Curried Cauliflower Chickpea Tofu Salad...On A Chip

It's tofu salad on crack.  The mashed chickpeas and cauliflower provide a rich creamy texture and flavor, and the spicy kick of curry gives it a nice twist.  Serve it on a crispy pita cracker (as shown above), in a sandwich, over salad greens, or off your finger... if no one's looking.

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into chuncks
1/2 yellow onion, cut into thirds
2 T. olive oil15 oz. can of chickpeas (or use fresh cooked if you have)
1/4 C. minced green onions

1/4 C. Vegennaise
2 T. Hot curry paste (I used Patak's) -use more or less to your liking
1/2 package firm tofu (about 7 oz.), @ 1/2" cubed salt to taste

Spinz:

Arrange cauliflower and onions on a prepared sheet pan.  Season with salt and drizzle with olive oil, then roast in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes (lightly browned and fork tender).  Pull out of the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.  


Put the veggies and all the other ingredients except tofu and green onions into a food processor, and blend until creamy with small chunks.  Transfer to a mixing bowl, and mix in the tofu and green onions. Taste and add salt if needed.  Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or more.
 

Tofu Ceviche and Watermelon Pearls

Do you remember last season's Top Chef episode when Hector Santiago made Tofu Ceviche? It was a very warm day today, and I really didn't want to heat up the kitchen too much with hot food, so I looked online to see if that recipe was available, and viola!

The recipe is quite challenging, with the Mango and Cilantro Pearls, but I thought I'd give it a try- it was just too cool to pass up. It's made by heating juice with agar and then dropping it (drop by drop) into canola oil that's chilled in the refrigerator. I was missing the mango, so I tried it with watermelon. At first, the agar mixture just sank to the bottom of the oil and didn't form "pearls." So I stuck the oil in the freezer and tried it again, with some success but I would recommend letting the agar mixture cool a bit so it's not so hot and quicker to set.

The recipe that I found was a little hard to follow, so hopefully mine will make it a bit simpler. I opted to use pre-made tortillas and happened to have a really cool jar of habanero pickled garlic that Mark got from the Farmer's Market, and used it in the dressing instead of sprinkled on top. I changed a few things around, so you could say that mine is a variation... or one of my "spinz."

Ingredients

Marinated Tofu:

1 package extra firm tofu (14 oz.), drained and pressed to remove most of the water

1/3 C. orange juice

1/3 C. lemon juice

1/3 C. lime juice

1 T. tequilla silver (clear)

2 tsp. kosher salt

Cucumber Avacado Salad:

1 large cucumber (about 2-3 cups), cubed

1 ripe avocado (about 1 cup), cubed
1/2 C. fresh tomato, chopped

1/2 C. green onions, finely chopped

1/4 C. fresh cilantro, chopped

1 T. fresh jalapeno chili (minced)
Dressing for salad:

1 dried guajillo chili + 2 dried puya chilies (soaked in warm water to rehydrate)

3-4 cloves of pickled garlic (you can use the original recipe to make your own if you don't have store-bought)

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. agave nectar

1/4 C. water (or more)

salt to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp.)

Watermelon Pearls:

fresh watermelon (enough to make about 3 cups), cubed

pinch of salt

1 tsp. agave nectar

2 tsp. agar flakes

small bowl of canola oil, chilled in the freezer (won't solidify, so don't worry!)

Tortilla Chips:

(as many as you'd like) small corn tortillas, cut into quarters*

oil for frying

*You can use store-bought tortilla chips if you want, but fresh ones are SO good!

Spinz

First put your bowl of canola oil into the freezer to chill for a good hour.

Cut the tofu into small bite-sized cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients in a shallow casserole dish and add the tofu, spreading evenly. Put into your refrigerator to chill.

For the salad, put the soaked chilies, and the rest of the dressing ingredients into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. I didn't have 6 chilies as the original recipe called for, so I subbed fresh jalapenos for more heat, but didn't blend those- just added to the salad. Add more water if needed (should have the consistency of a thin salad dressing). Add dressing to the salad, and toss.

For the watermelon pearls, puree the pearl ingredients until completely liquified. Strain enough to make 1 cup of juice. Add the agar, and heat until boiling, then turn down to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring. When agar is dissolved, take off the heat and let stand until warm but still liquid (not hot).

Drop droplets into the bowl of oil. It should float for a bit. If it sinks immediately, then let the liquid cool down a bit more. Put everything back into the freezer to set.

To assemble:

1. Place salad on the bottom of your plate.

2. Top with "ceviched" tofu cubes.

3. Scoop out watermelon pearls and strain out the excess oil, then place the pearls on top of everything.

4. Finish with a spoonful of tofu marinade, drizzled on top.

4. Place tortilla chips on the side.

Eggy Tofu Salad

The guys had a Video DJ Demo at the Apple Store in San Francisco for the Mac World Convention, to perform and explain what we do with our beloved Mac products. I wasn't gonna be behind the decks, so I tagged along with the video camera to document the experience. This place was HUGE, with two levels and a large demo area with seating. They "killed" it, and everyone had a blast watching 'em spin and scratch videos using our macs, even though most of them weren't remotely interested in DJing! I guess they were there for the entertainment factor. One thing I have found is that techy nerds attract other techy nerds (myself included)!

Anyway, back to the recipe. I often make this because it's both delicious AND portable via two slices of bread or in a breakfast burrito. And when we're out on gigs or on the road, it's nice to have something comforting to eat, given the limited availability of quality vegan food in general. I tend to make extra sauce, because I just hate leaving a half or a third of something (i.e. tofu) floating around in the fridge. So this makes probably 8-10 servings, plus a little extra sauce for dipping veggies in or using for other great purposes. If you don't have as many people to feed, you could cut the recipe, but I find that this stuff is even better as leftovers and often eat it in creative ways throughout the week.

Ingredients:

2 blocks of extra firm tofu, frozen and thawed
1 T. olive oil or veg oil
1 C. onion, chopped small
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 C. frozen yellow corn
2 heaping T. hot dog relish or chopped pickles (add a bit more if you're using this)

Sauce:
1 pkg (8oz.) Mori-Nu silken tofu (soft kind)
1 C. Vegenaise
1 T. dijon mustard
2 tsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. tumeric
1 T. garlic powder (cut back if you don't like it too garlicy like me)
1 T. ground coriander
salt to taste (I use @ a tsp.)
1 tsp. ground pepper (or more if you like)

Spinz

After thawing the extra firm tofu, squeeze out as much water as possible (it's much easier to do this if it's been frozen). Crumble it up in a large mixing bowl with a towel to dry it even more. At this point, I like to sprinkle some salt and massage it in to soak up some seasoning, but it's optional. Saute the onions in the oil until golden brown and carmelized (add a little water if it's sticking), and add the garlic to saute for a minute or two. Take off the heat and mix in the frozen corn to thaw it and cool the mixture down. Now, all you do is whiz together all the sauce ingredients until smooth, creamy, and tasty. It should taste a bit on the strong side. Add your relish or pickles to the tofu as well as about 1/2-2/3 of the sauce (reserve the rest for later use). Mix well and eat or stick in the fridge to get it colder.