Tofu Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Coconut and Berries

Pesto-Ricotta Tofu Omelettes with Cherry Tomatoes

I wasn’t an egg eater in my omnivore days (except in baked goods of course!) but appreciate that omelettes are a practical dish to make when you don’t want to be in the kitchen too long as they are super quick. This vegan variation is almost as speedy, just a matter of whizzing a few ingredients in a blender, spreading in a pan and cooking as you would an egg omelette. I’ve made tofu omelettes before, using the basic recipe from Vegan Brunch, mixing up the fillings- garlicky mushrooms and spinach is a favourite, as is a slightly more unconventional “leftovers” omelette, usually involving some kind of beany vegetable stew or curry.

I came across this variation on the Vegan Cookbook Aficionado recently and thought it sounded perfect for right now. The obvious result of bountiful basil growing in the garden is pesto! I made a big batch and froze some so I can enjoy that summer taste over the winter months, as well as giving me plenty to use in different dishes now. Mix it in pasta, with new potatoes, beans, slather it on crusty bread, crackers or as a dip for crudités…and now use it as an omelette filing! I had conveniently just made my Swiss Chard Lasagna too, and planned ahead, reserving a few tablespoons of the ricotta filling for these. Pan-blistered cherry tomatoes sealed the deal.

I’ve mentioned I don’t really do savoury breakfasts before so I made mine for an easy dinner alongside some fresh sourdough bread and a green salad. The omelette mix made enough for 2 and I was cooking for one so I simply covered it over in the fridge and made another the following day. Knowing it keeps fine, if you are into savoury in the mornings then you could use a full packet of tofu (double the listed quantities) and make a fresh omelette for breakfast for a few days!

Pesto-Ricotta Tofu Omelettes with Cherry Tomatoes:

(Adapted from Vegan Cookbook Aficionado)

1/2 400g/12oz pkg Silken tofu
1T Nutritional Yeast
1/2T Olive oil
3T Non-dairy milk
1/8t Turmeric
1/4-1/2t Black salt (This is what really gives these the “eggy” taste but if you can’t find it just add a little more regular salt. I bought some years back at Whole Foods and it’s lasted me since then)
1/4C Chickpea Flour
1/2T Arrowroot/Cornstarch
Salt + Pepper
6-8 Cherry tomatoes, halved
A few T Lemony tofu ricotta
A few T Basil Pesto ( I used homemade but if you don’t have any to hand I recommend these UK brands: Zest and Meridian)

Blend tofu through to black salt in a food processor or blender (I use a Tribest Personal Blender) until smooth. Add chickpea flour, arrowroot and seasoning and blend again briefly, scraping down the sides to ensure everything is fully incorporated.

Warm a little olive oil over med-high in a non-stick pan and add the tomatoes. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, until just beginning to collapse. Set aside in a small dish.

Wipe out pan and lightly grease with oil. Turn the heat down to medium. Pour 1/2 omelette mixture into the hot pan and spread it out into a thin layer with a spatula. Leave to cook for 3-5 minutes before flipping. Gently lift the sides with a large spatula, the underside should be matte and flecked with little brown spots if ready to flip. If not, leave a little longer. Flip omelette (I slide it onto a plate to make it easier) and spread on one half with pesto, add a couple of dollops of ricotta and finally a few halved cherry tomatoes. Gently fold the opposite half over the fillings and leave to cook for 1 more minute. Keep warm, covered, in the oven on very low heat while you make the second omelette.

Makes 2

Stay tuned for some more recipes incorporating pesto! What do you like to do with it?

Have you made tofu omelettes before? If not, that needs to change pronto!

Swiss Chard Lasagna with Golden Raisins + Pine Nuts

It’s five years this summer since I left school. The 5 year anniversary had me musing on school life…especially the food. I boarded and so all meals were eaten in my boarding house- breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I suppose the food wasn’t terrible, but for the picky eater that I used to be, meals weren’t exactly to my taste… I did have my favourites though, especially some of the puddings, and me and friends would check the notice board with anticipation for the new weekly menu to be posted!

If there was one thing the kitchen did well though it was the lasagna. It was a fairly frequent Saturday lunch and one I actually looked forward to! It wasn’t the sloppy, cheesy mess you might expect from school food but packed with layers of roasted vegetables, spinach ricotta and pasta with crispy edges. I wasn’t vegan at the time but have found a fairly good replica in a variation on the Veganomicon “Lasagna Marinara with Spinach”. Despite loving that dish I wanted to try a new baked pasta-something lighter in flavour and more summery.

I found myself with a beautiful bunch of swiss chard in my fridge and browsed through my saved recipes to find these two: Swiss Chard with Currants and Pine Nuts from the NYTimes Recipes for Health, and this Swiss Chard Gratin with Vegan Bechamel from Chocolate & Zucchini, which together provided the inspiration for my lasagna.

