Vegg Salad: Vegan Egg Salad

I like food and vegan food is just simply food to me. It is not fake, faux, replacement, vegan-this or vegan-that. But how do you solve a problem like egg salad? [You can sing that if you fancy and know the musical allusion] Do you call it “no egg,” “tofu egg,” “eggless” “n-egg” “vegg”? Or something altogether different? I like simplicity and directness (and film and music); hence, my title.

This is very tasty, fast and delicious. Serves two as a meal or four if the vegg salad is part of a more substantial meal. 

Ingredients

• 400g firm or extra firm tofu (pre-boiled and cooled, following this method or see below)
• 2-3 Tablespoons mustard (not too spicy and you can also use whole grain or a mix of the two)
• 2-4 Tablespoons (more or less, as you fancy) of either tahini, for a no-oil take on the recipe, or mayonnaise (either home-made or store-bought; for a fast recipe click here) and if you have neither of those, you can also use soy or other non-dairy cream, but only use two Tablespoons and increase the mustard if it needs to cut back on the sweetness
• 1 1/2-2 teaspoon Indian Black Salt (aka, Kala Namak, that you will find at an Indian market or a good spice shop. It’s optional if you can’t find it, but it’s great because it has a slightly sulphuric smell, so it’s “eggy”)
• 1/2 or a whole fennel, halved and thinly sliced (if you don’t like fennel, then use 1 celery stalk)
• 2 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic granules (or 1 shallot, finely chopped)
• 2-3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (or more, to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon dill (fresh or dried)
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 Tablespoons flax meal
• 1-2 Tablespoons pine nuts (optional)

Method
Begin by slicing the tofu into small slabs and place in a small saucepan. Cover with water and boil for 5 minutes. Remove the tofu from the water and set it aside to cool and dry. This will help it absorb the flavours and firm up the texture even more.

Crumble the cooled tofu into a bowl. Use your hands to mash it up well get the texture of the tofu just right. You will know it when you see it.

In a smaller bowl, mix the spices, mustard, tahini or mayo and mix well. Add that mixture to the tofu, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Taste to see if it needs anything else and done! 

You could also chop a bit of spinach and throw it in the mix for a bit more nutrition, texture and taste. 

Some serving suggestions in the photos above and sprinkle pine nuts atop just before serving. 

The animals we love are no different from the animals we eat. If you are not vegan, please go vegan. It is easier than ever and https://www.internationalvegan.org will help you get started.