Tag: Vegan

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Vegan Eggs Benedict

I love this vegan Eggs Benedict dish for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Like most tofu based recipes, a little prep is required, but the good news is that once you’ve done that you can put it all together wherever, including on a camping trip!

Ingredients

It’s helpful but not mandatory to have a tofu press for the tofu. If you don’t have one you can press the tofu by wrapping it in a tea towel or similar, putting it in a colander over a bowl, and putting heavy books on top of it.

You’ll also need a medium – large frying pan and some oil for frying.

For the muffins

380g flour plus a little extra to knead

2 tbsp very soft vegan butter – I used Naturli.

2 tsp caster sugar

2 tsp fast action yeast

1 tsp salt

200mls lukewarm water

1 tsp baking powder

For the toppings

1 block firm tofu

Kala namak salt – 2 tablespoons

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

6 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp salt

Vegan ham – I used Quorn

Hollandaise sauce – you can make your own using this recipe by Loving It Vegan or use premade such as this one by Inspired Vegan

A bunch of chives

A round implement such as a jam jar lid or cookie cutter to cut the muffins, tofu and ham to your preferred size – you’ll want them to be about 8 – 10cm in diameter.

This makes around 6-9 servings.

How to make

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – the secret to any tofu dish is to PRESS and PREP the tofu. That means pressing the moisture out for at least a couple of hours, and marinading for as long as you can – up to three days if possible so it soaks up lots of flavour.

Press the tofu for at least 2 hours.

Next, cut your tofu into round slices – about 8 – 10 cm wide and 1cm thick. You can use the extra tofu by mashing it up or chopping it into small cubes, including it in the marinade below, and baking or frying it to add to pasta, noodles, salads or sandwiches.

Then marinade the tofu in a bowl or tofu press with the soy sauce and salt. Add warm water to this to make sure all the tofu is covered.

Next, fill your ziploc bag with the kala namak and nutritional yeast. Put the tofu circles in, making sure each surface is covered as much as possible with the mixture. Fold the bag over if you can so the tofu is tightly sealed and leave for another hour or so.

Now, the muffins. Make the muffin dough by combining all of the ingredients, give it a good knead, then leave it to prove for a couple of hours in a clean bowl covered by a teatowel.

Roll out the dough and cut into round shapes using your round cutter that you used for your tofu – you should be able to use all the dough up. If you’re prepping this for later, store the muffin shapes in an airtight box, separating each layer with greaseproof paper or similar.

If you’re making the muffins now, fry the muffin rounds over a medium heat. They can cook – and burn – quickly, so turn the first one over after a few seconds to see how it’s doing and gauge your temperature, then cook on each side until golden.

Next prep the ham by cutting it into circles the same size as the egg. You can use the leftover ham for sandwiches, salads, or even in this recipe for a slightly messier looking egg!

Then make the tofu egg. Make sure each surface of your egg rounds is as well covered as possible with the kala namak and nutritional yeast mix, massaging it in if you can. Using the same pan you used for the muffins, fry each side for a couple of minutes until golden.

Lightly butter the muffins, add the egg and ham, top with the hollandaise sauce and chives and enjoy!

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Watercress Soup and Egg Mayo Sandwiches, Veganised

Watercress soup egg mayo sandwich recipe

My Granny was an amazing cook. She wasn’t vegan of course, but I have so many lovely food-related memories of her, from the little silver balls she used to decorate cookies with to her jam on toast cut into tiny squares. When she died almost ten years ago, I took some of her recipes and have veganised some of them. Her sister, my Auntie Eileen, also made great food – her lemon buns were the best lemon buns ever, and she’d always make delicate little egg mayo sandwiches for parties.

I’ve veganised two of their recipes here – Granny’s watercress soup, and Auntie Eileen’s egg mayo sandwiches.

Granny’s Watercress Soup

25g vegan butter

1 onion, peeled and chopped finely

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely

100g/4oz watercress with tough stems removed and discarded

900ml vegetable stock

300ml plant milk

1 bay leaf

Salt and black pepper

Vegan single cream to serve (optional)

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and cook gently, stirring from time to time until soft.

Add the potatoes and watercress – retain two or three leaves for garnishing – and cook for about 5 minutes until watercress has wilted.

Pour in the stock and milk and add the bay leaf, then season with a little salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, cover the pan with a lid and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the bay leaf and discard. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth.

At this point you can add a little single cream, and garnish the soup with a little watercress.

Serves four medium bowls.

Auntie Eileen’s Egg Mayo Sandwiches

1 block firm tofu

Vegan mayo – about half a jar

Kala namak salt – one to two teaspoons

Teaspoon turmeric

White or wholemeal bread

Handful chives

First, press the tofu using either a tofu press or by wrapping the tofu in a clean tea towel, putting it in a sieve with heavy books on top, and suspending it over a bowl to press out the moisture.

Once the tofu is pressed, mash it up to a fine consistency using either your hands or a potato masher.

Add the mayo till it is creamy – I use about half a jar of Veganaise for this.

Add the turmeric – you can use more to give a more yellow colour – and the salt till you achieve the taste you want.

Sprinkle with chives and make sandwiches – remember to cut the crusts off so they look as tiny and delicate as Auntie Eileen’s!

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Vegan fennel and olive bread rolls

Recipe: fennel and olive homemade bread rolls

I had a fennel in my veg box recently that I wasn’t sure what to do with. I love the taste of fennel, and it has lots of health benefits, as well as the bulb being a good source of fibre, potassium and vitamin C. I didn’t fancy soup, or pesto, or eating it as part of a roast that day. So I hit on the idea of baking it into a bread recipe! I knew fennel goes beautifully with olives, so decided to make vegan fennel and olive bread rolls. They were delicious with Just Vegan butter, and also with cashew cheese, smoked Applewood and salad.

Here’s how I made them:

Recipe: fennel and olive homemade bread rolls

Ingredients

  • Medium-sized whole fennel bulb that has been roasted and liquidised in a food processor with 150ml warm water
  • 750 g strong white bread flour
  • 7g yeast
  • 300 ml warm water
  • Jar black olives, chopped
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Tbsp fennel seeds
  • Rock salt

Method

Once you’ve prepared the fennel, add the flour, yeast, salt and sugar to a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the olive oil, water, and liquidised fennel.

Mix together to form a dough, and knead for ten minutes until you can stretch the dough so it’s thin enough to see through and it springs back when you poke your finger in it.

Put the dough in a clean bowl and leave for an hour to prove.

Then divide the dough into 10 equal size strips and roll them into sausages of about 32 cm in length.

To make knotted rolls, tie the sausage of dough into a loose knot as above. Tuck one end over the top of the roll into the centre, and tuck the other end to meet it under the roll to the centre. Leave to prove again for half an hour.

Toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan for a couple of minutes and sprinkle on top of the rolls, along with a little rock salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven until your fennel and olive bread rolls are golden and enjoy!

These are very good with our truffle oil, lemon and walnut spaghetti!