Hot buttered muffin, soft melty faux egg and crispy sausage.. add in some hash browns and ketchup and you’ve got a vegan brunch that isn’t messing around!

To pretend that these aren’t a direct imitation of a certain, well-known fast-food chain would be doing an dishonesty to both you and I. However, unlike the original version these contain no animal products, a far sight less grease and therefore no immediate meal regret, as you sit there thinking that though it tasted good at the time now you just feel gross.

I think I’ve only had one or two of the aforementioned muffins in my life and now I’ve ditched animal products they’re certainly not one of the foods I would hanker after. But I had an idea for making a vegan version that would be far more tasty than my dim memory serves of the other kind.. and man am I glad I did!

They are so easy and simple to make – so there’s no torturous wait while you’re starving willing them on to cook faster. You could even do the prep the night before so all you have to do it put them in the pan to cook.

The egg part is made from tofu, pressed slightly to remove excess water and then sliced and marinaded in a simple combination of lemon juice, turmeric and truffle oil. It doesn’t sound like much and I know tofu is a hard sell sometimes but believe me when I say this seriously tastes so good! The truffle oil is really the star ingredient here – it takes the flavour to the next level.  I bought a teensy bottle recently as it’s not  cheap but it’s fairly potent stuff so you only need a little drop to impart a whole world of flavour to your cooking. The sausage element is simply made from reshaping some vegan sausages into patties. So easy!

These muffins also taste great cold, if you make extra then they will still be good the next day for a substantial snack, or breakfast on the go. Convenience food at it’s (homemade) best.

I hope you’ll love them as much as me!

Sausage + Egg Breakfast Muffins

Makes: 2 muffins

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3-4 vegan sausages, a pliable kind – I used Linda McCartney
• 1/2 tbsp oil
• 1 block of tofu, pressed quickly if not using firm*
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp truffle oil
• 2 slices vegan cheese – I used Tofutti slices (optional)
• 2 muffins
• vegan butter (optional)

Method:

1. Start by preparing your tofu “egg”. Cut out two discs of tofu from your block using a large round cutter, aim for roughly the same size as your muffins**. I did this by cutting out one fat circle and then cutting it in half. If you don’t have a cutter you could use a glass or just cut with a knife (I used a crumpet ring as bizarrely that was the first thing I found that was the right shape).
2. Whisk together the lemon juice, turmeric and truffle oil with a pinch of salt in a shallow dish and add the tofu discs, turning them so that they are coated on both sides. Don’t worry if they don’t look like they’re soaking up all of the liquid. Put to one side to marinate while you get on with the next step.
3. Divide the sausages into 2 equal portions and, using the same round cutter as a guide, smoosh the sausages down into round patty shapes. Push down to make sure it has all come together.
4. Add the oil to a large frying pan and add the sausage patties and cook for 5 mins or so until slightly crispy and brown underneath, then flip and repeat cooking the other side.
5. If you can fit the tofu in the same pan add it in to the pan when you have flipped the sausage discs. If you only have a little pan then cook the sausage first then place in the oven to keep warm while you fry the tofu. It should take about 3 minutes either side and will be slightly golden when it’s done (golden beyond the turmeric you’ve just dyed it with that is).
6. When the tofu and sausage is almost ready cut your muffins in half and place in the toaster. To assemble, butter your muffins then place in the following order: sausage, cheese, tofu. Top with a generous dollop of ketchup or mustard if that takes your fancy and add the other half of the muffin.
7. Inhale in approximately 2 minutes and then sit and wonder where on earth your breakfast sandwich went.

*To press your tofu wrap it in a clean tea-towel and place a few cook books on top for a few minutes to squeeze out some of the water.

**The leftover tofu is perfect for making tofu scramble – if you have leftover muffins and sausages you could even make a muffin with “scrambled egg” using the same marinading ingredients above. Mmmm.