Lunch: Salad and toast with vegan chocolate hazelnut spread
Dinner: TVP and black beans in tomato sauce with brown rice
There are some things in life that are worth imitating. Eggs Benedict is one of those.
Ever since I had the vegan brunch at the Windsor Arms here in Toronto I've been fascinated by the idea of Tofu Benedict. The one we had there was phenomenal, and though I've only ever made hollandaise sauce once, it was fantastic and I wondered how a vegan hollandaise could be anything like it.
Well, I was lucky enough to stumble across this recipe for vegan hollandaise, and it worked out great! Though I can't swear to it tasting exactly the same as the non-vegan type, it was absolutely delicious and worked with this dish exactly as you would expect hollandaise too. In addition, it was much quicker to make and can be saved and reheated without giving yourself food poisoning! Win!
Don't be put off by the amount of instructions; this is relatively quick and easy to make!
You'll need:
(Serves 4)
4 wholewheat English muffins
about 12 sticks asparagus
300g firm tofu
2 tbsp vegan margarine
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp soy sauce
a little oil
about 12 sticks asparagus
300g firm tofu
2 tbsp vegan margarine
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp soy sauce
a little oil
Method:
Cut the bottom 1/3 from the asparagus and steam until done
While this is happening, cut the muffins in half and set aside, and cut the tofu into 8 thin "steaks"
Preheat your broiler or grill
Whisk together the flour and oil in a pan over a medium heat
After 5 minutes, start adding in the water 1/2 cup at a time until the sauce is thinner
Add in the lemon juice, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg and continue to heat on low, stirring often
Place all the muffins halves cut-side up under the grill / broiler
Heat the oil in a frying pan on high heat, then throw in the tofu steaks
The goal is to sear them, so allow them to very quickly brown / burn a little on each side then flip them
After they're cooked on the second side, throw the soy sauce into the pan. This should create a smoke, and the sauce should disappear within seconds
Flip the steaks again and remove the pan from the heat
Take your now-toasted muffins and coat the cut sides with a thin layer of vegan margarine
Place 2 on each plate, cut the asparagus sticks in half and divide between the muffins*
Top this with one tofu steak per muffin half
Slacken off the hollandaise sauce with a little water if it has become too thick, then drizzle over the tofu steaks
Season with black pepper, serve and enjoy!
While this is happening, cut the muffins in half and set aside, and cut the tofu into 8 thin "steaks"
Preheat your broiler or grill
Whisk together the flour and oil in a pan over a medium heat
After 5 minutes, start adding in the water 1/2 cup at a time until the sauce is thinner
Add in the lemon juice, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg and continue to heat on low, stirring often
Place all the muffins halves cut-side up under the grill / broiler
Heat the oil in a frying pan on high heat, then throw in the tofu steaks
The goal is to sear them, so allow them to very quickly brown / burn a little on each side then flip them
After they're cooked on the second side, throw the soy sauce into the pan. This should create a smoke, and the sauce should disappear within seconds
Flip the steaks again and remove the pan from the heat
Take your now-toasted muffins and coat the cut sides with a thin layer of vegan margarine
Place 2 on each plate, cut the asparagus sticks in half and divide between the muffins*
Top this with one tofu steak per muffin half
Slacken off the hollandaise sauce with a little water if it has become too thick, then drizzle over the tofu steaks
Season with black pepper, serve and enjoy!
*Alternatively you can just set one down on each plate, top with asparagus and 2 tofu steaks, then drizzle with hollandaise and top with the other muffin half. If you do so, it looks like this.
The most important part of this meal is making everything come together at once, and after one or two goes you'll have it down perfectly. This is a great breakfast or brunch to make when you're trying to impress guests or want to prove to non-vegans that you can have decadent dishes too!
Speaking of decadent, we had this on Christmas Day with a glass of Buck's Fizz, which was in fact a drink created to excuse early morning alcohol. In fact, we actually had Mimosas, as our drinks were definitely 50/50 if not 60/40. Hey, it was Christmas!
That's the thing with vegan eating - you are often trying to imitate all the delicious food that is non-vegan. You miss it, you know you do.
ReplyDeleteWell, I might disagree with that, but it's true that some non-vegan foods are definitely worth imitating!
ReplyDelete