Vegan Parmesan, Rosemary & Shallot Sausages with Sun-Dried Tomato Gravy

I like to think of these as a "veganized and poshed up" version of Glamorgan sausages ;-) I was inspired here by a recipe created by my dear chef friend Stacey's recipe for "Pan Seared Aged White Cheddar Sausages  with Sun-Dried Tomato Gravy". I had them when I was working with her back in my vegetarian days and they were just gorgeous, especially with that gravy. (And a huge thanks to her for permission to post!)

In order to veganize the sausages I've had to change a lot but followed her recipe as a guide. I have made them tofu based and added my Vegan Parmesan recipe of nutritional yeast, ground almonds and salt for a cheesy flavour.

The gravy is pretty much the exact same though, I just swapped onions for shallots (as I had them for the sausages, you can use onion if you prefer) and used soy cream in place of whipping cream. It's a stunning gravy and goes perfectly with the sausages, perfect for a nice dinner with some mashed potato and side of broccoli.

Now, I have made these sausages with both soft and firm tofu. Either work but you have to prepare them differently and you do end up with different textured results depending on which type you use. In the photos you see here I have used an extra firm tofu.

First, with the soft tofu, and I do mean soft, for those of you in the UK/Ireland I used Cauldron's original tofu which is so soft it borders on silken (but don't use silken here!) Anyway, you end up with a softer, looser textured sausage much more reminiscent of traditional Glamorgan sausages which I always remember being very soft. They still hold together and fry up fine but are a little more tricky to shape.

With the extra firm tofu, and I have used quite a firm one here, Taifun's tofu which is even rubbery in texture; you end up with a much firmer sausage, more reminiscent in texture of traditional sausages. This makes them MUCH easier to shape and thus they have less margin of error.

Either way, both turn out well and taste great and I'll post both versions and let you decide which one to make :-)

Lastly, I do apologize for the not-so-great and rather "samey" photos here....I even failed to get a shot of them cut open! My family were eagerly standing in the background waiting for me to finish shooting this so they could eat so I was rather rushed ;-) My poor family always eating lukewarm meals, lol!

Vegan Parmesan, Rosemary & Shallot Sausages:

• 200g extra firm OR soft tofu *see above
• 2 cups (100g) breadcrumbs
• ½ cup (65g) finely chopped shallots
• 1 tsp dried mustard powder
• 1 tsp fine smoked sea salt
• 12 grinds freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 Tbsp finely ground nutritional yeast flakes
• 2 Tbsp ground almonds
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened almond or soy milk (omit if using soft tofu)
• olive oil to grease and fry

Instructions if using soft tofu:

Drain the tofu (there is no need to press). Place everything except the milk into a large bowl and just get in there with your hands, squishing the tofu through your fingers to mush it all up. When well mixed and thick in texture wash then grease your hands with some olive oil and shape into 6 sausages. I find it easiest to grease a 1/4 cup measuring cup and press the mixture in, scoop it out then squeeze and roll into sausage shapes. Lay out on a plate lined with cling film, cover with cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.

Instructions if using extra firm tofu:

Crumble the tofu (no need to press) into a food processor and add the milk. Process until fine in texture and well mixed. Add everything else except the shallots and blend well, it should just come together like a dough and should be able to grab a bit of the mixture and squish it together easily. Now add the shallots and pulse a few times until well mixed and the shallots are a little smaller - you still want bits of shallots in here though so don't overmix.

Grease your hands with olive oil and shape into 6 sausages. Lay out on a plate lined with cling film, cover with cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.

To Fry:

Add 1½ Tbsp of olive oil to a large non-stick frying pan and heat to medium. Add the sausages, turning to coat in the oil and fry, turning frequently until equally golden brown all over.

Sun-Dried Tomato Gravy:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 70g shallots, sliced (about 4 large shallots)
• 50g sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained (about 7 pieces)
• 2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock*
• 2 Tbsp soy cream
• 10 grinds freshly ground black pepper

*First, a note on the vegetable stock, it provides a lot of the flavour in this gravy so make sure you use one you really love the taste of. I've used a Knorr Vegetable Stock Pot here FYI.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan then gently fry the shallots and pepper until the shallots are really soft and caramelized, a nice golden brown will do. 

Tip into a blender (I used my Froothie Optimum 9400 for the silkiest results) with the sun-dried tomatoes and half the vegetable stock. Blend until really smooth then add the rest of the stock and blend again. It will be really watery looking at this point, that's ok!

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to medium heat, reduce to low and simmer with the lid off for about 20 minutes until it has reduced in volume and is thicker. Pour in the cream and stir well.

(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliated links to Froothie UK.)

♥

Nutritional Information:

Per sausage (after frying):

Calories: 122

Protein: 5.6g

Fat: 6.4g

Sat Fat: 1.0g

Carbs: 11.1g

Sugar: 1.1g

Fibre: 1.1g

Sodium: 337mg

Per 1/3 of the gravy (a generous amount for a serving of 2 sausages and sides):

Calories: 118

Protein: 2.1g

Fat: 9.4g

Sat Fat: 1.6g

Carbs: 7.1g

Sugar: 2g

Fibre: 1.8g

Sodium: 787mg

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A Trio of Almond Cheese: Chive, Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil, Chili & Rosemary

Well, finally - a new blog post! I've just been so busy lately and these have been sitting on the rather large "to be blogged" pile for quite awhile now :-) These are all variations on the Almond Chive Cheese which is actually already on the blog from way back in 2009. It's one of our favourite homemade cheeses but I decided to make a few changes this time around. Mostly I usually find myself without any sweet white miso paste whenever I want to make this so I've omitted that here, swapped the rice milk to either unsweetened soy or almond (both work well) and then tried a couple more flavours.

