I’ve never had difficulty being vegetarian around the holidays. When I was a child we normally had all the family over to our house and my mother was the one in charge of preparing Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. There were always more than enough appetizers and side dishes to keep me stuffed, and my mother was good about tweaking certain dishes to make them vegetarian-friendly. I never missed the turkey at all.

Last year, out of curiosity and as something of a joke, we tried Tofurky. Not impressed! It was chewy, salty and, in my opinion, doesn’t taste anything like turkey. Although I do love tofu, Tofurky just didn’t cut it for me. This year we’ll be spending Christmas in Spain and that means none of the typical North American holiday dishes that I’m used to – no sweet potatoes, no brussels sprouts, no stuffing, no cranberry sauce, no pumpkin pie. So, out of curiosity and for the sake of nostalgia, I wanted to try to make my own version of Tofurky and what came to mind first were those day after Christmas leftover turkey sandwiches that I remember from my childhood.

These sandwiches are super simple and if you’ve had a real North American Christmas then you can go ahead and use your leftover cranberry sauce and gravy. I had to make mine from scratch, which was no small feat because cranberries are really hard to find in Barcelona! But luckily cranberry sauce and vegan gravy are super simple to make. My version of Tofurky is also really easy, simply bread slices of tofu with chickpea flour and some turkey herbs and fry ‘em up. Put them all together between two slices of bread and you’ve got vegan leftover turkey sandwiches!

Leftover (Vegan) Turkey Sandwiches

Name: Leftover (Vegan) Turkey Sandwiches
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 blocks of tofu, firm or extra firm; 1/2 cup non-dairy milk; 1 cup chickpea flour; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon dried rosemary; 1 teaspoon dried sage; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika; 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder; Oil for frying; Bread or buns for the sandwiches; 1 1/2 cups frozen cranberries; 1/4 cup sugar; 1/3 cup water; 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons flour; 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock; 2 teaspoons soy sauce; 1/4 teaspoon onion powder; 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/8 teaspoon pepper; 1 tablespoon warm water; 1/2 tablespoon miso

Yield: Makes 4 - 6 sandwiches

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Tastes like vegan Thanksgiving (or Christmas) in a hand-held package!

Ingredients

For the gravy

1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cup vegetable stock
2 teaspoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon warm water
½ tablespoon miso

For the cranberry sauce

1 ½ cups frozen cranberries
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup water

For the tofu turkey

2 blocks of tofu, firm or extra firm
½ cup non-dairy milk
1 cup chickpea flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried sage
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Oil for frying
Bread or buns for the sandwiches

Instructions

For the gravy

Heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour taste is cooked out – about 2 minutes. Slowly add the vegetable stock, stirring constantly to avoid lumps, then add the soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer until the desired consistency is reached, remember that it will continue to thicken as it cools. In a small cup mix together the warm water and miso. Remove the gravy from the heat and stir in the miso. Set aside.

For the cranberry sauce

Mix the frozen cranberries, sugar and water together in a small pot. Cook over medium heat until the cranberries are soft and bursting. Mash them a little with a spoon and continue cooking until the desired consistency is reached. Remember that the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the tofu turkey

Drain and press the tofu. Cut the tofu into slices about 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) thick.
In a small bowl, mix together the chickpea flour and all the herbs and seasonings. Pour the milk into a separate bowl.
Heat about 2 cm (1 inch) of oil in a pan. I usually test the temperature of my oil by dipping a wooden chopstick in it. When bubbles form around the chopstick, the oil is hot enough.
Working in batches in order not to crowd the pan, dip each slice of tofu into the flour mixture. Shake off any excess and then dip into the milk. Dip them once again into the flour and shake off any excess. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes, and then flip it and fry on the other side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. If you want, cut the fried tofu into strips exposing the white insides in order to resemble turkey.
Assemble the sandwiches with a spoonful of cranberry sauce on bread or a bun, followed by a few strips of tofu turkey and pour over a spoonful of vegan gravy. Can be served hot or cold.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 sandwich
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 421Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gSodium: 1474mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 6gSugar: 19gProtein: 20g

Comments

Debbie @ Coach Debbie Runs says

December 16, 2015 at 5:53 pm

This sounds really good! I don't care for Tofurky either, but I do enjoy Gardein's Holiday Roast. I'm definitely going to try to make my own though. Your sandwiches look delicious and bring back my own memories of turkey leftovers.

Noel says

December 20, 2015 at 1:45 pm

two thoughts:
1. how lucky you are to have a family supportive of your choices - your mom tweaking out recipes to accommodate the vegetarian choices shows how much she cares for you and supports you.

2. leftover turkey and holiday meal bits are so connected to our memories, I'm sure you enjoyed your North America meal even in Spain.

Your recipe for tofurkey seems so simple ... what a great way to taste the memories!

Kathy Hester says

December 21, 2015 at 2:13 am

This is awesome! I'm sharing it with my followers on my fb page too. Delicious idea!

Annie @ Annie's Noms says

December 21, 2015 at 4:36 pm

This sandwich looks absolutely fantastic! What a great combination of flavours and the perfect recipe for those who don't eat meat! 🙂

Sarah says

December 22, 2015 at 1:32 am

Ahhh this looks amazing! I wish we were having turkey on Christmas day...just so I could use the leftovers to whip this up! Thanks for sharing!

Diane says

December 22, 2015 at 3:03 am

This is an outstanding sandwich! I'm just a regular omnivore, but this would make me extremely happy!

Willow says

December 24, 2015 at 12:56 am

I have bought a Tofurkey once in my 17 years being vegan, but now I am gluten free too, so I can no longer eat Tofurkey. I guess it is time to make my own vegan turkey, and this sounds like the recipe!

Ingredients

For the gravy

For the cranberry sauce

For the tofu turkey

Instructions

For the gravy

For the cranberry sauce

For the tofu turkey

Nutrition Information:

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