The other day I was thinking about beautiful sunny Lisbon (one of my favorite cities) and that brought back memories of a strange but delicious sandwich I once ate there.

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It was 2011 and over the past year I’d been transitioning to a vegan diet. At that point I was already about 99% vegan, with occasional small exceptions for things like chaussons aux pommes (which we happily can now get in an excellent vegan version in Paris at Maison Landemaine).

Anyway, in those days, when I traveled I never knew if, where or when I would find vegan food, but I was determined to try all the same. There were a couple of vegetarian restaurants in Lisbon already, but they were a certain distance from my hostel and on my first day I couldn’t stray far from it due to a work project I had to finish up on the hostel computer (yes, I had to work during part of my vacation… that’s the freelance life).

It was lunch time when I first arrived in the city, and I strolled through the streets in search of food, feeling not especially hopeful. I had passed by a number of clearly meat-centric places and was realizing I would probably have to go to a grocery store for some hummus and crudités when I spotted an Irish pub. Experience had already taught me that no matter where in the world they are, English, Irish, Scottish and Australian pubs tend to always have at least one vegetarian/vegan food option on their menu, in keeping with the customs of their country of origin.

The Irish waitress at this Irish pub told me they had something like a BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) but with peanut butter instead of the B. I must have made a face or furrowed my brow because she quickly added, “It sounds strange but it’s actually really good!” I decided to be open-minded and give it a try.

Sure enough, it was surprisingly yummy. The crunch of the lettuce and freshness of the tomato went quite well with the peanut butter, which is not really that different from bacon when you consider its rich flavor and saltiness. There was also raw onion and something that elevated it to a whole other level of yumminess – capers!

I recreated the sandwich back home in Paris after this trip, eventually perfecting it with the addition of tofu. Although it’s not at all Irish or Portuguese, it has stayed “the Irish Portuguese sandwich” in my mind, although I suppose it could also be called a PBLT. Perhaps you’d like to give it a try?

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By the way, as someone with a fiery passion in her soul for beautiful tiles, I’ve been in love with Portugal since my first visit there in 2008. Even many house façades are tiled! If you too love tiles and patterns, I highly recommend a visit to this lovely Iberian nation (don’t miss the Museu Nacional do Azulejo or National Tile Museum).

Anyway, back to our recipe…

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The Irish Portuguese sandwich

Makes 1 sandwich

• 2 slices of bread
• 3 to 4 ounces (80 to 100 g) firm, pre-baked tofu, plain or smoked
• Peanut butter
• Vegan mayonnaise
• 1 medium tomato
• Half a small onion (yellow, white or red)
• Capers
• Lettuce

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First of all, to more effectively get into the spirit of this post, fire up some fado music. Next, slice up the tofu and place in a frying pan over medium heat to brown on both sides.

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While you wait for the tofu to be ready, spread one piece of bread with mayonnaise and the other with peanut butter. When the tofu is browned, place it on the peanut butter side. This will make the peanut butter get warm and melty, part of what makes this sandwich so good.

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Top the peanut butter and tofu with slices of tomato and onion, then add as many capers as you like. Now place the chopped lettuce on the slice of bread with the mayonnaise and put your sandwich together!

Serve with some salad, chips or fries depending on your mood.

So good!

Is your tummy rumbling yet?

It’s delicious whether you happen to be in Lisbon or your own city! If you’ve finished listening to the other link above, try some Madredeus and Lisbon Story by Wim Wenders.

Variations: Try with smoked tofu! And experiment with sundried tomatoes in place of fresh ones, if you’re making this outside of tomato season.