Such love after sharing her recipe for Vegan Fig Upside Down Cake, so Louise Palmer-Masterton, founder of Stem & Glory, is sharing another recipe of hers… The ‘VLT’ (Vegan BLT).
I haven’t intentionally eaten pork or bacon since 1994, but the one thing I miss is a nice BLT sandwich. Louise Palmer-Masterton‘s recipe goes beyond a simple bacon substitute and brings the entire sandwich up a level. I can only imagine the cuisine at her Cambridge and London locations of Stem & Glory. Someone please comment if you’ve gone to dine there so I can live vicariously! Now I’ll hand the post over to Louise.
The ‘VLT’ (Vegan BLT)
Makes 2-4 rounds of sandwiches depending on the bread size
This has been on our menu at Stem & Glory Cambridge for years and it’s an absolute winner.
The trick is making the tempeh bacon super thin and super crispy and having just the right amount of mayo to make it sing!
INGREDIENTS
200g tempeh (you can buy this fresh or frozen – if frozen defrost completely before using.
A large fresh tomato
Baby gem lettuce
Vegan mayo
For the marinade:
100 ml tamari
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp maple syrup
DIRECTIONS
Mix the marinade ingredients. Thinly slice the tempeh. Marinade for 5-30 mins (tempeh usually soaks up marinade really well)
Shake the excess marinade off the tempeh and shallow fry in a little olive oil until crispy and very slightly charred around the edges.
To build the sandwich. Spread vegan mayo on both slices of bread. On one side add a layer of sliced tomato, a layer of lettuce, then a layer of the crispy tempeh. Top with the second slice. Cut into triangle quarters and enjoy. Tip – with this sandwich make sure you add enough mayo so it dribbles out slightly for the full experience!
You could also make this with thinly sliced tofu – marinade for longer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Louise Palmer-Masterton is founder of multiple award-winning restaurants Stem & Glory; hip and trendy but accessible plant-based restaurants, serving delicious gourmet vegan food from locally sourced ingredients. Stem & Glory also offers click-and-collect and local delivery in London and Cambridge. In addition, Stem & Glory offers a range of ready meals, finish at home pizzas, and recipe kits available for delivery across the UK. You can check out Stem & Glory on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Mix the gherkins, parsley, red onion and vegan mayo together in a large bowl. Add the cooled vegetables and mix well. Add more mayo according to your personal preference – the veg should be well coated but not too runny This is a staple in our house. It’s very tasty straight from the oven, and works fab cold in a picnic with some pickle.