This week in the Vegans Don’t Eat Grass kitchen, we set ourselves a challenge to find some cosy autumnal recipes that are perfect for this season. We aimed to create recipes that are so damn good – and that can imitate, where needed, meat and dairy so well – that no-one would ever know they’ve just had a fantastic vegan meal. The tastiness of the food should come first, not the veganism.
This mushroom pie is so creamy that you’d never miss the dairy, and does not require you to make your own pastry, so it’s super quick and easy. Similarly, the sticky buns (recipe 3) taste no different to any butter-filled cinnamon bun. The buns may take a little effort, as they need to be left an hour to rise, but actual hands-on prep time is no more than 40 minutes.
Recipe 2 is our signature tofu marinade, which converts everyone who tastes it to a tofu fanatic. Salty, rich and flavoursome, this soy marinated tofu is a quick weeknight stable in our kitchen which packs a protein punch and is perfect in a multitude of dishes – on a rice, in a buddha bowl, in a stir fry, in a wrap, or add a little paprika and it makes a lovely “meaty” addition to Tex-Mex dishes like fajitas.
We hope you enjoy!
Meal 1: Vegan creamy mushroom and leek pie
You will be excited to learn that much ready-made puff pastry is vegan.
Incredible, right? This means that a whole world of pies is open to you, sweet and savoury. We used Jus-Roll’s ready-rolled puff pastry sheet.
To make the filling, we fried sliced mushrooms, leeks and onion with some finely chopped garlic in a frying pan. Once this had softened, we added 2 tablespoons of flour mixed with water to form a runny paste, and 300ml of vegetable stock (made with bouillon vegetable powder). Boil this until it has a thick, creamy consistency.
Put the filling in a large oven proof dish, and cover with the puff pastry. Cut a hole in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape, and brush all over with whatever plant-based milk you have. This will then take about 30 minutes to crisp in a 200-degree oven.
Meal 2: The best way to eat tofu (marinade recipe)
This is the recipe that converted Liv to a tofu lover. A year ago, she would have told you that she hated tofu – and now finds a way to add to nearly every meal she has. Tofu is a fantastic source of protein, calcium, and essential minerals, and, when cooked well, is delicious. Marinated tofu is pretty much impossible to get wrong as well, so you won’t have any traumatic tofu experiences.
This is the basic recipe but we do often add whatever we have that sounds like it might work, so don’t be afraid to add more spices or sauce. Zoe’s particular favourite is to add a squirt of sriracha sauce, and sweet chilli sauce would also work well – you might want to omit the agave if adding this, so that it isn’t too sweet.
This recipe makes enough marinade for one block of tofu, which is about two portions (or one large portion … this has been done). We have found the brand TooFoo to be our favourite brand as it is particularly firm and not slimy; this can be found with the meat alternatives.
Two tablespoons of each:
- Balsamic vinegar
- Soy Sauce
- Agave Nectar
And add few twists of salt and black pepper.
- Slice the tofu (we suggest doing slices roughly 1 cm wide)
- Combine the vinegar, soy sauce and agave nectar in a container large enough to fit the tofu slices – balancing the flavour is an art not a science, so feel free to vary the measurements slightly to fit your personal taste
- Add the slices to the sauce, and add the black pepper.
- Mix the slices around, ensuring each gets soaked in the sauce on both sides
- Heat some oil in a pan
- Put the tofu in the pan, along with all of the sauce. Tofu takes to sauce quite well so there isn’t a desperate need to leave them marinating for any extended amount of time. However, if you do have the time available, marinate the tofu as it will give you a more intense flavour.
Meal 3: Easy sticky buns
Find the recipe for these yummy pecan, cinnamon, and toffee buns here.
The perfect autumnal treat – pair it with a hot chocolate to fully embrace the spirit of the season. Non-vegans won’t be able to tell that this recipe is made with nut milk (this recipe uses almond, but soya works just as well) or dairy free spread – it is just as tasty and indulgent as any full dairy recipe could be.