Veganism and vegetarianism are on the rise. People are finally seeing that they don’t need to eat meat for dinner every night. Campaigns such as Meat-free Monday or Veganuary are all ways for people to dip their toes in the water and discover that a plant-based diet can be delicious.
Also gaining in popularity are meat-like products made from tofu, mushrooms and so on. It reminds me of the dehydrated mince-like TVP – textured vegetable protein – we used to eat when the BSE crisis was happening. You just soak the TVP in boiling water to rehydrate it, then use it in place of mince in lasagne, shepherd’s pie or whatever. But it never, ever tasted like mince.
The texture was all wrong, too. You can get “fakin’ bacon”, sausages, burgers and chicken breasts that are plant-based but made to taste “meaty”. I think we need to appreciate them for what they are. They will never have the same texture, mouthfeel or taste as meat, so we should just enjoy a vegetable burger for its own qualities.
A fantastic example of this is the the Nut Case Food Company; its hand-made nut burgers taste amazing, and a few boxes of these in the freezer will always come in handy. Another small producer, Dee’s Wholefoods, produces delicious vegan sausages with added dulse seaweed. Her Omega burgers are lovely too. They are all designed to be delicious, nutritious meals that do not try to replicate meat.
There are so many recipes that call for liquid smoke in order to give that “just pulled off the barbecue” taste. I use smoked sweet paprika sometimes instead when I want a chorizo or smoked bacon effect. I marinade thick mushroom slices in olive oil and smoked paprika before putting them on a pizza. These aubergine slices are another favourite. I have used coconut sugar here for a caramelised taste, but maple syrup is amazing too. Regular brown sugar can be used either.
You can spread pesto or hummus on these slices and roll them up or use them in place of bread for a sandwich. I tend to make messy but delicious sandwiches with them, best eaten in the privacy of your own home.
I love cooking from scratch but I buy some ready-made things at the market that come in handy during the week. Good delis will have tubs of olives, pesto, hummus, semi sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies and more. Having a few tubs of these in the fridge means lunch or dinner can be put together in no time. Large supermarkets all have their own range of these antipasti delights too.
I add a few crumbly slices of Toons Bridge sheep’s milk cheese, Pecorino Sardo, between the warm layers of aubergine and it tastes incredible. It’s one of my favourite cheeses at the moment, nutty and not too aged so it crumbles beautifully.
Choose a plump, glossy aubergine that’s slightly firm and has no dents. Avoid the dark, bigger aubergine. The lighter the colour, the younger the aubergine so the less bitter the seeds are. There’s no need to salt it unless it’s an older, large aubergine with lots of seeds. They have a very short shelf life, so eat them as soon as you can.
SMOKY AUBERGINE SLICES: SERVES 4
Ingredients
2 aubergines
2tsp smoked sweet paprika
2tbs coconut sugar or 1tbs maple syrup
4tbs olive oil
2tbs soy sauce
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Mix the sweet paprika, coconut sugar, olive oil and soy sauce in a shallow dish. Slice the aubergine into 1 cm-thick slices lengthways. Use a pastry brush or butter knife to spread the paste on to both sides of the slices. Lay them on the baking tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through, until crisp at the edges.
