Tuesday 28 May 2013

Tofu Salad Sandwich or Wrap

Tofu "no-egg" Salad Sandwich
Tofu Salad with spring onion and celery on toasted wholemeal bread with Dijon mustard, dill mayo and romaine lettuce.

Phew! It's been awhile!!! I do actually have quite a few things lined up to blog but if you visit my daily blog you'll know I've been on quite the calorie restricted diet lately as I'm keen to lose about 8 pounds before my summer holidays. 

(Dieting and blogging recipes do not go well together.) 

In fact I tend to put weight on when I'm actively posting recipes here - all that testing, over and over, lol!

Now, the other thing you'll know if you visit the daily blog is that I've become positively addicted to my tofu scramble, but unlike the post on the blog here I've just been having the scramble without the cheesy chive waffles, roasted cherry tomatoes and spinach. Not that it's not good - I love that meal but I've been needing something quick and easy.

So, I've been having it with fresh basil on top of toasted tomato focaccia bread....(wow!)
Tofu Scramble with fresh basil on toasted tomato focaccia.
 A larger portion with wholemeal toast and steamed asparagus...
Tofu scramble, steamed asparagus and wholemeal toast.
 Likewise but with a "non-fat" grilled portabella mushroom...
Tofu scramble, portabella mushroom, steamed asparagus and wholemeal toast.
 Yeah, this was my favourite....
Tofu scramble, portabella mushroom, steamed asparagus and wholemeal toast.
 ....and without the asparagus....
Told you I'm addicted.

Then I started to think about egg sandwiches. Why, I have no idea as the mere smell of an egg sandwich makes me gag and always has, but that tofu scramble is so scrumptious and such a fine replacement for "eggy" things that I thought I would try it.

I have of course made tofu egg-style sandwiches before. I made the dill tofu salad sandwich from VWAV way back when and really liked it but I wanted this one to be more egg salad sandwich like.

I've followed my tofu scramble recipe here but omitted the shallots, let the whole thing cool then added finely chopped spring onion and celery. It's then piled on top of toasted wholemeal bread spread with dijon and dill mayo and finished off with some crisp romaine lettuce leaves. Perfect! Now I have another avenue to feed my tofu scramble addiction :-)


~ Recipe Notes ~

• Yes, the Marigold OrganicVegan Bouillon Powder (the red/orange tub) is a crucial ingredient here. I love the taste and as it already has turmeric in it gives this dish a lovely yellow hue. You can of course use whatever vegan bouillon powder you can find and add some turmeric for colour. If you use a different brand make sure you taste and season as need be.
• For those in the UK/IRE I use Cauldron's Original Tofu, it doesn't actually state if it is soft, firm or extra firm but the texture is very soft, but it's not silken so for a similar texture I would recommend a soft, non-silken tofu.
• Egg salad sandwiches mix the mashed egg with mayo - I don't do that here as the tofu mixture is soft and creamy enough. I do add mayo to the bread however, for flavour, but you could always mix it in with the tofu if you prefer or if you have a "drier" tofu.
• I got 2 sandwiches out of this but if I was using larger bakery style bread and wasn't dieting, then I would stuff the whole lot in! So, I would say it makes 2 small sandwiches, or 1 large :-) For the record, it doesn't keep very well as the mixture gets a little 'wet' when it sits in the fridge overnight so I would recommend just making what you need here.
Tofu "no-egg" Salad Sandwich

Tofu Salad Sandwich


• 100g soft tofu (but not silken)
• 1 tsp marigold organic vegan bouillon powder for marinade
• 125ml (½ cup) water
• 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and halved
• ¼ tsp marigold organic vegan bouillon powder
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 small stalk of celery, finely chopped
• freshly ground black pepper

For the sandwich:
• 2 slices wholemeal bread
• 2 tsp vegan mayo
• 1/8 tsp dried dill
• dijon mustard
• romaine lettuce 

Wrap the tofu in some kitchen towel then wrap in a clean dish towel and place something heavy on top to press, I use a cast iron grill pan. Leave for 10 minutes, change the paper towel and press for another 10 minutes.

In a pyrex measuring jug dissolve the 1 tsp of bouillon powder in a splash of hot water. Fill with cold water till you have 125ml or ½ cup and mix well. Crumble the tofu into this, make sure it is all covered, then cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour to marinate.

Drain the tofu using a fine sieve and get a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Add the tofu, the garlic halves, some freshly ground black pepper and 1/4 tsp of bouillon powder and fry until most the liquid has gone but it's still a bit creamy. Remove the garlic cloves and scrape the tofu into a bowl and leave to cool a bit. Add the spring onion and celery and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge until completely cool.