Lemony tofu and cashew ricotta, earthy dark greens, little sweet bursts of raisins and crunchy pine nuts, topped with caramelized onions for good measure.

This isn’t an average 30 minute dinner (like any lasagna) but maybe, every now and again, like me you enjoy lingering in the kitchen that bit longer to produce something more special .

Swiss Chard Lasagna with Raisins and Pine Nuts:

Tofu Cashew Ricotta:

1/4C Cashews, Soaked and drained
1/4C Lemon juice
1T Olive oil
1T Nutritional yeast
2 Garlic cloves
1 1/2t Salt
1 400g/1lb pkg Firm tofu
2T Brown rice flour (Optional- to help set up ricotta)

Sauce:

2C Vegetable broth
Juice of 1 lemon
2T Arrowroot/Cornstarch

Chard:

Large Bunch (approx 400g/1lb) Swiss Chard, thick stems cut off and julienned
1/4C Golden Raisins
1/4 Pine Nuts + 2T for topping (toasted if desired)

Caramelized Onions:

1 Large onion, thinly sliced
1/2T Olive Oil
1/2t Sugar

4-6 Lasagna Sheets

Make the ricotta first- using a food processor or blender blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to assemble lasagna.

Boil a pan of water and add julienned swiss chard. When the water comes back to the boil, drain and rinse in cold water to retain bright green colour. Stir through raisins and pine nuts. Set aside.

Whisk sauce ingredients together in a pot and then warm over medium heat until sauce thickens slightly, approx 10 minutes.

Par-boil lasagna sheets- Lay sheets in a large dish and pour boiling water over, then leave for two minutes to soften. Remove and set aside.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F

Lightly oil or line a large oven-proof dish with foil. Start layering up your ingredients. Start with 1/3 of the chard mixture, then 1/3 of the sauce, then a layer of pasta sheets, then 1/3 ricotta. Repeat until mixture is used up. Cover the dish with foil and place in oven to cook for approx 40minutes.

While it is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat and add onion and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low and cook gently, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes. Sprinkle over sugar and continue to cook for another 10-15minutes until onion is soft and caramelized.

When lasagna has finished cooking remove from oven and leave to firm up for at least 10 minutes. When ready to serve remove foil and top lasagna with caramelized onions and remaining pine nuts.

Serves 4

What was your school food like? Any dishes you remember fondly?!

Cauliflower Fried “Rice” with Grilled Asian Tofu

There are so many food ideas I want to try that inevitably it takes me longer to get to certain things than others. Case in point: Cauliflower “rice” arrived on the scene, at least on my radar, several months ago. It got added to the queue and was only finally made by me a week or so ago. I’ve said this before but if only there were more meals in the day (and time to make them…) so I could get to making all the creative recipes out there , as well as my own recipe ideas, faster!

Before anyone thinks I’m going on some carb-eliminating diet or something, I better just stop and say that I’m in no way cutting grains from my diet. Rice features in a good many of my meals and I have no problem with it at all- Make mine brown basmati though please . Sometimes, however, I’m simply in the mood for a more vegetable-centric meal.

To the cauiflower “rice” base I added plenty of other vegetables, including edamame, a favourite of mine, and also a great source of protein, so even without the grilled tofu on top you’ve got a fairly substantial dish. Simply seasoned with lots of ginger and garlic and a couple of splashes of tamari it’s a snap to put together too.

Cauliflower Fried “Rice” with Grilled Asian Tofu

Yield: 2-3 Servings

Ingredients

For the Tofu (Optional):

(From Veganomicon)
1/2 400g/8oz Block Tofu, Drained, Pressed and cut into thin slices (I got 4 rectangles)
1/4 C Mirin
1-1/2Tbsp Tamari
1 Tbsp Brown rice vinegar
1/2 Tbsp Sesame oil
1/2 tsp Sriracha chili sauce
1/2” Pc fresh ginger, chopped into large chunks (for flavouring the marinade)
1 Clove garlic, smashed (for flavouring the marinade)

For the Cauliflower Rice

1 Small head cauliflower
1 Tbsp Coconut oil
2 Lg cloves garlic
1 Tbsp Minced fresh ginger
1 Red pepper, diced
3/4 C Frozen edamame
1/2 C Corn
2 Tbsp Tamari
3 Spring/Green Onions, thinly sliced
Fresh coriander, for garnish

