Tofu Scramble in Hash Brown Nests

Serves 4

Preparation time: 40 minutes

When I first became vegan I missed scrambled eggs, especially on Sundays for brunch. Making a tofu scramble that would beat this egg-stalgia was a rather long trial and error process.  Finally I had it, the perfect 'better-than-eggs tofu scramble' recipe! And what better way to eat them than piled high in a crispy golden hash brown potato nest.

Ingredients

For the Hash Brown Nests

4 large potatoes, peeled and grated

2 T of margarine or oil

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

a pinch of salt

pepper

For the Tofu Veggie Scramble

400 grams of firm tofu

2 cups of greens, cut into bite size pieces (kale, chard or spinach)

5 mushrooms, peeled and sliced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup sweetcorn

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 T tamari/soy sauce

1/2 T mirin (optional)

1/2 T olive oil

1 pinch of salt

pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Squeeze as much water as you can out of the grated potatoes, ideally using a linen cheese cloth. Mix the potatoes with the margarine, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the potato mixture into muffin tin cups. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool outside of the oven for a few minutes before serving. 

Meanwhile, squeeze the water from the tofu in the same way as you did with the potatoes, squeezing and crumbling the tofu between your fingers using the cloth. If you don't have a cloth then place the block of tofu between 2 plates and place a heavy weight (cooking book perhaps) over the top, allowing the water to be pressed out of the tofu after a few minutes, then crumbling up the tofu with your fingers or a fork. Put aside.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until soft, then add the carrots, mushrooms and sweet corn. After about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, add the tofu. Stir well and add the tamari/soy sauce, mirin, salt and pepper to taste. Keep stirring and after 4-5 minutes add the greens. Combine well and let cook for a few minutes, until the greens have slightly softened. When you have finished cooking, add the chopped spring onions. 

Place the hash brown nests on plates and fill them with the veggie and tofu scramble mix. These will make your day!