Tofu Salad Sandwich Filling (Mock Egg)

The basic idea of using tofu to make a mock egg salad is a vegan classic. If you hang around vegans long enough, you will definitely be served a version of this. This is my take on it.

I’m a little picky about texture when it comes to the tofu in this recipe—I want it firm enough to not be super mushy but not so much that it’s hard or crunchy. That’s why I have the employed slightly unusual microwave-pressing technique. It drives out just enough moisture without browning or crisping the way other cooking methods would. The tofu also absorbs more flavor when it’s warm. If this technique doesn’t appeal to you, you can try one of the alternative methods listed in the variations.

The other unusual thing about this recipe is the use of the bean-based sauce. Most recipes of this type use vegan mayonnaise, which is fine. I think that the texture of the pureed beans better approximates that of egg yolks, however. And nutritionally, there’s more protein and less fat in the bean sauce. Actually, there’s no added fat in this recipe at all. (There is a little bit of natural fat in the tofu.)

 

Tofu Salad Sandwich Filling (Mock Egg)

Sauce:

1 15 oz can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice (more or less to taste)

¼ cup unsweetened soymilk (other nondairy milks okay too)

¼ cup nutritional yeast

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp lemon pepper

¼ tsp mustard powder

¼ tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp dill weed

1/8 tsp dried tarragon

dash of paprika

1 lb extra-firm tofu

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

¼ of a medium onion, diced finely

salt and pepper to taste

Direction:

Puree all sauce ingredients until smooth in a blender or food processor; set aside.

Dice the tofu into ¼ inch cubes. Spread the cubes onto a microwave-safe plate and cook on high for 2 minutes. Being careful not to burn yourself, place a second plate on top of the tofu and lightly press the two plates together as you tilt them over a sink and pour off excess liquid. Repeat the microwaving, pressing and draining process 1 or 2 times if you wish for extra firmness. Let cool for a couple minutes while you chop your veggies.

 

 Place chopped celery, onion, and tofu in a mixing bowl and stir in the sauce. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve either chilled or at room temperature on nice hearty whole grain bread. Good on crackers or bagels, too.

 

Variations:

If you’d like a softer-texured (and faster) version of this recipe, you could skip the microwaving and pressing process altogether and merely dice firm tofu and add it directly to the sauce and veggies.

If you prefer a very firm and chewy tofu salad, you could dice baked tofu (such as this recipe) and stir it in with the celery, onion, and sauce instead of the microwave-pressed tofu.

If you don’t want to whip out your blender to make the sauce, a potato masher would work okay in a pinch. Just thoroughly mash the beans alone before adding the rest of the sauce ingredients. You might end up needing a little extra liquid.

You could jazz up your sandwich with various mix-ins, including: pickle relish, scallions, green or black olives, red onions, bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, shredded carrot, cucumbers, fresh herbs such as parsley, chives or cilantro, diced avocado, radishes, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, pimentos or roasted red peppers, horseradish, or even diced cooked potato.

The seasonings can be varied as well—curry powder is a pretty common addition. Cayenne can be added for heat.

The herbs and spices can also be simplified by just using 1-1 ½ tsp of your favorite seasoning mix instead of the long-ish list in this recipe.

You could also change the assembly and stuff this filling into little croustade shells or similar so that you could eat it finger-food style, like deviled eggs. It could could also be served in hollowed out fresh tomatoes.

Looking for sandwich spreads? Try my Mashed Garbanzo and Artichoke Spread or Cheaper Hummus.

Double Cucumber Hummus Wraps

This is a nice warm weather meal for those days when you don’t want to be slaving away in a hot kitchen. These wraps are both refreshing and filling. The lemony marinated cucumbers add a particularly nice zing.

Note: I needed about 1 ½ large cucumbers to produce the 2 cup chopped and ½ cup sliced cucumbers called for in the recipe.

Double cucumber hummus wrap

Cucumber-Hummus Wraps

Lemony Marinated Cucumbers:

½ cup cucumbers, sliced 1/8 inch thick

1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp water

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Cucumber-tofu sauce:

1 12 oz package firm silken tofu

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 cups cucumber, chopped into ½ inch dice

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

4 whole grain flatbreads

About ½ cup hummus, homemade or store-bought

Fresh greens such as spinach, kale, lettuce, etc.

Directions:

Marinated cucumber slices

Whisk together lemon juice, water, salt and pepper. Add cucumber slices. Let marinate while you prepare

the rest of the ingredients, tossing occasionally.

Cucumber Tofu Sauce

To make the cucumber-tofu sauce: puree tofu with lemon juice, seasonings, and 1 cup of the chopped cucumbers until completely smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir in remaining cup of chopped cucumbers. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

To assemble: Spread 1-2 tablespoons of hummus in an even layer over each flatbread. Place a layer of marinated cucumber slices on top (shake off any excess marinade). Lay a strip of greens down the middle, and top with a few spoonfuls of cucumber-tofu sauce. 

Flatbread spread w/ hummus

A layer of marinated cucumbers

Greens in the middle

Ready to roll up

Fold up the sides and enjoy!

Makes 4 wraps with plenty of sauce leftover.

Rolled up and ready to eat

Variations:

Fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, zucchini, or peppers can be added to the marinated cucumber mixture.

Different kinds of olives, capers, or artichoke hearts would make flavorful additions as well.

