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I lived in New York City for a few years in my yoot, and at the time I was an ovo-lacto vegetarian. That means that I had plenty of time to become spoiled by the dazzling array of delis in NYC that boast some of the world’s most delicious fresh bagels, often topped with dreamy, delectable homemade cream cheese spreads.
Since cutting dairy and oil from my diet, I have been hard-pressed to find any veggie schmears that live up to the decadence of those New York delis. I am hesitant to share my new favorite New York bagel shop because it is already so popular, but I suppose I owe it to my dear readers a chance to share the joy of a real New York bagel that is vegan! So without further ado…
Tompkins Square Bagels makes truly fantastic bagels, but even more amazing is the array of tofu-based cream cheeses that they have available on a daily basis. Plain, garlic herb, sun-dried tomato, and olive pimento are only a few flavors that they have on offer. And get this — they’re delicious! No mealy, soy aftertaste like so many of the commercial vegan cream cheese brands, like Daiya and Tofutti! You guys already know how I feel about Daiya products... no sir, I’m not a fan! Tofutti is ok, but I really do taste that soya aftertaste, and it kind of ruins the illusion for me on a warm bagel.
When I’m not in the East Village though, I still need my fix from time to time. Today was one of those days. So I drove to my local jewish bakery, picked up a few of my favorite bagel flavors (everything, garlic and sun-dried tomato are a few of my favorites) and then I got to work on re-creating the magic of the Tompkins Square Bagels tofu spread. After some experimentation I think I’ve almost nailed it! My only nit to pick is that I would have preferred a thicker, slightly dryer spread. Next time, I think I can remedy this by drying the tofu better before putting it in the food processor, and maybe by increasing the amount of sunflower seeds. Also, serving very cold (like straight from the freezer) really goes a long way towards thickening this mixture up.
Today’s variety was a Veggie Schmear, but if you prefer a traditional plain cream cheese, you can leave out the garlic, onion, carrot, celery and tomato. The plain cream cheese would make a great base for a cream-cheese icing filling for a vegan king cake, or cinnamon rolls. You could also do a garlic-herb style spread by adding 3-4 fresh garlic cloves and about a teaspoon each of dried rosemary, basil and dill. Or perhaps a sun-dried tomato variety by adding a few sun-dried tomatoes and a few cloves of garlic. As with all mix ins, it’s best to completely puree the base ingredients for a minute or two before adding the mix-ins. Then, just pulse gently a few times to help incorporate into the mixture while keeping some chunks and texture.
Vegan Veggie Cream Cheese Schmear
Ingredients
- 1 14- oz block of Extra firm Tofu drained and dried very well (recommend pressing)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup of raw unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp brine from a jar of olives I used brine from a pimento stuffed green olives variety that contains water, minced pimento, salt and lactic acid
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder optional add-in
- 1 tsp dried minced onion optional add-in
- .5 minced white onion optional add-in
- 2 cloves minced fresh garlic optional add-in
- 1/2 cup minced carrot optional add-in
- 1/2 cup minced celery optional add-in
- 1/2 cup diced cucumber optional add-in
- 1 diced plum tomato optional add-in
Instructions
- Dry the tofu very well. I recommend wrapping in a paper towel and then pressing it in a colander with some heavy canned goods or books while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Mince any add-ins that you would like to add to the spread, including white onion, carrots, celery, cucumber, tomato or fresh garlic. Feel free to experiment with these ingredients to find the combination you like best.
- In a food processor, add the vinegars, brine, tofu, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, salt, (optional) raw garlic, garlic powder, and dried minced onion and blend until totally smooth, approximately 2 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
- Add the mix-ins (carrots, onion, celery, cucumber, tomato) and then pulse 5-10 times until just combined with the cream-cheese mixture. Transfer to about 4 8-oz mason jars and close. Chill for 5 minutes in the freezer, and then serve spread on a bagel or sandwish, or as a dip for veggie sticks.
- Stores up to 1 week in the refrigerator, or for several months in the freezer. I recommend storing in small jars and storing any excess in the freezer until ready to serve.