Gordon Ramsay Is Turning Heads With His 'Genius' Summer Lunch Idea
It should come as no surprise when Gordon Ramsay comes up with a "genius" idea, as one Instagram fan called his latest summer lunch proposition.
After all, the Scottish-born former soccer player made a name for himself in the elite London restaurant world in the early 1990s as a chef at Aubergine. Since then, the famous star of "Hell's Kitchen" has earned two and three Michelin stars (for Aubergine and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, respectively). The "Uncharted" host has also gone on to prove his business acumen by opening restaurants around the world, from Las Vegas to Singapore and Qatar (via Biography).
Luckily for his followers, Ramsay regularly shares recipe ideas and cooking tips on his Instagram so we can live like a celebrity chef (well, minus the fame and fortune) every day. Take this brie toast with macerated berries or Gordon's sticky pork ribs for instance. We home cooks can do this!
So what tip did the famously hot-tempered and sometimes profane celebrity chef make this week that deserved the "genius" label? It's a recipe that's earned lots of likes and caught fans' attention, especially among the no-meat crowd. "Oops I did it again....I've gone #Vegan for lunch!" posted Ramsay, although this delicious-looking meal looks like no kitchen accident we've ever had.
The Vegan BLT, detailed on Ramsay's website, sounds perfect for the season, with fresh lettuce and those tomatoes you've been growing all summer. Vegan bacon? Well, if we'll trust anyone with this challenge, might as well be Ramsay.
Ramsay's bacon is inspired
If you think you might be up to the challenge of making your own vegan "bacon" a la Gordon Ramsay, here's what it entails. (It's a bit of work, but we have to admit, it looks incredibly tasty.) It starts with crumbling some pressed tofu and seasoning it with nutritional yeast. Ramsay makes a marinade of sriracha, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, liquid smoke, maple syrup, tamari, and butter to mix into the tofu.
The "bacon strips" are rice paper, the thin wrappers used in Vietnamese summer rolls (via Inspired Taste). Ramsay cuts the paper into strips and dips them into the marinade. These go onto a baking sheet, and (here's the genius part) get sprinkled with the crumbled tofu, which looks like the "fat" you'd expect to see in a real slice of bacon (via Ramsay's website). Another piece of the rice paper goes on top and is pressed into the bottom piece before it's baked. Another genius touch: halfway through cooking, Ramsay removes the pan from the oven and "scrunch[es]" the strips to give them that curly bacon look.
The "bacon" slices are layered on toasted brioche along with butter lettuce and sliced tomatoes and avocado. More vegan innovation comes in the basil aioli dressing for this sandwich. It uses vegan "egg yolks" (like Just Egg), avocado oil, dijon mustard, garlic, fresh basil, and lemon.
So much flavor and brilliant plant-based innovation: Ramsay delivers for his vegan fans with this no-bacon BLT.