For Easter this year, I had the idea of making a vegan tapas style brunch. I lived in Seville for 2 years in my late 20s and I’ve been wanting to go back… so this was my way of travelling through making vegan versions of my favourite foods!
Salmorejo
Salmorejo is pretty much already naturally vegan, except for the toppings and in some recipes (like this one I found online) use hard boiled egg to add more creaminess. I find that with the bread it’s creamy enough!
Ingredients:
8 Medium Tomatoes the quality of the tomatoes is one of the most important factors in the taste
1 Medium Baguette
1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil again, quality is important
1 Clove of Garlic not too big
A Splash of Sherry Vinegar (can be substituted with red wine vinegar, which is what I used)
A Pinch of Salt
Vegan ham for topping
Instructions
The original recipe calls for you to peel the tomatoes. I had a friend in Spain once say to me that it’s not that important, and that it takes long to do. Try it out for yourself and see! (I didn’t peel mine to save on time)
First Blend: Cut out the cores of the tomatoes and add all the rest to your blender. Blend at high-speed for about 30 seconds until the tomatoes are broken down.
Add bread: Take all of the “guts” out of your baguette and add them to the blended tomatoes. The baguette should have given about 2-3 cups of guts and you can experiment with how much you add, as this is how you change the texture. I used only half of my baguette and I think I could have added in more. You can also use old bread rolls, broken up. (And this might be a less expensive option) Let the bread soak in the tomato juice for about 5 minutes.
Second Blend: Add the splash of vinegar, salt, and garlic and blend until the soup is an even texture and the bread is completely broken down.
Add Oil: If your blender has it, open the small hole in the top. Slowly add the olive oil as you are blending at a moderate speed. If it doesn’t have the hole, stop and go adding little by little.
Serve in small bowls with some cooked vegan ham pieces as topping if desired.
You can find more in-depth instruction and notes by checking out the original recipe here.
Tortilla de patatas
My new favourite vegan product, Just Egg, made this Spanish tapa staple possible! It turned out wonderfully and I look forward to making it more regularly in the future!
Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion
1.5 tbsp olive oil
~1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 medium russet potatoes (2 to 2 1/4 cups once cooked)
1 tbsp olive oil
~1/2 tsp kosher salt
12 tbsps of Just Egg
1 tsp olive oil
*Note: I would go easy on the salt and add a bit at a time… the Just Egg is already seasoned and I made the mistake of accidentally over-salting the first time I made this.
Instructions:
To start the tortilla, peel and dice the onion. Heat a non-stick fry pan to medium-low and add the olive oil, followed by the onions and salt. Stir and sweat until translucent. While the onions sweat, peel the potatoes. Once the onions are ready, cut the potatoes into quarters lengthwise and then into cubes. Once you have finished cutting all of the potatoes, add the remaining olive oil and salt.
Turn the heat up to medium and fold everything together. Then turn the heat down to medium-low, cover and let cook. Check the potatoes occasionally to make sure they are not taking on any colour. If so, turn the heat down a bit. When the potatoes are almost done, check for seasoning. The potatoes will take anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes to cook. Once the potatoes are cooked, measure out approximately 2 to 2 1/4 cups into a large bowl.
Pour Just Egg over the potatoes, fold together.
Heat an 8" inch, non-stick fry pan over medium heat and add the oil. Once the pan is hot, add the potato and eggs.
As soon as the sides of the tortilla start to cook, give the pan a bit of a shake to make sure the bottom is not sticking. Once the “egg” starts to set, fold the sides slightly inwards. As soon as the edges of the tortilla start to brown, flip the tortilla over using a large, flat plate.
Place the frying pan back onto the stove and drizzle with a bit more oil. Slide the tortilla, uncooked side down, back into the pan and tuck the sides underneath. Cook on medium heat for another 3 to 5 minutes. Use a large plate to flip the tortilla out of the pan. Allow the tortilla to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.
The original recipe is for a larger sized tortilla (9” pan), which I found more challenging to handle (I only had a 10” and an 8” frying pan and I used the 10” my first attempt), so I halved it and made a smaller version (pictured here) in a 8” sized frying pan.
Gambas al Ajillo
Ingredients:
1/2 pack of of veggie shrimp from Paradis Végétarien
Kosher salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less if you don’t want it too spicy)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoons dry sherry or dry white wine
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish if desired
Ingredients:
Thaw out half a package of veggie shrimp from Paradis Végétarien. Set aside.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat up to 60 seconds or until the garlic gains some colour (be careful not to burn it).
Add the shrimp and paprika. Cook briefly, tossing regularly until the outside is slightly browned. Remove the pan from the heat.
Stir in sherry, lemon juice and parsley.
Transfer the shrimp and sauce to a serving bowl. Serve with your favorite crusty bread.
For this recipe I only made half the amount because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. It was pretty good! I would definitely leave the “shrimp” to cook longer next time (I barely left them in for a minute because I was afraid of the garlic burning) so that the outside comes out crispier. The original recipe can be found here
Lastly, I cut up a fresh baguette and sliced up various flavours of Nafsika’s cheese to make a cheese and bread platter. It truly felt like a trip back to Seville, vegan style.