Greasy Vegan Pub Fare

When most people think vegan they equate it with healthy, which is great and often, true. But vegans are people and even those of us who took up a plant based lifestyle mostly for the health benefits, occasionally have a taste for something less than healthy. Whether it is my absolute favorite, salt & vinegar potato chips, or a thick slice of brownie with walnuts, I feel the need to eat naughty once in a while.

Recently when the mood struck the Hubs and I decided to go all out and have a vegan pub night. At home.

I’ll warn you now that we fried EVERYTHING, so if you’re expecting my usual healthier version of your favorite greasy, naughty foods, you shall be disappointed.

We kept the menu pretty basic: fried tofu nuggets, French fries and fried shallots.

Since it’s not overly complicated I won’t bother you with too many details.

For the tofu, I recommend you press it while you get to work rinsing, peeling and chopping everything else and then season it. The seasoning consisted of garlic granules, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt & pepper and onion powder. It was the main flavor profile of just about everything. Toss the tofu in the seasoning and then into a bowl of seasoned flour, then fried it up until golden crispy brown, between 5 and 10 minutes.

Season the potatoes and toss in a teaspoon or oil, then pop in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes and you’re almost ready to get your vegan pub night on!

The shallots were a bit trickier because my husband wanted to make something akin to onion rings without breading and deep frying since we shallow fried the tofu to keep the calorie count from getting TOO ridiculous.

Halve the shallots and slice them, coating lightly in seasoned flour and dropping them in the shallow oil until the edges start to curl and become transparent. All in all, it took about 30 minutes of cooking plus about 15 minutes of prep time, which is about how long it would take at an actual pub…if that pub served vegan food.

This is the perfect meal for a cheat day and it was super delicious. Just add some ketchup or barbecue sauce and you’re good to go, and wash it all down with an ice cold beer.