This recipe was created by Vegan Chef Day.

Prep time - 10 minutes

Cook time - 10 minutes

Difficulty - Easy

Serves / makes - 2 portions

Ingredients

2 bread rolls

1 large aubergine or 2 small aubergine

2T tamari or soya sauce 

1T rice, maple or agave syrup

2t smoked paprika

1T+ sunflower oil

2 tomatoes, sliced

4 gem lettuce leaves, sliced

2 gherkins, sliced

Vegan mayonnaise or other sauce

Equipment

Chopping board

Chef’s knife

Large bowl

Large frying pan

Spatula

Method

1. Cut both bread rolls in half.

2. Cut the aubergine, lengthwise, into 4 pieces. Slice each quarter into lengths, roughly 2-3mm thin.

3. Put the tamari, syrup and paprika in a large bowl. Put the aubergine into the bowl with the marinade. Toss the aubergine so it is completely covered.

4. Heat the oil, in a large frying pan, on a high heat. Once the oil is very hot, take each aubergine slice from the marinade and place in the frying pan. You may need to fry the aubergine in batches. If you do, you can keep them warm in a low oven until all of the aubergine is cooked.

5. Prepare your bread rolls with tomatoes, lettuce, gherkins and sauces, plus the aubergine bacon. I like to twist the bacon, rather than simply layering it, as this gives more height to the BLT.

6. Serve and eat immediately.

Tips

• There are so many ingredients to make vegan bacon with. You can simply swap out the aubergine, in this recipe, for thinly sliced tempeh, extra firm tofu, king oyster mushroom, edible paper, banana skin or spring roll wrappers.