A vegan calamari baguette made with king oyster mushrooms rings, coated with crispy breadcrumbs, with aioli, truffle paste and lettuce.
Hola!
Today I bring you a classic Spanish baguette but made vegan: a vegan calamari baguette made with king oyster mushrooms rings, coated with crispy breadcrumbs, with aioli and an added luxury truffle paste, on a bed of red leaf lettuce.
The original bocadillo is usually a tourist bait in Plaza Mayor (Madrid, Spain), but apart from not being vegan, is made with a very run-of-the-mill chewy white bread and aioli (which contains egg). I wanted to make it special, so I went to Borough market to get a nice bread, I used red leaf lettuce to add some fresh veg and colour for the Insta pics, and I used my homemade aioli, which is garlic-fiery. I also got some truffle paste that I spread on the inside part of the bread, and it just made it even better. If you don’t have truffle paste you could sprinkle a bit of truffle oil or add laminated truffle. That stuff is strong, so pace yourself. Or you can always skip truffle altogether if not a fan.
It was always difficult to find nice calamari when I was omnivorous. I never liked the too-thick batter, a la fish and chips batter, that makes a solid layer and it tends to be so oily. It never agreed with me. I always liked when the calamari were coated with breading, just breadcrumbs, plus other additions, and this is what I went for. To make it flavoursome, I added garlic and herbs. To make it even crunchier and crispier, I crushed some blanched almonds, which worked perfectly. This is my mum’s trick!
PLANT POWER, MAKE-UP!
The original recipe is obviously made with calamari, so I used our best vegan ally: king oyster mushrooms. They have a thick stalk with a perfect tender texture when cooked, and you can cut them and easily make rings. The result is so close to the real calamari that it’s a shock. What’s more, for me it was even better, because you don’t get those annoying strings that calamari have and that more than once almost made me choke. And this is a 100% plant recipe! I have also used the king oyster rings as calamari for my vegan fideuà and my vegan seafood paella.
To give it the seafood flavour, I used dulse seaweed flakes, but you can use any other dried seaweed. I also saw that some omnis recipes marinade calamari in milk to make them softer and make the breading stick, so I did the same with oat milk, and they were tender indeed and helped infuse the seaweed flavour.
The aioli recipe is also on my blog.
VEGAN CALAMARI BAGUETTE (BOCATA DE CALAMARES VEGANOS)
Serves: 2 people
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
4 king oyster mushrooms
1 cup plant milk
2 tbsp. dulse seaweed flakes (or any other seaweed flakes)
Breading
2 tbsp. flaked almonds, coarsely crushed
1/4 cup white flour
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic granules
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
Olive oil to fry
Bread
Dollop of aioli
Red leaf lettuce
Truffle paste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Slice the king oyster stalks to make 1cm-thick coins. Cut a circle inside each of them with an apple corer or a paring knife to make rings. Save the holes and mushroom caps for other things. Put the rings on a single layer and cover with the milk and the seaweed flakes. Set aside or let marinade overnight.
- Mix the breading ingredients on a shallow plate.
- Add the oil to a frying pan and let it get hot. The rings should be submerged at least half-deep in. Let the rings drip excess milk and drop in the breading plate, coating well. Fry on both sides until golden-brown and put in a plate with kitchen roll to absorb the dripping oil.
- Cut the bread open from the side, spread some aioli at the bottom. Add the lettuce, spread the truffle paste on the inside top of the bread and add the calamari.
Bon profit!