Vegan mock tuna (mashed chickpea salad)

I have not had tuna for many years now, but The Simple Veganista came up with a great recipe for mock tuna. It is so fresh and flavoursome, with texture that is very close to that of tuna. I don't really miss tuna and I probably won't ever miss it because I have found a great new substitute.

This recipe uses canned chickpeas. Who knew chickpeas could get even better than they already are?

Vegan Mashed Chickpea Salad
From The Simple Veganista

Ingredients

• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup celery, sliced 
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1/4 cup or so hummus or tahini (any vegan mayo works too)* (I used vegan mayo + 1 tablespoon tahini)
• 1 - 2 tablespoons mustard (stoneground or dijon)
• sea salt & cracked pepper, to taste
• dash of garlic powder
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• paprika/smoked paprika, garnish

Directions

1. Drain and rinse your chickpea's, place in medium size bowl and roughly mash with a fork, potato masher, blender or food processor. 
2. Add the remaining ingredients and combine. Add more hummus/mayo/tahini if you like it creamier and taste for seasoning. Serve however you like. Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

*If you find your hummus is a bit thick, thin it out with a tablespoon or two of water. This will make for a perfect consistency to use as a binder without being overly thick and/or drying as well.

I served mine up in a sandwich with cucumber, lettuce and tomato. Absolutely delicious!

Chickpea seitan cutlets

A couple weeks ago, I tried out the recipe for seitan from my Veganomicon cookbook. In that post I said that I was also keen to make the chickpea cutlets which are apparently really good too. I finally bought some chickpeas and cooked these babies up. I served it up with a side of salad and a slice of the walnut and wholemeal loaf my friend bought for me yesterday when we went to the Coventry Markets in Morley. And there you have it, all the food groups have been included :)