Friday, September 6, 2013

Vegan MoFo Day 6 - Free Fridays - Curried "egg" sandwiches and Beanatouille

Welcome to Free Fridays! As I couldn't decide on a single theme for Fridays I'll be mixing it up a little over the weeks - this time my theme is called Frugal Friday. It may sound a bit similar to Tidy-up Thursdays but instead I'm posting a recipe that utilises ingredients from my pantry I frequently use rather than things that have been laying idle. I also have a quick recipe to share that was dreamed up a couple of days ago to clear out some produce from the fridge.


A few weekends ago it was nearing lunchtime, the man and I were extremely hungry and he wasn't enthused with any of my food suggestions. After fossicking around in the pantry for a bit, I spotted a bag of besan (chickpea flour) and realised it had been a while since I had last made curried "egg" sandwiches. These faux "eggs" are one of the man's favourite things to eat and if there are any leftovers remaining from sandwiches he loves having them on toast as quick workday lunch.

I posted a recipe for chickpea "eggs" earlier this year which is a cut down version of a spicier Ethiopian fluffy "eggs" recipe from Vegan Eats World. These chickpea "eggs" are a perfect addition to to a mixed brunch plate and have proven to pack up nicely for travelling. In this post I made mention of a plan to build upon the recipe further by stirring through some curry powder and mayonnaise at the end which I have done a few times but on the last couple of occasions I've added the curry powder into the mixture at an earlier stage. This allows the curry powder to be more evenly distributed throughout the "eggs". I've also found that using a scant cup of besan makes the texture of the "eggs" a little softer than if you use a firmly packed cup of besan. Another thing I've simplified along the way is to omit frying some onions to stir through the mixture - instead I add some sliced red onion, spring onions/scallions or chives into the sandwiches. We have enjoyed these sandwiches the past two weekends in a row - the first one was a classic combination with lettuce and vegan mayo and last weekend I also included sliced tomato and Vegusto piquant cheese, our favourite vegan cheese.


I'm sure everyone else participating in Vegan MoFo can relate to being short on spare time at the moment. My usual meal planning has gone out the window so a couple of nights ago I was thinking about how to use up some vegetables that were in danger of heading to the compost in a speedy meal and came up with something I named beanatouille. Amongst these vegetables that needed to be used were zucchini and capsicums so my mind drifted to ratatouille which I haven't made in such a long time. To get away with preparing another time intensive dish to pair with the ratatouille I decided to throw in some cooked kidney beans to add some protein hence my naming of the dish. Eggplant is usually a part of ratatouille but as I didn't have any about, a large sliced mushroom took it's place.


The beanatouille was served on top of mashed potatoes and cauliflower (aka. caulipots) as there was a sad looking half head of cauliflower in the fridge too. Some baby spinach leaves were layered between the caulipots and beanatouille and for the initial scepticism the meal invoked it turned out to be quite a success.


Curried "egg" sandwiches (Adapted from Vegan Eats World)
Makes 4-6 sandwiches

1 cup besan/chickpea flour
1 2/3 cups warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon curry powder (or use less for a milder version)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon black salt (this provides the eggy smell and flavour)
½ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
pepper, to taste

Cook the besan in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes or until the flour darkens slightly and smells toasty. Transfer the besan to a bowl.

Pour the water, olive oil, lemon juice, curry powder, black salt and sea salt into the saucepan. Start adding the besan into the saucepan a few tablespoons at a time, whisking all the time. After all of the besan has been added, use a spatula and continue stirring for a minute or two until the mixture becomes very thick and begins to pull away from the sides. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to cool down for 10 minutes.

Drag a fork through the mixture to break it up into small lumps resembling scrambled eggs. Season with additional salt if required and black pepper, to taste. Some chopped fried onions can be stirred through the mixture if you wish.

Construct sandwiches using the curried "eggs" combined with your desired combination of shredded lettuce, tomato, vegan cheese, vegan mayonnaise and chives/spring onions/red onion.

Any leftover curried "eggs" can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least a week.

Beanatouille

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced into half moons
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ red capsicum/bell pepper, sliced thinly
½ green capsicum/bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 zucchini (250g), sliced into half moons
1 large mushroom (100g), sliced (optional)
1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1½ cups cooked red kidney beans or a 400g tin, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large deep sided pan and sauté the onion over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir through the garlic for a minute then add the red and green capsicum, zucchini and mushroom. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the vegetables have softened slightly.

Pour in the tomatoes and reduce the heat back to medium. Stir through the basil and oregano. Allow to cook for another 5 minutes then add the kidney beans and cook until they have heated through and the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

24 comments:

  1. Both look super delicious! I love your use of chickpea flour for the "egg" sandwiches.

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    1. Thanks Colynn, chickpea flour is such a versatile ingredient.

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  2. Your beanatouille looks great! I always add beans to anything I can, so this is my kind of recipe. And I would not have guessed that chickpea flour was the main ingredient in an egg salad!

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    1. Thanks Randi, beans are quite popular with my fellows so I add them to heaps of dishes too.

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  3. love the eggy sandwiches - I have never had egg sandwiches because I don't like egg but I quite fancy these. And I know what you mean about meal planning (not that I plan but it is more crazy than usual) - I rescued some vegies with a bit pot of curry a few nights back

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    1. Thanks Johanna, I was quite fond of curried egg sandwiches years ago so these ones have been filling that void. It is a crazy time but loads of fun - good to hear you are still managing not to waste your veggies too!

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  4. I am yet to try vegan egg replacement dishes but this one does appeal - as does the beanatouille (as well as its name!).

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    1. Thanks Kari, glad these both appeal to you. I *almost* liked the beanatouille name more than dish itself!

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  5. Yum, will definitely be trying the eggy sandwiches! Thanks for the recipe :)

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    1. Thanks Kate, hope you enjoy the eggy sandwiches!

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  6. love making pretending 'egg' things! Reminds me that i don't miss egg so much afterall ;-)

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    1. Thanks Sandy, black salt is perfect for making pretend "egg" foods. It makes the kitchen pong like real eggs while you are baking which is a smell I don't miss at all.

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  7. Happy Friday and this curry vegan egg salad looks so delicious! I love creamy-based salads, especially with a hint of curry! Your beanatouille (love that name, hehe) looks so yummy atop the mashed potatoes & cauliflower! The plating is still adorable though!

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    1. Thanks veganmiam, the "eggs" could be made creamier by mixing through some vegan mayonnaise at the end. I usually prefer to keep the "eggs" on the firmer side and spread some mayonnaise on our sandwich bread. Glad you like the beanatouille name too!

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  8. This is such a great idea! I've done chickpea flour in quiche and omelettes to replicate eggs but not egg salad :S Love the look of your beany ratatouille too.

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    1. Thanks Emma, I love chickpea flour in omlettes too but found it's flavour was a bit overwhelming in the quiche recipe I tried.

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  9. The curried eggs sound so interesting! And I'm loving your use-up-the-fridge ratatouille!

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    1. Thanks Jes, glad you like the sound of the "eggs" and I always love dishes that use up fridge produce - especially when they taste great!

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  10. I love faux eggy things and that sandwich looks perfect.

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    1. Thanks Jojo, I've made them 3 weekends in a row now, we really love these sandwiches.

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  11. That's so clever - I've never seen that before! I'm so doing that!

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    1. Thanks Joey, hope you enjoy the curried "eggs"!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Agnes, we thought they were both pretty delicious too!

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