Jeee, I’m so so so happy with this recipe! Because it is delicious and it is interesting! (Well, for me at least…)

 

 

Ok, I think my readers know that I am not vegan (but I am vegetarian). But many things I eat are vegan anyway. And I am not so much interested or in favour of imitating meat or dairy tastes. I believe that vegetarian or vegan cuisine could have its own tastes and staple food radically different from any diets that came before it.

 

 

But, I got bored and wanted to try a way to create shakshouka with the original taste but no eggs. It turned out delicious! And even though I eat eggs myself, I might actually easily switch to this tofu scramble for my own meals too, frequently.

 

The secret ingredient for the egg taste is: kala namak, aka black salt. Ok, if you’ve been vegan for a long time you probably also know this salt because it is apparently widely used by vegans for its egg taste. But I discovered it just a few weeks ago so it’s still an exciting ingredient for me!

 

 

The beans in this recipe give an extra richness in taste, but if you want to keep it simpler, you can perfectly omit it. You can also put something else instead of beans, like eggplants for example (I once posted an eggplant normal shakshouka recipe, here).

 

 

The shaksouka is very tasty when it’s freshly made and sizzzzzling hot, but I had some leftover and it was equally tasty. So don’t be sad if you have some left!
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Ingredients:

 

Difficulty: Medium
(serves 4)

 

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

 

For the sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced small
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 sweet red pepper, diced small
1 can pureed tomato with juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp ground paprika
1 can whole tomatoes with juice*
1 can cooked cannellini beans (net drained weight: 230 gr.)

 

For tofu scramble:
2 tbsp dairy-free butter
1 small onion, diced small
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1.5 tsp kala namak, black salt**
1.5 dl (or 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) dairy-free creme fraîche***
250 gr. firm tofu, pat dried and crumbled****

 

To serve (optional)
Chopped chives or parsley or basil (whatever you like)
Dollops of vegan cream cheese or any other vegan cheese crumbled / grated

 

*I used both pureed canned tomato and whole canned tomato as you can see in the ingredients list. However, you can use only one of them but 2 cans of it, if you like.
**In Helsinki, you can find it in Ruohonjuuri. I didn’t check Asian markets, they may be selling too.
***I used Oatly brand, because I love their products.
****While crumbling the tofu, leave some pieces bigger to have a variety in texture.

 

 

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1. In a large and deep pan (I actually used a wok) put olive oil on medium high heat and let it warm for half a minute. Then add onions and saute for 2-3 minutes, until the onion starts to get translucent.

 

 

 

 

2. Add crushed garlic and continue stirring for 1 more minute.

 

 

 

3. Add diced red pepper and cook them altogether by frequently stirring, for about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

4. Add pureed canned tomato and all the spices (in the list above, starting with ground cumin and ending with ground paprika) and stir.

 

 

 

 

5. Add whole canned tomato and crush the tomatoes using the wooden spoon. Stir well and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

 

 

 

6. Add cannellini beans and stir. Lower the heat to medium and let the sauce cook while making the tofu scramble.

 

 

 

 

7. In another pan on medium heat, put dairy-free butter and let it melt while stirring to coat the base of the pan.

 

 

 

8. When butter melts, add onion and saute for a few of minutes until the onion gets translucent and cooks quite fine, if not fully.

 

 

 

9. Add crushed garlic and continue to saute until garlic cooks.

 

 

 

10. Add turmeric and continue to stir until everything is coated in turmeric’s yellow colour.

 

 

 

11. Add kala namak and continue to stir for a few seconds.

 

 

 

12. Add dairy-free creme fraîche and stir. Let the mixture cook for a few minutes while some of the creme fraiche evaporates. (A TIP: You can also use this tofu scramble recipe without the whole tomato sauce and shakshouka part. But if you are going to eat it like scrambled eggs, increase the amount of creme fraiche to 2 dl – or 3/4 cup + 4 tsp – and do not evaporate it much, so that your tofu scramble becomes creamier).

 

 

 

 

13. Add crumbled tofu and cook it by folding (that’s why I used spatula for tofu scramble) and stirring. When it’s cooked fully, take away from the heat.

 

 

 

 

14. Put cooked tofu scramble on top of tomato sauce and let them cook together for a couple more minutes for the two parts to get combined flavours. After that, take it away from the heat, put some herbs or vegan cream cheese or any other topping you like on top and enjoy!