Euro-vegan: Two cheap, yummy potato recipes from friends in Germany and Prague

Be warned: For those who aren't naturally adventurous with food, these two dishes may look/sound unpleasant. However, I can assure you that the results are the complete opposite! Never judge a book by it's cover, my friends.

Also, I received both recipes via e-mail in makeshift English, so just go with the flow and trust your own culinary instincts when preparing the two.

Frühlingstofu mit Kartoffeln (AKA "Spring Tofu with Potatoes")

This recipe is great for the summer. It's a cold "tofu salad" that you serve over warm, peeled baby potatoes. My friend Olli (dude in the heart picture) from Munster, Germany made this for us when he was visiting California with my German lover, Sarah (Olli's GF). I believe Olli's Oma (grandmother) made a similar dish for him when he was a boy. I think it tastes a lot like potato salad with tofu, but friends who say they don't normally like potato salad dig it too. Either way, guten appetit!

Ingredients:

1 kg baby potatoes (I use baby dutch yellow potatoes. Choose your own amount.)
1 block extra firm tofu
1 bunch of chives
1 soy cream or creme fraiche (Olli uses Alpro Cuisine Cream, but I don't know if you can get that here, so I just used plain Silk Soy Creamer (yes, like for coffee)
1 little glass of Vegenaise
2 tablespoons of mustard
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
a pinch of pepper
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of (apple)vinegar

1. Chop the chives and the tofu in little blocks.
2. Blend the rest of the ingredients together (except the potatoes), put in in a bowl with the tofu and chives and put it in the fridge. You want this dressing to be slightly watery, but not too bad. Use your own judgment in regards to evening out the amount of Veganaise and creamer.
3. This is a funny term, but "boil the potatoes in their jackets" and then peel the skin off.
4. Serve the chilled "Frühlingstofu" over the hot potatoes.

Potato and Sauerkraut Soup

This soup is SO GOOD, and you can make it super spicy if you want. It's a hearty, delicious dish that converted my friend Ashley from a sauerkraut hater to a sauerkraut lover. My friend Josef (featured in the pic with Ash and me) made it for us when we stayed with him in Prague a few years ago. He also said something about his mom making it for him a lot when he was a kid. The main thing I remember about Josef is that he's very cynical (in an endearing way) and he really really loves Nick Cave and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." (This gives the dish "cool" points, no?)

Here is what Josef sent me:

here is recipe .first one onion on small pices fried on oil ,then red pepper
powder, and potatoes fried little bit ,be carefull with red... powder ,if
you fried too much its gor brown and it will be bitter,small flame, the
sauer kraut,let it boiled ,on end mixed some flavour with watter ,thats
makes some sort ofr doug and mixed in soup ,then is thicker .do this when
,potatoes are ready.fuck yeah dude.

And here is my translation. You mostly have to wing it, but you get the idea:

Ingredients:

1 onion
Vegetable/Olive Oil
Red Pepper/Chili Powder (amount depends on how spicy you want it)
Flour
Salt
Pepper
A jar of sauerkraut
Water (Might be good with some type of broth?)
2-3 russet potatoes or a bunch of baby potatoes

1. Chop up some onion and your peeled potatoes. Boil potatoes until they are soft-ish.
2. Fry onion under small flame with oil and desired amount of chili powder/red pepper.
3. When potatoes are soft-ish, add potatoes to frying pan and mix around. Meanwhile, start to boil sauerkraut with some water.
4. Add potatoes and onions to sauerkraut soup and continue to season. Also, mix flour and water to add to the soup to make it thicker, according to Josef.