Glamorgan Sausages or Selsig Morgannwg in the Welsh tongue are credited with being the first vegetarian sausages according to my copy of World Vegetarian Classics by Celia Brooks Brown. They can be traced back to 1862 where they were highly regarded by George Burrows in his diary about his travels through Wales. The original cookbook recipe consists of breadcrumbs, leeks, parsley, eggs, cheese, mustard and seasonings which is obviously not vegan. My husband and son adored these sausages during our period as vegetarians so I took it upon myself to attempt a vegan version several months ago which they both deemed to be a success.
By substituting a vegan cheese for dairy cheese with a bit of nutritional yeast thrown in for good measure and ground flaxseeds mixed with water for eggs, the mixture actually binds together better than the original version. They are not strongly flavoured so I recommend serving them with a nicely spiced tomato chutney or mustard. Tomato sauce/ketchup or BBQ sauce is another condiment that works well with them.
I actually prefer my meals to have a bit more oomph than these snags and mash but they have been requested for quite some time so I made them to please the man and son. To keep it interesting for me this time, I stir-fried some julienned carrots and shredded cabbage with garlic, chilli and vegan mushroom oyster sauce to have on the side. Next time around I may try adding a bit of smoked paprika to the sausage mixture as it's a spice I adore and feel could make them more interesting.
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When you say "a bit of nutritional yeast thrown in for good measure" you are definitely speaking my language. These look delicious and are definitely being added to the "need to deglutenize this" list. Looks like it will be pretty easy to do too :)
ReplyDeleteyours look so perfect in the photo - much better than some flat sausages I tried recently - and smoked paprika in these sausages sounds excellent - I can also highly recommend a good hearty gravy with bangers and mash - don't do it very often but I love it when we do have it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really neat recipe, especially because every vegan sausage I've made uses vital wheat gluten. How does the texture compare when you use breadcrumbs? They certainly look awesome.
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of these but like Dawn, I want to try de-glutening them very soon!
ReplyDeleteThese look impressively picture perfect! I am curious, though, to what cheezly is in the original recipe? I've never heard of it.
ReplyDeleteDiddo Mandees comment. Although I did grow up eating battered sausages, are they almost the same thing?
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn, they probably would be easy to make using breadcrumbs from gluten free bread.
ReplyDeleteThanks Johanna, I should serve them with gravy for a change.
Thanks Allysia, these ones have a nice crunch due to the outer coating but are quite soft on the inside. They are quite different to seitan sausages.
Thanks Mandee, see my comment to Dawn. I think they could work well gluten free.
Thanks Kari, cheezly is a vegan soy-based cheese that I purchase from a local health food store.
Thanks K, they aren't really like a battered sausage. I can't think of to compare them with really.