A proper fry-up is about timing, not tricks. Get the oven working for you, keep one pan for the sausages and bacon and another for the scramble, and everything lands on the plate hot at the same time. The tofu scramble is the bit people raise an eyebrow at — until they try it with brown sauce and a slice of fried bread.
Ingredients
servings
For 2 servings.
- 4 vegan sausages
- 4–6 rashers vegan bacon
- 280g block firm tofu (drained)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric (for colour)
- ¼ tsp kala namak (black salt) (optional — gives an eggy note; use ordinary salt if you don't have it)
- 3 tbsp unsweetened plant milk
- 250g chestnut mushrooms (halved or thickly sliced)
- 2 tomatoes (halved)
- 1 × 400g tin baked beans (check the label is vegan)
- 4 frozen hash browns (optional; check the pack is vegan)
- 2–4 slices bread (for toast or fried bread; check it contains no milk)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vegan butter or spread
- to taste salt, black pepper and brown sauce
Scaled amounts are rounded. Cooking times usually stay the same, but a bigger batch may need a bigger pan or an extra few minutes.
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan), gas 6. Put the hash browns on a tray and the tomatoes, cut side up, alongside them with a little oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, or as the hash brown pack directs.
- Cook the sausages in a large frying pan with a splash of oil over a medium heat, turning often, according to the pack instructions until browned all over and piping hot. Push them to one side of the pan.
- Add the bacon rashers to the same pan and fry for a minute or two each side until they start to crisp at the edges. Vegan bacon colours quickly, so keep an eye on it. Move the sausages and bacon to the bottom of the oven, on a plate or tray, to keep warm.
- Wipe out the pan, add the vegan butter and fry the mushrooms over a high heat without stirring for 2 minutes, then toss and cook for 3–4 minutes more until golden. Season and keep warm.
- For the scramble, crumble the tofu into a second pan with a little oil. Stir in the nutritional yeast, turmeric, black salt and plant milk and cook for 4–5 minutes, folding gently, until hot and creamy. Add more milk if it looks dry.
- Warm the beans in a small pan. Toast or fry the bread.
- Pile everything onto warm plates and serve straight away with brown sauce.
Good to know
- Warm your plates in the oven for the last few minutes — a fry-up goes cold fast.
- Don't overwork the scramble; big soft curds look and eat better than a paste.
- Always check the pack instructions for your sausages and bacon, as cooking times vary a lot between brands.
Check every label: stocks, sauces, breads and pastries sometimes contain milk, egg or fish. Cook until piping hot all the way through.
