Okay, I had a blog or two in the past regarding tofu. It is what you make it. I make it a variety of ways. I want to show folks how to make tofu the star of the show. Usually it complements a recipe as an ingredient. Today, it is the main ingredient. Just recently I had an overgrowth of mint in my container garden and had to find something to do it with and I discovered a recipe on mint pesto and decided to veganize it. Though that pesto recipe was paired with meat, I decided to make a mildly tangy tofu steak for it to complement.
As I said before in another blog post, I love mint. I think it's simply refreshing, especially in hot summers. It is full of vitamins (A and C), minerals (copper, iron magnesium, potassium, and calcium). It is good for both cardiovascular and intestinal health. Google its tremendous health properties for yourself!
Tofu is also pretty good for you. It is full of vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Vitamin E), minerals (copper, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc). Only four ounces of tofu has over 9 grams of protein. Tofu is also a low cholesterol and low fat food. It has fatty acids. It's health benefits include lowering LDL and trigycercide levels, helping to alleviate the side of effects of menopause fending off prostate cancer, and strengthening bones. Here again, google for more information!
Now, I had to start making my tofu steaks yesterday. First, I pressed the water out of the tofu for about 40 minutes. Here's how I do it. You can use a book, but I like to use 5 pound weights. If you have a tofu press, that also works great! I haven't decided to invest in a tofu press yet. This way works so well!
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| Pressing water out of tofu. |
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| Tofu sitting in water pressed from it 40 minutes later. |
Then I cut the block of tofu into five or six steaks. I wanted two large steaks, so the picture below shows five steaks.
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| Cut tofu block in half, then cut steaks out desired thickness of steaks. |
Before I place my steaks into the marinade, I grind black pepper all over them. Then place them into the marinating dish and I let them marinate overnight so that I could make sure that flavor is in there!
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| Tofu with ground pepper and marinade |
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| Tofu placed into marinade to sit overnight. |
Once they marinate overnight, they appear nice and brown. You could drain the marinade off of them and keep the marinated tofu in the dish until you're ready to grill, or you can let them stay in the marinade in hopes that they soak up more flavor. I almost always drain the marinade.
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| Tofu is nice and marinated the next morning. After marinade is drained off. |
When I use a grill pan (cast iron), I have to make sure my vent is on and my windows are open. It gets smokey in the kitchen. You may want to grill on an outdoor grill if your indoor grilling experience is the same as mine.
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| Grilling tofu steaks with Earth Balance margarine. |
HERB CRUSTED TOFU STEAKS with Mint Pesto (or any pesto)
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| Fresh lemon thyme, rosemary, and oregano ready for chopping. |
- 1 block plain extra firm tofu, sliced into 5/6 steaks
- 1/4 cup grape juice
- 1/2 cup no-chicken broth or veggie broth
- 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/8 cup water
- 1 cup liquid aminos (or half of this if you want less sodium)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 8 cloves fresh garlic, pressed/minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 teaspoon (about 1 inch) fresh grated ginger, optional
- fresh ground Monk's pepper
Mint Pesto (optional)
- 3/4 cup packed mint leaves
- 1/4 cup raw spinach or flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 2 green onions, cut in fourths
- 5 medium garlic cloves, pressed/minced
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon liquid aminos
- Salt to taste
Press in tofu press to get the water out for about 30-45 minutes.Slice the tofu into even sized slices across the block-you should get 5 or 6 steaks. I cut my tofu in half and evenly slice two or three steaks depending upon my desired thickness.
Meanwhile, mix all the rest of the ingredients together and marinate the tofu slices in this for at least four hours or overnight. Cook on a cast iron grill on a medium heat, spooning the marinade over the tofu steaks when you turn them, for 3-5 minutes each side until a crust develops. Flip tofu steaks over until crust forms. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place in oven for about 8 minutes, if desired for a less moist steak. I usually skip this oven because I like mine straight off the grill.
For the pesto, combine all ingredients in a food processor and let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.
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| Spelt and Durham wheat elbow pasta with herb crusted tofu steak with mint pesto ready to eat! |
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I also had a side salad with this. Some of you may have wanted to know what the tofu looked like inside once it was grilled. I decided to take a picture of the second steak I consumed today to show you.
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| Yep, tofu really takes on the flavor of the seasonings. This steak was good! |
I want some!
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