Vegan Ploughmans Lunch Platter

"I had a ploughman's lunch the other day ... he was livid." Tommy Cooper

A traditional British Ploughman's Lunch is an institution, and one that people feel passionately about - what should and shouldn't feature in a ploughman's lunch platter?

Bread and cheese are the central elements, in this case I've used a good quality vegan cheddar and freshly baked sourdough. A pickle or chutney is traditional, as are pickled onions. I've added gherkins, radishes, celery and vegan ham but you can of course choose your own additions.

📝 What you need

Bread should be fresh and crusty - a good quality sourdough is ideal, or any rustic loaf. It should be thickly cut, but not such a doorstop that it is too big to eat!

Vegan Cheese varies a lot in quality and taste. As cheese is one of the stars of the show here, do go for the best quality you can. Nut-based cheeses are vastly superior to anything you can get in a supermarket. Have a look at La Fauxmargarie, Honestly Tasty, Kinda Co and I am Nut OK for the very best vegan cheeses. The cream cheese pictured above is the delicious Nush made from almond milk, available in many supermarkets.

Pickle or Chutney is essential - I love Tracklements Perfect Ploughmans Pickle, or why not make your own chutney - try my Apple Chutney or Courgette Chutney recipes.

Pickled Onions pack a punch, but I don't think you can have a ploughman's lunch without them! It is up to you whether to go for meek and mild silverskins or punchy, fat authentic pickled onions.

Vegan Ham There are a number of vegan ham substitutes available in supermarkets these days - if you've found one you like do include it, otherwise it is fine to leave it out.

Celery is delicious with a strong, salty cheese or dipped into a cream cheese.

Gherkins offer another type of pickle - sweeter and less punchy than a pickled onion, but perfect with bread and cheese.

Radishes are as lovely to look at as they are delicious - peppery crunch which again is lovely dipped into a creamy vegan cheese.

👩🏽‍🍳 Variations

You could also add some of these extra elements to your Vegan Ploughmans Platter:

Pâté There are some nice shop-bought vegan pâtés around at the moment, or try making my Butterbean and Sun-Dried Tomato Pâté in just 5 minutes!

Apple Slices of apple are delicious with a vegan ploughmans - toss them in a little lemon juice to stop them turning brown.

More cheeses There's no need to limit yourself to a cheddar-style vegan cheese - take a look at the suppliers listed above for some excellent blue cheeses or soft, rinded cheeses for variety.

Piccalilli is totally delicious and a ploughmans is a perfect place to serve it.

🍽 If you liked that...

.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:

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