Vegan Smoky Mock Tuna
I’ve shared a couple of fake meat recipes lately and I’m not proud of it. Before I went vegetarian I used to find fake meats disgusting. I always wondered why people didn’t just eat real meat if they felt the need for fake meat products. I also told myself that if I ever went vegetarian I would just enjoy plant foods the way they were instead of trying to turn them into meat. For the most part that is exactly what I do. I was never a big meat eater (as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before) but there were a couple of things that were quite hard for me to give up at first. One of them being my tinned smoked tuna in olive oil. I used to eat it in sandwiches at work very regularly and also loved putting it in salads. Occasionally I would find myself craving it long after I had given up meat which made me wander if I was missing some sort of nutrients in my diet but the truth is I don’t think that was the case. I’ve just always loved smoked stuff! And I missed smoked things after becoming plant based.
Unfortunately for me I came up with this recipe about 6 years after giving up meat and by that time I had filled my diet with so many other delicious things that I no longer craved this tuna or remembered it in the slightest. I have this very rarely now, literally only if I feel like something smokey. I know that iodine levels drop while breastfeeding so I definitely need to up my sea weed intake and this is a good option for me. I wish I wound have thought of this recipe years ago when I was really missing these flavours, but I’m excited to upload it anyway because it really does resemble the smoked tuna I used to eat and it is a great transitional food for anyone going plant based.
Its actually a very healthy spread full of plant protein. It lacks the same fat content as regular tuna so sometimes I like to increase the amount of olive oil for some extra fat. Also I’ve seen hundreds of mock tuna recipes online all made with chickpeas and raw onion? I don’t see how that resembles tuna. I’ve actually not even been tempted to try! But I am and have always been a proud fussy eater so that might explain why. My recipe is definitely a lot more authentic. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
| Vegan Smoky Mock Tuna | Print |
- 1 packet organic smoked tofu
- 1 can chickpeas
- 2 TBSP nori flakes or 1 -2 toasted nori sheets
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Add all ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth but textured. If using toasted nori sheets you may need to break them up before adding them.
- Enjoy as tuna. Will store in the fridge for about a week.
