Saturday 18 August 2018

Tofu Scramble Breakfast Burrito.


I first discovered the magic of a tofu scramble in, of all places, South Korea. There was this one lovely little cafe, called Plant (which I'd strongly suggest visiting for anyone in Seoul), that my friend and I visited at least 5 or 6 times in as many days. The food was LIT. However most lit of all the food, was the breakfast burrito. It was so good that I dreamed about it, more than once. In actual fact, I still dream about it...

I knew that theoretically you could crumble firm tofu, add in a few things and that you'd supposedly end up with something resembling scrambled eggs, albeit vegan. What I could not have anticipated however, was just how straight out TASTY and also conveniently easy doing that would be. Which leads us to the present situation, wherein I am entirely unashamedly obsessed with eating tofu scramble for breakfast, preferably in the form of a breakfast burrito but truthfully, this scramble would go down equally as tasty on some toasted bread. Aside from just being generally delicious, tofu scramble also makes for a really wholesome and filling breakfast that will leave you genuinely feeling full until lunch, instead of getting the dreaded 10.30am munchies where you feel the compulsion to eat everything in sight (we've all been there). Also, it keeps well in the fridge and reheats the following day, which is like a gift for the mornings where I have to be up early for work and don't have time, with my demanding sleeping schedule, to make a proper breakfast. Simply reheat some tofu scramble, put it in a soft tortilla with some other fun things (namely avocado and coriander) and voila - eat well AND be at the office on time!





Ingredients;

(*this makes enough to serve 3, because I like keeping some as leftovers for breakfast the following days too!)

450gm firm tofu
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/3 leek, finely sliced (optional, but v tasty)
1/3 red capsicum, cut into thin strips
1 -2 tbsp olive oil
2 - 3 handfuls spinach
2 shallots, sliced

1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
Pepper (to taste)
Water
1 tbsp soy sauce/tamari

1 handful vegan cheese (optional)

Soft tortillas
Coriander
Sliced fresh tomato
Avocado

1. Remove your tofu from the packaging. You need to remove some of the moisture from the tofu - to do this I like to take 2 bread boards and place some paper towel/absorbent paper on top of one. I then crumble the tofu with my hands and spread it over the top of that paper towel. I add another layer of paper towel on top, followed by the second bread board and then a hefty stack of law textbooks (the only thing they've ever been useful for is as a tofu press to be entirely honest!). I leave this setup for approx. 10 mins while I prep the other ingredients.
2. While that's going on, dice and slice the onion, capsicum, shallots and leek.
3. Take a large frypan and place it over medium-to-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, then add the onion, leek and capsicum. Cook for a few minutes, then add in the spinach and stir through.
4. Push the vegetables over to one side of the pan and the take your now semi-dry crumbled tofu and add it to the empty side. Allow to cook for approx. 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then mix through with the veggies already in the pan.
5. Take a small bowl and add your spices to it. Add in some water, approx. 2 tbsp and mix well. Add in some cracked black pepper to taste.
6. Add the spice sauce mix to the tofu and veg mix. Add in the soy sauce/tamari and mix everything through well. I like to add a handful of vegan cheese at this stage for some extra pizzaz but that's entirely up to you! Stir everything through well and voila - you've got yourself a tofu scramble!

To serve, take a soft tortilla and layer it up with some of the tofu scramble mix, some fresh coriander, sliced tomato and avocado. Fold it all up and then proceed to enjoy one of the most delicious breakfasts of your life. MAGIC!



Sunday 12 August 2018

Rocket Toppa.


I grew up in a small town in regional Australia that has a very large Italian population. Aside from fostering an environment wherein we all, Italians and non-Italians alike, love to gesture enthusiastically with our hands when we talk, this large Italian population bestowed upon we townsfolk a great and mighty gift; Italian cuisine.

Sure, you can pretty much get 'Italian food' anywhere and everywhere these days, but let me tell you, there's Italian food and then there's actually good Italian food. I myself am a big fan of the latter, and courtesy of my upbringing in this delightfully Italian influenced little town, I have exceptionally high standards when it comes to that good Italian food. The Italian food in my hometown is mindblowingly good. Even today, generations after many of the first Italian migrants moved to the town, you can still find restaurants serving nonna's traditional lasagne recipe and my god is that one heck of a flipping lasagne!

There are lots of Italian restaurants in this mini-Italy hometown of mine, all of which are exceptional, however for reasons largely unclear to me, my family (N.B. my dad) have always had our favourite. And at the favourite restaurant there is a family favourite dish humbly known as the 'rocket toppa.' It's a very simple dish, which is probably what makes it so great and I'm yet to ever eat at this restaurant and not have a rocket toppa. Traditionally it comes with proscuitto (a kind of Italian ham that's thinly sliced), which is obviously not very vegan friendly, but I'm pleased to report that the humble rocket toppa still tastes absolutely spectacular without. For my interpretation, I added in some semi sundried tomatoes in the place of the traditional proscuitto in order to keep an additional level of flavour within the pizza as a whole.

My biggest tip for this dish is to get a good quality pizza base, also known as a 'toppa' because it plays a starring role in the dish. Add in some fresh rocket (arugula for all the Americans out there!) and some vegan parmesan and you friends, have a recipe for a damn tasty time!!




Ingredients;
1 large pizza base
8 large tomatoes, chopped into quarters
2 tsp raw sugar
Pinch salt
Cracked black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

1 cup (approx.) semi sun-dried tomatoes (I use oil free ones from the same isle in the supermarket as the canned veg)
1 handful fresh basil, roughly chopped

2 cups fresh rocket (arugula)
2 tbsp vegan parmesan (I use 'Green Vie' available at The Cruelty Free Store in Aus)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 red onion, very finely sliced into half-moons

1. Preheat an oven to 180 degrees fan-forced.
2. Take a lined baking tray and place your quartered tomatoes on it. Sprinkle over the raw sugar along with some salt and pepper, then a generous amount of olive oil. Mix the tomatoes around well then bake for approx. 30 mins.
3. When your tomatoes are roasted, remove them from the oven (leave the oven on though!) and transfer them into a fine sieve/colander. Place a bowl underneath then use a fork to mash the tomatoes, leaving a delicious paste in the bowl below.
4. Take a large pizza base and place it on an oven tray. Use a spoon to spread your homemade tomato paste generously over the base. Finely slice the sun-dried tomatoes and then sprinkle them, along with the finely sliced basil, over the pizza base.
5. Place the pizza in the oven to cook for approx. 10 mins. The base should start to go crispy, but make sure you remove the pizza before the tomatoes on top start to burn!
6. While the pizza is cooking, take a large bowl and combine the fresh rocket, vegan parmesan, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and finely sliced red onion. Mix them through together until well combined.
7. When your pizza is cooked, remove from the oven, cut into pieces and then serve each piece topped with a generous handful of the rocket mixture (plus some extra parmesan if you're cheeky)! Enjoy!!



This dish was inspired by a dish of the same name available at La Scala Restaurant in Griffith, NSW. If you're ever in town, I'd recommend trying it! The restaurant will make it vegan upon request (make sure to tell them you want both the proscuitto and cheese removed). Alternatively just make my version, because truthfully I think it's possibly even better than the one that inspired it!!