Total time:15 minutes
Servings:2
Through her popular Instagram account, The best of vegan, and the new book of the same name, Hansen is on a mission to prove both ideas wrong. In the book, she showcases a few recipes she’s developed and others she’s worked on with collaborators, including such mouth-watering concoctions as Hawaiian tofu musubi, Sri Lankan pumpkin curry, tacos “au fish” Baja style, and the one I share here, Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
She also takes aim at critics who react to so many vegan recipes with the same ill-informed (or malicious, depending on how you want to see it) questions: “Why create vegan versions of non-vegan dishes?” and “Why not just call them something else?” For the first, she writes: “Because veganism, at its core, has nothing to do with not wanting to eat animal products and everything to do with not wanting to harm to animals. Many of us grew up eating and loving animal products and only made the switch for ethical reasons. It doesn’t erase a lifetime of memories associated with eating meat, fish, eggs and dairy.
The second question? This is also an answer I often find myself answering, and Hansen’s answer is the best I’ve ever read. “Someone who misses tuna is not going to go for ‘pickled and baked watermelon cubes,'” she wrote.
“Growing up, my fish sticks were nothing like fish and my chicken nuggets were nothing like live chickens,” she wrote. That’s why I think describing vegan products using terms associated with non-vegan foods isn’t as problematic as some make it out to be. All in all, I find it more useful than not.
Hansen brings a wealth of experience cooking vegan recipes, and as someone who has spent much of her life following a more conventional diet, she knows what it takes to satisfy long-time vegans as well as eaters who might just splash around.
Take this grilled cheese recipe. Hansen knows that vegan cheeses sometimes “need a little help melting,” as she put it, and touches on some recipes that, by asking you to add a little more oil (like I did during manufacture a vegan “frico”, that is to sayn the spring) or to cover a pan to add moisture from the steam. Her recipe uses a method I’ve never seen before: you pile the shreds right in a non-stick skillet, and you don’t add a slice of bread to each pile until they melt. I admit to being a little skeptical that I could easily return the combination, but it worked like a charm.
By the way, this bread is first coated with a mixture of vegan cream cheese, spices and jalapeño slices, which is where the idea of the “popper” comes in. The result is messy, in a good – I mean, really good – way. It’s a gourmet sandwich, with textures and flavors of crusty bread, melty cheese and bubbly jalapeño, it’s anything but boring. Eat this whether you’re vegan or not, and you’ll never believe that mistake again.
Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
The recipe calls for 1 or 2 jalapeños; use 1 for a mild spice, or 2 if you like it a little hotter.
Do you want to save this recipe? Click the bookmark icon at the top of this page, then navigate to Stories saved in My Message.
- 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese, like Miyoko’s
- 1-2 fresh jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced as substitute (may 10 sliced pickled jalapeños)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Pinch of ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted vegan butter, such as Miyoko’s, divided
- 1 cup shredded vegan cheese, such as cheddar or mozzarella
- 4 slices sourdough bread
In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, jalapeño, chives, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, melt half the butter. Add the vegan cheese shavings to the skillet in two heaps roughly shaped like slices of bread.
While the cheese is melting, spread the cream cheese mixture on each of the four slices of bread (about 2 tablespoons per slice).
Once the cheese is melted, top each pile with a slice, cream cheese side down, and press down lightly.
Using a spatula, carefully flip the bread and cheese over, add the remaining butter to the pan, and place the remaining bread slices on top, cream cheese side down. Cook on each side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
calorie: 597; Total fat: 34 g; Saturated fat: 13g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 1117mg; Carbohydrates: 63g; Dietary fiber: 7g; Sugar: 2g; Protein: 15g
This analysis is an estimate based on the available ingredients and this preparation. It should not replace the advice of a dietitian or nutritionist.
Adapted from “The best of vegan” by Kim-Julie Hansen (Harper Design, 2022).
Tested by Joe Yonan; questions by e-mail to voraciously@washpost.com.
Did you make this recipe? Take a picture and tags on instagram with #eatingvoraciously.
0 Comments