Just before we jetted off to sunnier climes, my good friend Darren paid us a visit with the news that he had become vegan since we last hung out. As a vegetarian, vegan food is not something that I find too daunting but it does present a bit of a challenge when I'm thinking about breakfast in particular. Our morning tables are dominated by animal produce and not just meat. Eggs, yoghurt, occasionally cheeses, even the honey on our toast won't be eaten by plenty of vegans. So whilst I was fairly confident about supper, brunch the next morning was something to be given a bit of extra thought.
Well I am so pleased that I was taken out of my pre-lunch comfort zone, this Vegan Brunch was a delicious combination of flavours and textures and I didn't even miss the richness of eggs and dairy since it was there in abundance from the smashed avocado.
Why not give this a try next time you're having a Sunday morning at home? Or to be honest I would be more than happy to tuck into the rosti for a midweek supper, perhaps with some of the veggie chilli that's lurking at the back of my freezer.
Chipotle Giant Rosti with Squashed Avocado and Scrambled Tofu
For the Giant Chipotle RostiCoarsely grate 2 large potatoes and 1 sweet potato (carrot would also work), cover with a good pinch of salt and leave for 10 minutes.
Squeeze out the excess moisture and then mix with a heaped teaspoon of Chipotle paste (or Harissa would be a lovely alternative if that's what you have in the fridge instead), and a sprinkling of cumin and coriander powders.
Season with plenty of pepper - you shouldn't need any more salt.
Grease a large oven dish and then spread the potato mixture across the bottom in a fairly even and not too thick layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at Gas Mark 5 or 180deg C or until the rosti is brown all over with crispy bits at the edges.
Smashed Avocado
Take a ripe avocado, a roughly mash it with a fork so its a mixture of puree and chunky bits. Stir through a squeeze of lime, a pinch of salt and pepper and dash of tabasco.
Assembly
Take the hot rosti, and cover in dollops of the smashed avocado and soya yoghurt that's been whizzed up with coriander leaves (obviously you can opt for dairy yoghurt if you aren't vegan that morning but I think the soya one adds a nice depth of flavour). Scatter over a few fresh coriander leaves and serve with...
Scrambled Tofu
For this recipe you will need to look in the store cupboard or oriental section of your supermarket for a carton of Firm Silken Tofu (it's softer than the fridge dwelling tofu but be careful not to by the actual soft silken or you'll end up with a spicy tofu smoothie).
In a wide frying pan over a moderate flame, heat a tablespoon of oil (I used coconut but another cooking oil will be fine), add in finely chopped chilli and clove of garlic, brown off for a minute, keep it stirring.
Stir through a pinch of asafoetida (optional), half a tsp of coriander, paprika and turmeric. Follow with a tablespoon of tomato puree and cook off for 3 minutes. Keep it moving or the mixture will catch.
Finally add the tofu to the spice mix and break it up with your spoon. Cook off for a few minutes then serve with a sprinkling of fresh coriander stirred through.
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