Vegan Pesto & Sesame Tofu Sandwiches

A lot has happened during these past two weeks! One minor thing for example, I finished high school! Well, practically at least. Total 12 years spent studying and now it’s all over. The final exams are coming of course but no more sitting in the lessons, early mornings etc. At least not for a while (university here I come…)

We celebrated by driving with the traditional truck parade of over 100 trucks while throwing candy (called “penkkarit” for those who don’t know) here in Helsinki and whatttt, I still can’t comprehend how cool it was!! Really one of the best experiences EVER, such a lovely event with this carnival-kind-of feeling to it, which is pretty rare in Finland. Oh my god it was so so much fun!! And everyone was so happy you could just feel it, this genuine, bursting joy that shone from everyone’s faces was so overwhelming. Seeing happy people makes me so very happy. And in the evening I hosted a dinner party for my lovely friends and we had so much fun and ate so much yummy food. And cakes! I actually have some recipes from that night coming up here later on I think… So now I’m on my “studying break” which includes studying but also a variety of other things such as increased consumption of chocolate, lots of knitting (for me a weird way to deal with my nerves and stress), yoga and crappy tv shows. Ahh, many others are complaining about this time with studying etc. but I have to say I’m having the time of my life. Of course there’s the studying but this life of no alarms, no 8-hour school days, time to cook, hanging out in pajamas all day is something I’ve looked forward to for like umm, 12 years? Highlight of these past three years, I swear. This makes it sound like I hate school which I don’t but enough is enough and now this little break came at a perfect time.

But that’s not the point of this post really. It’s this great sandwich recipe! Or idea, with the pesto and tofu recipe. I love pesto and I like to put it to a variety of things, from pasta to bread and salad. I doubted that one could pull it off without the parmesan cheese but I am happy to say I was wrong! The pine seeds and nuts really give it that cheesy taste and it really turned out quite nice. And the tofu as well, I’ve re-discovered sesame oil and thought it’d go really nicely with some tofu because tofu as itself is quite plain.

I was about to write that this is like the perfect lunch-to-go or something like that but then I realized that it would probably be a little white lie. Because this became one of those foods that I couldn’t eat without it spreading all over the platter (and my face) But that’s because I always put too much fillings everywhere so to make it a little lighter, just leave some of the fillings out or squeeze it together tighter. Or then the problem was my bread and filling technique, maybe I’ll manage it next time. Anyways, this turned out to be very scrumptious and quite filling, so anyone who says that veggie sandwiches/burgers leave you hungry, well, you are wrong.

Sesame Tofu (for two sandwiches)

100 g of tofu

1 tsp of sesame oil

1 tsp of soy sauce

Method: Mash the tofu with a fork and add the oil and soy. Taste and spice up to your liking.

Vegan Pesto (for more than two sandwiches, I used the rest with pasta 😀 )

100 g fresh spinach (with frozen spinach it could become more watery)

a pot of basil

3 tbs of pine seeds

3 tbs of cashews

1 tbs of olive oil (add more if necessary)

salt

pepper

Method: Mix all together into a paste in a blender or food processor or with a stick blender. Taste and season if you like. Store in a fridge, should stay good for many days that way.

Vegan Pesto and Sesame Tofu Sandwiches

For two sandwiches

some salad leaves

two sundried tomatoes

one avocado

sliced cucumber

oat bread (I used 100% oats but anything goes. Rye bread could work as well! Or some whole grain thing)

some of the pesto you made!

…aand some tofu!

So, to make the sandwiches take the two halves of your bread and spread some tofu on one of them and some pesto on the other one. Slice or cut with scissors the sundried tomatoes, chop the avocado in pieces and slice some thin cucumber slices. Pile them all up on the breads plus the salad and there you go! Then desperately try to make the sandwich stay in shape, accepting the fact that it’s gonna end up being messy despite everything. Enjoy! 😉

Love,

Julia xxx