Poached garden peas- ‘Ervilhas escalfadas’ is a popular dish all around Portugal and is very easy to make. BUT, the traditional recipe calls for pork meat and chorizo/ sausages, as well as eggs. My vegan version is super tasty and as filling as the original. And nutritionally, is much better too- have a look at the bottom of the page!
Time: 30 minutes
Type: main dish
Difficulty: 2 pans
Serves: 3 to 4
What you need:
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1tbsp soya sauce
350g frozen garden peas
250g firm tofu, cut into small chunks
4 vegan sausages, cut into small chunks
1 beef tomato, cut into small pieces
for the ‘egg yolk’: 1/4 cup water, 1 tbsp corn flour, black salt, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 tbsp olive oil, a sprinkle of turmeric
salt and pepper to taste
water
Utensils:
2 pots ( 1 large, 1 small)
knife and chopping board
bowl
mixing spoons
Directions:
To make the ‘egg yolk’: Add water, corn flour, vegetable oil, nutritional yeast and salt in a pot and whisk; heat it over low heat, mixing well while it cooks for about 3-4 minutes; add a sprinkle of turmeric so it turns yellow; Once it starts thickening, remove from heat and reserve;
Remove peas from the freezer, put in a bowl and cover with boiling water;
Prepare all vegetables and tofu and reserve; If the sausages are frozen, cook them for about 3 minutes in the microwave (or in the oven, for about 10 minutes)- once done, cut into small pieces;
In a large pot, heat olive oil and fry onion, garlic and bay leaf for a few minutes until it turn golden;
Add tofu, sausages, tomato and 1 tbsp of soya sauce, stir, cover the pot and let it simmer over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes until tomato becomes soft;
Add peas and mix (add a little water if it’s too dry); finally with a tea spoon, add ‘egg yolk’, one tsp at a time and mix in between (the idea is to have little yellow ‘eggy’ pieces in the stew);
Let it cook for another 5 minutes;
Remove bay leaf, add salt and pepper to taste and serve while hot- it’s lovely on its own or with rice, roasted potatoes, bulgur…your choice!
Plant Based Portuguese 