Vegan BLT (BBQ Tofu, Lettuce and Tomato): Meat Free Monday

I haven’t really missed bacon at all (It’s the first thing people ask when you say you’re vegetarian – probably just as annoying for a vegan being asked again “what do you eat?”) but for some reason I haven’t really found a satisfying alternative to the simple BLT sarnie (bacon, lettuce and tomato). So I decided to create one. A BLT needs to be slightly smoky, slightly salty and a good contrast between crispy ‘bacon’, crunchy lettuce and juicy tomatoes!

BBQ Tofu Strips, Lettuce and Sliced Tomatoes

What I liked about this sandwich was the fact that the tofu packed some great flavour but it also had a creamy subtleness which was delicious against the toasted bread. I actually left the tofu marinating for quite a while as we went to the pub and I can confirm that after a few cold pints of beer on a rainy day, this sandwich was perfect to come home to! Luckily I took a lot of photos to get the few decent ones because I was obviously a little tipsy when trying to photograph this quickly before devouring it!

First you need to thinly slice the tofu so it is around 1cm in thickness. I did three slices per sandwich which made for quite a hearty portion. You need the tofu to be really firm so place the strips onto some kitchen towel and then place more kitchen towel on top and press firmly. You can either place something heavy on top and leave it or if your tofu is already firm then just a good gentle press with your hands will do the trick. Just be careful not to press to hard and squash it!

For the BBQ sauce you need:
2 tablespoons Ketchup
1 tablespoon Light Soya Sauce
1/2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
1/2 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
1/2 tablespoon Chilli Powder

Mix all of the ingredients together and put to one side. This can be put in the fridge for later use if you are preparing in advance! The flavours develop nicely over time.

Spread the bbq sauce over both sides of the tofu and heat your grill to high. Place the tofu on a grill rack under the grill and cook for roughly 3-4 minutes on each side. This takes a little tender loving care as you don’t want the tofu to break. Also turn it frequently and apply more bbq sauce to each side as it cooks untill evenly coated and the sauce is beginning to blacked slightly.

When cooked put in a toasted bun with some freshly sliced tomato and some crisp lettuce! The smoked paprika gives it a real smokiness which reminds me of bacon and the sweetness from the ketchup and maple syrup balances it all out nicely!

The best bit is that because the tofu is nice and creamy there is no need for anything added like mayo (albeit vegan) or butter! I recommend toasting your bun for the ultimate BLT!

I’ve put this forward to be part of Souper Sundays (also now salads and sammies!) at Kahakai Kitchen

Sunshine Pizza: Meat Free Bank Holiday Monday!

My fingers and toes are crossed hoping that today is a sunny day for this post…but do you know what, if it’s not then this pizza will definitely bring a little sunshine into your life!

Maybe with the Queen’s Jubilee being celebrated in the UK I should have done a more quintessentially British recipe for today however I have wanted to make this pizza again for ages so I decided now was as good a time as any! The idea for this pizza started quite differently, as many of my recipes do, and it has been some what toned down from the original feisty Jerk Chicken inspired pizza that it started off as. I still plan to conquer that pizza but for now this is a perfectly acceptable substitute when you are wanting something sweet yet savoury and with a kick!

I have made a BBQ Sauce inspired pizza sauce, my usual BBQ sauce marinade would not have a can of tomatoes in it but I felt this worked well with the pizza, also I did actually use this for some Chicken for Scott as a marinade and he really liked it so keep any leftovers and slap it on some tofu or chicken and get grilling!

You can vary the type of chilli you want to use, if you love it spicy then add a Scotch Bonnet into the BBQ sauce and if you prefer things mild then you can omit the chillis all together (although personally I think this would be a shame!). If you don’t have any rum and don’t want to buy a bottle just for a pizza then you can also leave this out of the recipe.

For the BBQ Sauce you will need the following:

1 Can Chopped Tomatoes (roughly 400g)
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Red Chilli
1 tblspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tblspoon Dark Rum
a Splash of Tobasco
1 tspoon Ketchup

Crush the Garlic and chop the chilli. Place all of the ingredients into a sauce pan on a medium-low heat and reduce down untill the sauce is thickened. Then blend. This will make more sauce than you need but you can freeze it, make more pizzas, use it as a marinade etc.

For the Pizza Dough you will need:

170g Strong White Bread Flour
1 Sachet Easy Blend Yeast (7g)
1 tblspoon Good Quality Apple Juice
Pinch Salt
85 ml Luke Warm Water – possibly a little extra if your dough looks too dry but only add any extra a table spoon at a time.

I got the idea to use apple juice instead of olive oil from the amazing Annie at An Unrefined Vegan. I asked her what would be a good substitute for oil in baking and she said fruit juices, I was very intrigued to see what difference it would make and it turned out perfectly. I don’t know if this was because of the change but I noticed that the base was much crisper which was fantastic.

To make the bread dough sift the bread flour into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the flour and into that add the apple juice and luke warm water. Mix it with a wooden spoon combining all the flour untill it has come together as a dough (add a little more water if needed). Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes then shape it into a ball, and place in a bowl covered in cling film for an hour or so to let it rise to double its size.
Once risen knock the dough back and then roll it out into a thin pizza base, I can’t really remember the diameter but I liked mine quite thin so it gets pretty big!

The Toppings you’ll need to bring Sunshine to the pizza: Amounts will vary – just fill the pizza up.

Handful Cheese
1/2 Green Pepper
1/2 Yellow/ Orange or Red Pepper
Large Handful Mushrooms
1 small can Pineapple Chunks (or a fresh pineapple if your feeling ultra exotic)
4 or 5 slices of Red Jalapenos from a jar
Spring Onions
Pinch Dried Chilli Flakes

Spread some of the BBQ Pizza Sauce onto the pizza base, then grate some cheese on top (vegan cheese if you prefer) and finally top with all of your sliced, chopped and diced veggies and sprinkle with a pinch of chilli flakes. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180c for approx 15 minutes. Serve hot with a rum cocktail and some loud music.

I’ve used different types of chillis, ie Jalapenos from a Jar (sweet), Dried Chillis (hot), Tabasco Sauce (savoury) to try and bring a real balance of heat to the pizza which is complimented perfectly by the juicy pineapple.