vegan sausage tomato balls (scotch tomatoes)

This is another recipe from the excellent recipe book "Healthy eating for a new age" by Joyce d'Silva which I think is still available so well worth getting a copy. In the book she calls this recipe scotch tomatoes. It is very quick and easy to prepare and tastes GREAT.

 2 packets of Granose sosmix. I recently found the original sosmix available from alternative stores in Newcastle by post at https://alternativestores.com/collections/meat-alternatives - copy and paste this link.

 When the recipe first appeared about 40 years ago sosmix came as 2 sachets in a box then the company was bought out by granose and they changed the recipe which was no longer vegan. There was quite a large campaign to reinstate the vegan recipe which was surprisingly successful. The only change was that it comes in individual sachets which are difficult to get hence the need to order online. But...

I asked my local, helpful wholefood shop called Earth natural foods in Kentish town if they could stock it and they are now selling Sosmix in 250gm packets. It maybe possible to get your local wholefood shop to stock it if you ask. 

I made these tonight and worked out that approximately 50gms of Sosmix makes one generous tomato ball so experiment with quantities so if you want a thinner coating on your tomatoes use a little less.

The ratio of water to Sosmix is 150gms of Sosmix to 250 ml of water so 83 ml water to 50gms Sosmix.

Generous salt and black pepper
6-8 medium tomatoes
2 oz. vegan margarine, I use the vegan block fat as it doesn't spit so much, I think it has less water in it ?

Mix the sosmix as directed on the packet, 200 grams of Sosmix to 320 ml of water you can add flavourings to it like salt and pepper or English mustard powder, garlic or anything you fancy, one to experiment with. The last few times I made this I added a good amount of salt and fresh ground black pepper and about 2/3 teaspoons of Italian seasoning herbs, I like the Sainsburys one, really tasty. Mix the dry ingredients well before adding the water.

Pre heat oven to about 375f, gas mark 4 1/2, 190c, the recipe states gas mark 6 but I find it too high as it makes the margarine too hot so it spits and sputters and makes a mess of your oven so I just cook it on a lower heat for longer. I have cooked this on the recommended heat setting using the vegan block as it spits a lot less.

Place margarine in a large oven proof dish and put in the oven on middle shelf. While it melts cut the sosmix into 6 or 8 depending on how many tomatoes you have and gently shape it around each tomato to form a ball. This is easier to do if you wet your hands to handle the Sosmix. When you have made them all remove the dish from the oven and roll each ball in the margarine until coated. Place them in the dish so they are not touching and bake for about 40 minutes or until going golden brown, basting once half way through cooking.

These are lovely with boiled baby potatoes and a good salad maybe with a few fried walnuts and a Balsamic dressing added