Chef Candice Hutchings, the face of The Edgy Veg, shared with us this delicious recipe for Veggs Benny from their cookbook The Edgy Veg: 138 Carnivore-Approved Vegan Recipes. With roasted asparagus, tofu “eggs,” vegan bacon, and a homemade Ritzy hollandaise sauce, this recipe takes the classic eggs Benedict and gives it a plant-based makeover, making this dish perfect for a delicious brunch.
Veggs Benny
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 12 asparagus spears, trimmed 12
- 1/2 tsp olive oil 2 mL
- 1 tbsp coconut oil 15 mL
- 1 block (10 oz/300 g) medium or soft tofu, cut into 8 slices, about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick 1
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 slices of your favourite vegan cold cuts (I like Tofurky), sliced into bacon-like strips 8
- 4 English muffins, halved 4
- 1 recipe Ritzy Hollandaise (see recipe, below) 1
- Cayenne pepper
- Chopped chives
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine asparagus and olive oil; toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet, and roast in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender but still crisp.
4. While your asparagus is roasting, heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil begins to shimmer, add tofu and a pinch of salt and pepper. (Don’t be shy with the salt: tofu literally has no flavour, so salt with conviction!) Cook for 10 minutes on each side, flipping once, until tofu starts to brown on the edges, just like an egg would. Set aside.
5. Heat the same pan you used to prepare the tofu over medium-high heat. Lightly fry cold cuts for about 3 minutes, flipping once, until heated and slightly crispy. Congratulations, you’ve just made vegan bacon!
6. Place 2 English muffin pieces on each plate and top first with cold-cut bacon slices, then tofu egg, followed by asparagus spears. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce and add a sprinkle of cayenne and chopped chives. Serve immediately and say “So long” to that hangover!
For Ritzy Hollandaise
Makes 1-1/2 cups (375 mL)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk 125 mL
- 1/2 cup soft silken tofu 125 mL
- 1/2 tsp black salt or sea salt 2 mL
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 30 mL
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder 1 mL
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric 1 mL
- 1-1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx.) 22 mL
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1 mL
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 mL
- 1/3 cup vegan butter, melted 75 mL
Directions:
1. In a blender, combine almond milk, tofu, black salt, nutritional yeast, mustard powder and turmeric. Blend on High until smooth. Add lemon juice and blend until smooth. Add cayenne and pepper; pulse until well combined.
2. Remove the plug in the lid. While the blender is running, slowly add vegan butter through the hole in the lid and blend until smooth. Check the taste and consistency of hollandaise and adjust salt, pepper and lemon juice, if necessary.
***
Notes:
To ensure that the butter does not separate from the rest of the sauce, you want to make sure that you are adding melted vegan butter at a comically slow pace. If you think you’re pouring slowly, go even slower.
Hollandaise is a very versatile sauce; as well as Veggs Benny, it tastes fabulous on top of our Better Than Eggs: Tofu Scramble, in The All-Day Breakfast Sandwich, drizzled over veggies or even as a dip for Potatoes Served in the French Manner.
The hollandaise sauce will keep for 5 days in the fridge and for 1 month in the freezer. It can easily be reheated on days that you’re feeling extra lazy. To reheat, whisk in a small saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, until heated through.
