marinate the tempeh in this mixture for 15 minutes.

Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining salt and pepper and mix well.

Remove the patties and dip in the bread crumbs until evenly coated on both sides.

Heat the remaining oil and sauté the patties 3 minutes per side until brown. Remove from heat, drain on paper towels, and serve.

Variation:

Preheat oven to 375°F and place coated tempeh on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes on each side.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2-1/2 tablespoons mango chutney
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, cumin, and ginger directly on baking sheet. Roast, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine vinegar, chutney, mustard, honey, garlic, and olive oil in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.