Vegan Baked Tofu 'Eggs'

Vegan Baked Tofu 'Eggs'

           Before becoming vegan, we used to eat a lot of eggs.  At the organic shop in Toulouse, you could buy them in packs of 20 from a local farmer, and we used to go through at least one pack a week.  At a minimum.  Eggs and toast were a pretty much daily occurrence for us.

          So, vegan breakfasts have been a bit difficult to adjust to - we eat a lot of pancakes, cereal, bagels, english muffins, crumpets, smoothies, french toast, etc., but these tend to be on the sweet side.  There are definitely days when I just want something savoury for breakfast.  Yes, I still make hash browns and latkas, but there just always seemed to be something missing on my plate.  Something with plenty of protein to start the day off right, and a mild, creaminess that would go with anything.  

         Enter baked tofu eggs!  I used to love baked eggs; the mix of tomato, cheese, and egg was exactly what I craved in the morning, so I figured it was about time to give veganising it a spin.  It was much easier than I expected...this recipe takes hardly any time, you can easily make a batch to freeze ahead, and just bake up in the morning, and they're perfect with toast.  What more could you want from a breakfast recipe?

Before baking

Vegan Baked Tofu 'Eggs'

Total Time: 20 minutes

Serves: makes 8 eggs (approx 2 1/2 inches in diameter)

For the 'eggs':

1 block silken tofu -400g

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper to taste 

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric (optional)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp billion powder

For the assembly:

2 cups tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.  Sauté onion in the olive oil with a pinch of salt until transluscent.  Add all the 'egg' ingredients to a blender, and purée until smooth.  Place 2 tbsp of tomato sauce in the bottom of 8 muffin cups.  Make a well in the tomato sauce of each, and pour in the tofu (roughly 2 tbsp of tofu per cup). Top with a sprinkle of nutrtional yeast and more pepper. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the tops are nicely browned and the 'eggs' are set (like a custard). 

To make ahead for freezing, simply line the muffin cups with recycled aluminium foil before filling.  Then, place the tray in the freezer for about half an hour, or until the 'eggs' are solid.  Remove from the tray, wrap up, and bake from frozen as desired.