I am not turning this into a food blog
Apr. 24th, 2012 12:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rushthatspeaksbut tonight's dinner turned out really well and was unusual, so have a recipe.
Roasted Tofu-Apple-Spinach Salad
serves two
1/2 lb. firm tofu
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cooking apples
1/2 cup pulpless orange juice
1/2 cup apple cider
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 green onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons strong honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons buttermilk (or yogurt thinned by water)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
3/4 lb. baby spinach, washed, stemmed, and dried well
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Remove tofu from its liquid and put it under a weight for at least fifteen minutes to get it as dry as possible. Slice it into 1/2-inch cubes. End, but do not peel, the cloves of garlic. Roll the cubes and the cloves gently through the olive oil. Spread cubes and cloves on a foil-covered baking sheet. Salt and pepper moderately. Bake twenty-five minutes, rotating once halfway through.
Combine half the orange juice and half the cider in a bowl. Peel, core, and dice the apples, adding the dice to the juice mixture and making sure to get juice on all cut surfaces so the apples will not brown. Toss with the ginger, the cinnamon, and the chopped green onion.
Pour the rest of the orange juice and cider into a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter. When steam is rising and the butter has melted, add the apples. Peel and add the roasted garlic. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples are reduced in size by more than half and are tender but not mushy, at least ten minutes. Make sure to break up the garlic as much as you can as you stir, and move it from place to place in the pan if it clumps.
When the apples are nearly the desired consistency, add and stir in thoroughly first the maple syrup, then the honey, then the rice vinegar. Salt to taste. Add the cornstarch in small sprinkles, slowly, stirring continuously and vigorously to prevent it from clumping. Allow the sauce to reduce and thicken until it coats a spoon. Take the pan off the heat.
In a Mason jar or other tightly lidded container, shake the buttermilk, soy sauce, and mayonnaise until entirely blended.
Stir the roasted tofu into the apples, giving it a good coating of sauce. Don't let it sit too long before serving or it will become soggy.
Divide spinach between serving plates. Top each portion of spinach with half the glazed apple-tofu mixture. Drizzle lightly with buttermilk dressing. Serve immediately.
This goes very well with pita bread and makes an amazing although rather messy wrap. It will make an entire dinner for two quite hungry people-- the tofu's crunchy and light, the apples are rescued from oversweetness by the green onion, ginger, and vinegar and from overtartness by the syrup and honey, and the buttermilk dressing makes a good contrast with the apple glaze while working to integrate the leafy fluffiness of the spinach. Ruth wanted 'something with tofu and apple' for dinner, and while it's not a very intuitive combination, I was really pleased with the results.
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comments over there.
Roasted Tofu-Apple-Spinach Salad
serves two
1/2 lb. firm tofu
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cooking apples
1/2 cup pulpless orange juice
1/2 cup apple cider
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 green onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons strong honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons buttermilk (or yogurt thinned by water)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
3/4 lb. baby spinach, washed, stemmed, and dried well
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Remove tofu from its liquid and put it under a weight for at least fifteen minutes to get it as dry as possible. Slice it into 1/2-inch cubes. End, but do not peel, the cloves of garlic. Roll the cubes and the cloves gently through the olive oil. Spread cubes and cloves on a foil-covered baking sheet. Salt and pepper moderately. Bake twenty-five minutes, rotating once halfway through.
Combine half the orange juice and half the cider in a bowl. Peel, core, and dice the apples, adding the dice to the juice mixture and making sure to get juice on all cut surfaces so the apples will not brown. Toss with the ginger, the cinnamon, and the chopped green onion.
Pour the rest of the orange juice and cider into a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter. When steam is rising and the butter has melted, add the apples. Peel and add the roasted garlic. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples are reduced in size by more than half and are tender but not mushy, at least ten minutes. Make sure to break up the garlic as much as you can as you stir, and move it from place to place in the pan if it clumps.
When the apples are nearly the desired consistency, add and stir in thoroughly first the maple syrup, then the honey, then the rice vinegar. Salt to taste. Add the cornstarch in small sprinkles, slowly, stirring continuously and vigorously to prevent it from clumping. Allow the sauce to reduce and thicken until it coats a spoon. Take the pan off the heat.
In a Mason jar or other tightly lidded container, shake the buttermilk, soy sauce, and mayonnaise until entirely blended.
Stir the roasted tofu into the apples, giving it a good coating of sauce. Don't let it sit too long before serving or it will become soggy.
Divide spinach between serving plates. Top each portion of spinach with half the glazed apple-tofu mixture. Drizzle lightly with buttermilk dressing. Serve immediately.
This goes very well with pita bread and makes an amazing although rather messy wrap. It will make an entire dinner for two quite hungry people-- the tofu's crunchy and light, the apples are rescued from oversweetness by the green onion, ginger, and vinegar and from overtartness by the syrup and honey, and the buttermilk dressing makes a good contrast with the apple glaze while working to integrate the leafy fluffiness of the spinach. Ruth wanted 'something with tofu and apple' for dinner, and while it's not a very intuitive combination, I was really pleased with the results.
You can comment here or at the Dreamwidth crosspost. There are
