#dried garlic

Vegan Glamorgan Sausages in Eggplant Bacon Wraps

Sausages:

1½ cups sunflower seeds, lightly toasted

1 medium red onion, roughly chopped

1 small leek, roughly chopped

1½ Tbsp. nutritional yeast

¼ tsp. garlic granules

1 tsp. teriyaki sauce

3 halved sun-dried tomatoes

12 white button mushrooms, de-stemmed and minced in your food processor and set aside

salt, to taste

3-4 Tbsp. buckwheat flour, plus extra for dusting

4 Tbsp. cilantro (coriander), finely chopped

a pinch of thyme and sage

Smoked Eggplant Bacon:

1 large eggplant, sliced into thin slices

Marinade:

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. smoked salt

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

To make the sausages, gently fry your mushrooms until their juices are released, then stir until the juices have evaporated, so that you have slightly juicy mushrooms but without liquid in the pan, having retained all the flavors.

Now place all your sunflower seeds in your food processor and process, then remove them into a bowl.

Next, process your sun dried tomatoes, give them a blitz, and then process the onions and leek, taking care to scraping down the edges of the bowl into the center.

Now add the sunflower mix to the onion mix, add the mushrooms and the remaining ingredients, and blitz for a few seconds – don’t over process, this step is just so you can incorporate the ingredients together, not to process further, otherwise your mixture won’t thicken properly.

You should be left with a semi thick ball. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Then lightly flour a surface with the buckwheat, take a large tablespoon of the mixture, roll into a ball, and on your floured surface shape lightly into the shape of a medium to small sausage – do this with them all. Handle with care.

For the bacon, place the marinade ingredients in a small cup, and stir very well. Then, pour the mixture onto a flat plate, dip each slice of eggplant on both sides into this mixture, and place in a dish.  Do the same to all your eggplant slices, then cover and marinate in the fridge for an hour or so.

Now fry each piece in a skillet pan, with the grooves of the pan running parallel with the length of the eggplant slice, so that it leaves lines on the eggplant – in this way it emulates a bacon slice. Turn them over gently when marked and cooked (but don’t overcook them).

Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters

1 can chickpeas, drained 

½ cup organic pumpkin puree

¼ cup hemp seeds

1 tsp. garlic granules

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

a few dashes of pepper, cayenne, and salt to taste 

1-2 tsp. flour to assist in binding if needed

1 cup panko bread crumbs for coating (optional)

¼  - ½ cup safflower oil for frying (optional)

Sage Cream Sauce:

4 fresh sage leaves 

1 cup silken tofu

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 heaping spoonful of vegan mayo

a pinch of fresh parsley

Add the chickpeas and pumpkin to a large mixing bowl. With a large fork or potato masher, mash the beans until at least 75% of them have been mashed together with the pumpkin.

Add in the spices, apple cider, hemp seeds and optional flour. Fold together until a moist mixture forms.

Preheat a few tablespoons of safflower oil in a large skillet.

When the oil is hot, for the mixture into golf ball sized balls and roll in your panko crumbs until well covered - pat down into flatter cakes and place int he hot oil - carefully.

Continue until the pan is full - leave about an inch space between each cake for easier flipping. Cook on each side only about 1-2 minutes - or until toasty brown. Try not to burn, although a bit of crisping is nice.

You could also bake these little cakes instead of fry them if you'd prefer! Bake on parchment paper or a lightly greased baking sheet at about 350 degrees for about 20 minutes - or until toasty. Use a finer breadcrumb instead of panko if baking. 

Transfer cooked fritters to a paper towel to cool. Serve in about 5 minutes after cooling a bit.

Store in the fridge and reheat in the oven if desired. You can freeze as well. However, these fritters are best hot off the skillet! 

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