Instructions

Mix all listed ingredients for the tofu, except tofu itself, in a large, shallow dish. Lay slices of tofu in the marinade and leave for 30 minutes, flipping tofu halfway through.
While marinating prepare the vegetables. Using a food processor, pulse cauliflower florets until you get a rice-like texture, or alternatively chop finely. I got 4 cups of rice. Set aside.
On a hot grill pan, lightly brushed with oil, grill tofu for 3 minutes on 1 side, then flip and cook for a further 2 minutes. Using tongs gently press tofu into the grill ridges, to get nice dark lines. Move to a chopping board and cut each piece diagonally into 2 triangles.
While tofu is cooking, heat oil in a wok or large pan until very hot, toss in ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.
Add red pepper and edamame and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes until pepper is beginning to soften, then add corn and cauliflower and mix together well.
After another 2 minutes, drizzle the tamari over and stir through the spring onion (reserving a small amount for garnish). Continue to cook for another minute until everything is heated through. Sprinkle over reserved spring onions and fresh coriander.
Spoon onto individual plates or bowls and top with a few triangles of the grilled tofu.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2013/07/13/cauliflower-fried-rice-with-grilled-asian-tofu/

There have been lots of internet food trends which haven’t been hits in my kitchen but I’ll definitely do the cauliflower rice thing again.

Are there any food trends which have stuck with you?

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Cheesy Tofu Scramble + Chipotle Sweet Potato Tacos

Who doesn’t love eating with their hands? Did you know that Indians eat with their hands because they believe that food is more than “just protein, carbs and fat” … it nourishes the mind, intellect and spirit. Food has to be sensual and mindful and eating with your hands apparently gives you a greater connection with the food.

I’m not sure my thinking is that deep but ditching the utensils and opting for hands instead is definitely more fun somehow! These tacos are not really the ooey gooey type since there are no beans, salsa or the like so it’s possible to eat them pretty neatly, if you’re concerned about sticky fingers!

The starting point for this recipe was Vegetarian Times’ June issue which featured tofu scramble breakfast tacos. I love a tofu scramble but I’m not a savoury breakfast kind of girl so my tacos were served for dinner. Don’t let me dictate when you eat them though, they’ll be delicious at any time of day!

The original recipe looked very mild on spice, with just the suggestion of a little hot sauce to liven things up. I decided to amp the heat up and bulk things out with the addition of chipotle dusted roasted sweet potato, which turned out to be a good choice. I had to top them with avocado too, as for me Mexican food of any kind isn’t complete without my creamy green friend.

Talking food with my uncle not that long ago I was horrified when he pronounced how bad avocado is for you because of how “fatty” it is! That couldn’t be further from the truth. They are of course high in fat but it’s mostly the healthy monounsaturated kind, and our bodies need these good fats for all sorts of functions. They’re also packed with other good stuff too, so much so that on many occasions they’ve appeared on lists of the world’s healthiest foods.

Another superfood boost comes in these tacos from a liberal dose of nutty hemp seeds in the scrambled tofu. These little seeds are a real nutrition powerhouse since they contain all of the essential amino acids which makes them an ideal source of protein.

Nutrition aside, these ingredients just taste good!

Cheesy Tofu Scramble + Chipotle Sweet Potato Tacos

(Inspired by Vegetarian Times)

For the Tofu Scramble:

1/2 Pkg Firm Tofu, Drained + Pressed
1T Tahini
2T Nutritional Yeast
3/4t Onion powder
Salt + pepper
1/2T Coconut OR Olive oil
2T Hemp Seeds

For the Sweet Potato:

1 Medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1” cubes
1/2T Coconut/Olive Oil
1t Chipotle chili powder
1/2t Garlic powder
Salt + pepper

Everything else:

6 Corn tortillas, soft or crisp ( I like the Cool Chile Co)
1 Medium avocado, sliced thickly
Fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Spring onions, thinly sliced
Lime slices
Hot sauce (Optional)

Toss sweet potato cubes with seasonings and spread out on baking tray. Roast at 200C/400F for 25-30 minutes until edges are golden brown.

Meanwhile, prepare toppings and warm tortillas. Heat a dry pan until medium hot. Warm each side of the tortilla until toasty but still soft. Wrap in a tea towel to keep warm.

Crumble tofu into a small bowl and mix in tahini, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Warm the oil in a pan over med-high heat. When hot, add tofu mixture and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking but allowing it to get some brown crisp bits. Turn off heat and stir through hemp seeds. Set aside.

Allow individuals to layer up their own tacos as they wish- tofu scramble, sweet potato cubes, avocado slices, coriander and spring onions and a squeeze of lime and drizzle of hot sauce.

Serves 2-3

As someone who thinks about food a LOT I’ve been wondering for ages what the difference between fajitas and tacos is. I finally got around to looking it up and for anyone else curious about these things, here’s the answer. I love vegetable fajitas too- and yes I’ve decided I can still call the vegetable version “fajitas” since the word is really referring to the shape (little strip) rather than the ingredient itself. I love this fajita feast over at the Edible Perspective for a more classic-style Mexican vibe. Ashley even has a recipe and detailed instructions for making your own tortillas at home from masa harina. One day when I’m feeling ambitious I’ll give it a go….

What form of Mexican food do you like best? Tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, burritos, chimichangas…? All the different names are pretty confusing, no?

Do you have a favourite hand-held food?