Rose & Grants, a café in Glasgow's Merchant City, started selling the vegan version of Scotland's favourite comfort food, after one of their workers came up with the idea while she was travelling in Australia.
Ben Rose, who owns the café, explains: "Caroline [Melville], who has worked with me for years, took a year out to go to Australia, she is a vegan and she just had a longing for some food from home.
"She decided to take a square sausage recipe from the internet and replace the meat with the soya protein you use for making vegan sausages. She then made it with the same spices that the butchers use traditionally."
Caroline was delighted by the results and now boss Ben has taken on the recipe full time for the café. The pair say the rolls and sausage, which retail at £2.60, taste great and are as close to the original article as you can get.
Ben adds: "The thing with making vegan food is that often it doesn't translate very well but for some reason this works really well and I think it's because it uses all of the same spices as the butchers use.
READ MORE: Study shows massive surge in veganism across the UK with Glasgow leading the way
"It's got nutmeg, pepper, cumin, finely chopped onions and some bread crumbs and a bit of olive oil to hold together and it's an easy thing to make."
And it seems they are proving popular with Glasgow's vegan community, who can't get enough of them or the café's vegan full Scottish fry-up (£6), which includes the square sausage, a potato scone, fried cherry tomatoes and fried mushrooms.
"I can't tell you how popular it is, it's become one of our best selling products. People see the vegan square sausage on the A-board and literally walk in off the street. That’s never happened to us before and on this scale.
The full Scottish fry-up. Picture: Rose & Grants
"I have come to the conclusion that vast majority of Vegans are still hungry for fried food over fresh natural products, Glaswegian vegans seem to like their breakfast fried just as much as non-vegans! That being said I’m happy to sell it as it's much healthier and is genuinely tasty."
READ MORE: Vegan recipe: Scottish tablet
When the eatery announced the launch of the square sausages on their Facebook page, the post was popular to say the least, with one user saying: "Vegan square sausage. GAME CHANGER. I shall be along at the weekend to nom one of these...."
While another wrote: "Vegan square sausage! I think I just shed a tear of joy."
A history of the square sausage, including a recipe for making your own
http://foodanddrink.scotsman.com/food/five-of-the-best-vegetarian-restaurants-in-edinburgh/