To assemble: Toast your bread. This is essential as it makes it easier to eat and you won't have soggy bread that flops all over the place as you try to eat! If you like, spread with some vegan butter, I wanted to keep the calories low so didn't bother. Mix the mayo with the dill and spread on 1 slice of toast. Spread the other with some Dijon mustard. Top with the tofu salad and some lettuce. Enjoy!

Tofu "no-egg" Salad Sandwich


Nutritional Information: (just the tofu salad filling, all of it.)

Calories: 86
Protein: 9.1g
Fat: 3.6g
Sat Fat: 0.9g
Fibre: 1.3g
Carbs: 4.2g
Sugar: 1.5g
Sodium: 266mg
Calcium: 126mg


Wrap Version

Tofu Salad Wrap

I made a few changes to make this as a wrap. Here, I didn't marinade the tofu but instead fried the crumbled tofu with extra stock powder then let it cool. I also added some plain unsweetened soy yogurt for a lighter dressing, with added dill. It was equally good :-)

Tofu Salad Wrap

Tofu Salad Wrap

• 100g soft tofu (not silken)
• 1 tsp marigold organic vegan bouillon powder
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 small stalk of celery, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, halved
• 30g or 2 Tbsp plain unsweetened soy yogurt - you can also use vegan mayo. (I have also omitted it when I've been out of yogurt!)
• ½ tsp dried dill
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• 5 grinds of black pepper

• 1 large wrap of your choice
• 1 large leaf of romaine lettuce

Press the tofu between several sheets of paper towel for about 15 minutes. Crumble the tofu. Heat up a non-stick frying pan and add the tofu, garlic halves and bouillon powder. Fry until most of the liquid cooks out of the tofu and it is fairly dry, I like to get some slightly golden spots on the tofu here, you can cook it drier than the version above as you'll be adding a dressing.

Remove the garlic and transfer the tofu to a bowl to cool to room temperature then add the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Cover and chill in the fridge until cold.

Gently heat the wrap on a dry frying pan just to make it more pliable, a few seconds only on each side - don't let it get too hot. Lay down a leaf of romaine on the wrap then spoon on all of the tofu salad mixture. Wrap as you like, either fajita or burrito style - whatever's easiest for you :-)



Nutritional Information: based on 1 large wrap, will vary depending on wrap used (whole recipe)

Calories: 307
Protein: 15.9g
Fat: 9.7g
Sat Fat: 3.2g
Fibre: 3.3g
Carbs: 36g
Sugar: 3.5g
Calcium: 162mg


You Might Also Like:

Vegan Chicken and
Macaroni Salad
Lettuce Cups
Cheezy Chive Cornmeal Waffles
with a Baby Spinach &
Tofu Scramble with
Roasted Cherry
Tomatoes


10 comments:

  1. Made this today for lunch as a sandwich. It's a great recipe and was really tasty! I added some cayenne pepper to the dill mayo which gave an extra kick :-) Love your recipes, I come back again and again, thank you!!

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    1. Wow Dina, you were fast! lol - So glad you liked it and I love the addition of cayenne! Thanks so much for the comment :-)

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  2. Oh yum ... this looks delicious! I'd love every single version you presented. thanks for sharing ... I've never seen that bouillon before ... I'm going to look for it.

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    1. Thanks :-) I do love that bouillon, it just goes so well with tofu - hope you find some!

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  3. I've been hoping you would post this recipe after seeing it on the daily blog. Hopefully it won't be long before the dill in the garden gets going and I can use super fresh herbs :)

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    1. I'm the same - keep checking our dill growing in the polytunnel hoping it'll be ready soon! I have a minor dill addiction I think :-)

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    2. You have a polytunnel?! Very jealous! Can't wait to be done with finals and get outside in the garden :)

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    3. Yeah, it was a gift from my in-laws (spoilt we are!) There's a bit of picture here:

      http://maplespice-eats.blogspot.ie/2012/09/monday-17-september-2012.html

      Last spring/summer was the first time growing things in it and it was very successful, we are trying loads more things this year - hopefully all will grow well!

      Post finals gardening sounds blissful - hope it comes soon for you :-)

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  4. i made your basic tofu scramble recipe yeaterday from the waffle post and it was delicious! mixed it with a bit of mayo today for a sandwich and it is soo good!have only recently found your blog- am a cork girl living in the uk, great to see an inspiring vegan voice coming out of cork!

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    1. Hi Shelley! Thanks for the comment - so glad you liked the scramble, great idea to mix with mayo for an easy sandwich too!

      I must say as well - I love your home county!! Cork is great :-)

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