First I tried a Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil version and we both absolutely loved it!! Wonderful flavour and such a nice variation. I was just going to blog the two flavours but figured everything should come in threes right?? So I thought a spicy version would be nice and opted for one of my favourite flavour combinations, chili and rosemary (similar to my socca recipe). Really love this one as well, good heat coming through with the chili but not too overpowering and I love the rosemary there, this one will become a regular as well. The great thing about these cheeses as well? They are SO easy to make and set and chill within an hour, no waiting days or even overnight for these!

All of these cheeses are based on ground almonds, nutritional yeast, olive oil, unsweetened soy or almond milk, flavourings and set with agar flakes. Using agar can be a little hit or miss but the great thing with these is it doesn't matter if they have trouble setting, you simply end up with a spreadable cheese instead :-) Mine end up as you see in the photos here, you can slice them, carefully, but they are also soft enough to spread - the best of both worlds! But please note these are not grating or melting cheeses. We love them simply sliced/spread onto crackers or bread in the evening with either a nice red or white wine and my husband loves them in sandwiches.

~ Recipe Notes ~

• The recipes make small portions of the cheese. Above are the ramekin dishes I use to make mine, they fit perfectly and measure 3" across on the bottom, 2" high and hold 180ml/ ¾ cup liquid. I just give the dishes a spray of cooking oil and the cheeses always come out easily after running a knife around the sides. If you are using a different type of dish and are weary of the cheese coming out, simply line the dish with cling film.

• All recipes can easily be doubled or tripled if you would like more.

• I used dried chili flakes for the rosemary and chili cheese as you get more consistent heat levels with those as opposed to fresh chillies which can vary wildly in heat levels. That being said, you can easily use fresh chillies and rosemary, I would say 1 small red chili finely chopped and 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary and just use as per recipe.

• As mentioned above, don't fret if they don't set, agar can be fickle and these are just as good spreadable :-)

• When I say to grind the nutritional yeast flakes to a powder I always use a mortar and pestle but you can easily just use your hands.

Almond Chive Cheese:

• 40g ground almonds (5 Tbsp + 2 tsp) also known as "almond meal"

• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes, ground to a powder

• ¼ tsp garlic powder

• ¼ tsp onion powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 100ml unsweetened almond or soy milk (3.5 fl oz)

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tbsp agar flakes

• ½ tsp lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the ground almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan whisk together the milk and oil. Sprinkle on the agar flakes and let it sit for 5 minutes (off the heat). Give it a good whisk now and turn the heat on to high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking all the while, then reduce to a simmer and switch to a wooden spoon to stir. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring often.

Turn off the heat then quickly pour it over the almond mixture. Add the chopped chives and lemon juice then mix really well. You should have a fairly thick mixture. Scrape it all into the prepared ramekin dish then gently press it in using a sheet of cling film until it's nice and smooth on top. Wrap the whole dish in cling film and chill until set. They set pretty quickly, 1 or 2 hours.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Cheese:

• 40g ground almonds (5 Tbsp + 2 tsp)

• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes, ground to a powder

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 100ml unsweetened almond or soy milk (3.5 fl oz)

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½ Tbsp tomato paste

• 1 Tbsp agar flakes

• 2 Tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (the type packed in oil)

• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the ground almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan whisk together the milk, tomato paste and oil. Sprinkle on the agar flakes and let it sit for 5 minutes (off the heat). Give it a good whisk now and turn the heat on to high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking all the while, then reduce to a simmer and switch to a wooden spoon to stir. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring often.

Turn off the heat then quickly pour it over the almond mixture. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and basil then mix really well. You should have a fairly thick mixture. Scrape it all into the prepared ramekin dish then gently press it in using a sheet of cling film until it's nice and smooth on top. Wrap the whole dish in cling film and chill until set. They set pretty quickly, 1 or 2 hours.

Chili and Rosemary Cheese:

• 40g ground almonds (5 Tbsp + 2 tsp)

• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes, ground to a powder

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 100ml unsweetened almond or soy milk (3.5 fl oz)

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½ tsp dried rosemary

• ¼ tsp dried chili flakes (also known as red pepper flakes)

• about 6 grinds of black pepper

• 1 Tbsp agar flakes

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the ground almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan whisk together the milk, oil, chili flakes, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle on the agar flakes and let it sit for 5 minutes (off the heat). Then give it a good whisk and turn the heat on to high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking all the while, then reduce to a simmer and switch to a wooden spoon to stir. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring often.

Turn off the heat then quickly pour it over the almond mixture and stir well, you should have a fairly thick mixture. Scrape it all into the prepared ramekin dish then gently press it in using a sheet of cling film until it's nice and smooth on top. Wrap the whole dish in cling film and chill until set. They set pretty quickly, 1 or 2 hours.

♥

Nutritional Information

(all per 100g and using unsweetened almond milk)

Almond and Chive Cheese: 

Calories: 385

Protein: 12.3g

Fat: 33.3g

Sat Fat: 3.4g

Fibre: 7.3g

Carbs: 12.2g

Sugar: 1.8g

Sodium: 619mg

Calcium: 138mg

Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Cheese:

Calories: 308

Protein: 9g

Fat: 26g

Sat Fat: 2.7g

Fibre: 6g

Carbs: 12g

Sugar: 1.8g

Sodium: 502mg

Calcium: 106mg

Chili and Rosemary Cheese:

Calories: 411

Protein: 12.1g

Fat: 35.9g

Sat Fat: 3.8g

Fibre: 7.5g

Carbs: 12.6g

Sugar: 1.5g

Sodium: 665mg

Calcium: 151mg

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