Fresh herbs such as parsley, chives, tarragon and/or dill could be blended into the cucumber sauce for a Green Goddess effect.

A different bean spread, such as a white bean-herb puree, could be substituted for the hummus.

Hummus-Cucumber sandwich

This wrap can be made in regular sandwich form, as well.

Note: The cucumber tofu sauce from this recipe also makes a good substitute for both tzatziki in falafel or gyro sandwiches and for raita in Indian meals.

yum

Mashed Garbanzo and Artichoke Sandwich Spread

There are a number of similar recipes out there; most tend to go by the name of "mock tuna." It's a fair comparison, texture-wise, although I would generally rather go my own direction in terms of flavor rather than try too hard to emulate fishy flavors with seaweed, etc. The artichoke hearts are what really make this version special. I try to get one in each bite when I assemble the sandwich. : )

I like to make up a big batch of this during busy times, so that I can grab quick meals on the go. It's also nice for picnics.

Garbanzo spread

Mashed Garbanzo and Artichoke Sandwich Spread

(big batch--makes 10 or more sandwiches)

3 15-oz cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 14-oz can artichoke hearts

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

½ tsp beau monde seasoning (can sub celery seed + more onion and garlic powder)

½ to 1 tsp dill weed

½ cup vegan mayonnaise (see note* for subs)

salt, pepper, and/or lemon pepper salt free seasoning to taste

Optional add-ins (use 1 or 2): Chopped celery, finely minced red or sweet onion, fresh or roasted bell peppers, cucumbers, fresh or sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs such as chives or parsley, pickles or relish, olives or capers, any spices that sound compatible

 Directions:

Mashing the beans

Mash the garbanzos with a potato masher. Cook the garlic in the oil (microwave or stovetop) for about 1 minute, until softened. Add the mashed beans along with the lemon juice and seasonings. Cook the mixture 30 seconds to a minute, until warm, and then set aside to marinate a few minutes [FYI, beans almost always marinate faster and more thoroughly when warmed first].

Meanwhile, drain the artichokes and chop them into ½ inch pieces. Prepare any of your optional add-ins as well.

Add the artichokes and mayo to the bean mixture and stir. Add any of the optional ingredients at this time. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and/or salt free seasoning to your liking. Adjust amount of vegan mayo to your taste. You can either chill the spread or serve it warm. 

*Can’t get a hold of any vegan mayo? You could try vegan yogurt or sour cream, perhaps mixed with a little extra lemon juice. For an out-of-the-box solution, you could actually use a vinaigrette-style salad dressing in place of the mayo if you have a vegan one in a compatible flavor. I’ve used a lemon-chive flavored dressing in this recipe and it tasted very good. If your dressing is runnier than mayo, you might want use a smaller amount. Just add it by the tablespoon until you reach a nice consistency.

Garbanzo-Artichoke Sandwiches with whole wheat toast

Grilled Apple, Avocado and “Cheese” Sandwiches

Using vital wheat gluten in the sauce gives it a cheese-like stringiness and ups the protein content.

Grilled Apple, Avocado and “Cheese” Sandwiches

1/3 cup nutritional yeast (heaping)

1/3 cup vital wheat gluten (heaping)

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

1/8 to ¼ tsp lemon pepper seasoning (plus a dash per sandwich)

A dash of mustard powder

1-2 dashes salt (up to 1/8 tsp)

½ to 3/4 cup water

1 avocado, sliced into ¼ inch slices

1 apple, pealed and sliced into ¼ inch slices

6-8 slices bread (depending on how many sandwiches you want)

oil or cooking spray

Directions:

Mix together “cheese” ingredients (yeast through water).  Using less water will make the cheese stringier and stretchier; using more water will make it easier to spread and will extend the sauce for more sandwiches.  I usually go for somewhere in between.

Heat the cheese sauce in the microwave or on the stove top for a minute or two until warm. Don’t cook it too much or it will start turning into seitan.

Arrange a layer of avocados over half the bread slices.  Sprinkle with lemon pepper or salt to bring out the avocado flavor. Arrange a layer of apples on top of the avocados. Spread the cheese sauce on the remaining slices of bread, and assemble the sandwiches by firmly pressing the cheese covered bread slices onto the avocado and apple covered bread slices.

Heat up a skillet, ideally nonstick, to medium to medium high heat and grease it with either cooking spray or about a teaspoon of oil. When hot enough, start grilling the sandwiches, either individually or more than one at a time depending on the size of your skillet and your talent at multitasking. Press the top of the sandwiches with your spatula periodically to ensure even browning and carefully flip when one side is done. It may take as little as 30 seconds a side or as much as a few minutes depending on heat and equipment.  The first one usually takes the longest.

Makes 3-4 sandwiches.

Variations:

Add-ins: The cheese sauce is pretty mild, so if you’d like a sharper sandwich you can add a layer of mustard, ketchup, vegan mayo, vegan cream cheese, pickles or tomatoes for tanginess. You could also add a little lemon juice to the sauce.

Technique: If you prefer, you can spread the outside of the sandwiches with margarine instead of oiling the pan. I’ve also heard of (vegan) mayo being used the same way.

A dry nonstick pan, with no added oil or margarine will work okay too.

Also, instead of cooking them on the stove you could use the broiler, taking them out and flipping them halfway.  This has the advantage of being able to cook a lot of sandwiches at once (I can fit eight on some cookie sheets).

Enjoy!