Shredded Tofu Tacos
Unfortunately for me, I recently developed a soy intolerance. The thing I miss most, beyond all else, are these tacos, which I quite literally dream of often. Fortunately for you, I have a recipe.
Credit: Based on a recipe by Maya Leinenbach.
Ingredients
For tofu bake:
- 1 block super firm tofu
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- salt to taste
For sauce:
- ½ bunch parsley
- ½ bunch cilantro (sub for all parsley if you think cilantro tastes like soap!)
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream (sub vegan if you need!)
- ½ lemon, juice
- 1 tsp honey or agave
- salt to taste
For tofu sauté:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 cloves finely chopped garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- ⅓ cup pineapple juice
- ½ Tbsp soy sauce
Finish with:
- corn tortillas
- chopped tomatoes
- chopped pickled jalapeños
- shredded purple cabbage
Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Drain and press the block of tofu to expel excess liquid.
- Using a cheese grater, shred the block of tofu into a large bowl.
- Add to the bowl with grated tofu: olive oil, soy sauce, cumin, paprika, and salt. Start with the recommended amount and add more if needed. Mix to evenly coat the tofu.
- Line a baking sheet with foil or oven-safe parchment paper. Spread out the shredded tofu evenly on the baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 35 mins, stirring halfway through.
- Add sauce ingredients to a blender or food processor: parsley, cilantro, garlic, yogurt (or sour cream), lemon juice, honey (or agave), salt. Blend until smooth.
- Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic. Sauté until the onion is slightly translucent. Add cumin, paprika, chili powder, tomato paste, and soy sauce. Let cook for 3 minutes.
- Add pineapple juice to the sauté pan, stir, and heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat and cover until the tofu is done baking.
- Once your tofu is done baking and has a slightly crispy texture, add it to the saute pan. Stir until the tofu is coated.
- [Optional] If you’re working with a gas stove, turn a burner to medium/medium-low. Place your tortilla on the fire to heat, flipping it over before it burns. Repeat with as many tortillas as you need. Alternatively, heat the tortillas in a small pan over low to medium heat.
- Time to assemble! Add your tofu, some chopped tomatoes, shredded purple cabbage, and chopped pickled jalapenos to the tortillas (as desired). Drizzle the green sauce on top. Enjoy!
One-Sheet Veggie Bake
This is very much a “measure with your heart” recipe. I love this for days when I want to use whatever is left in my fridge, I don’t feel like laboring over a stove, and I don’t want to order out. I’ll be listing specific veggies here, but feel free to substitute for anything that cooks well that you may already have on hand. Keep in mind that the goal here is as few dirty dishes as possible and as little effort as possible, while still being healthy.
Ingredients
To cook:
- 4 Yukon potatoes (or whatever potatoes you like)
- 2 yellow squash (or zucchini)
- 2 red bell peppers
- ½ large red onion
- 2 ½ cups broccoli florets
- ⅔ cup cherry tomatoes (or your fave tomato, chopped)
- 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- olive oil
- paprika
- garlic powder
- cumin
- black pepper
- salt
Sauce option*:
*See “Easy finish option” as an alternative.
- 3 Tbsp tahini (or sub with plain Greek yogurt)
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/4 tsp each salt and cracked black pepper
- 2 to 3 Tbsp water
Easy finish option*:
*Do this instead if the sauce is too much dang work.
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- dried dill
- salt
Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet or large casserole dish with foil.
- Chop the potatoes, squash, and bell peppers into quarter-sized chunks. Spread out evenly on the baking sheet.
- Spread out the broccoli florets and cherry tomatoes evenly on the baking sheet.
- Chop the onion into 1/2-inch thick slices. Spread out evenly on the baking sheet.
- Add the can of garbanzo beans to the sheet and spread them out evenly.
- Drizzle olive oil over the veggies – don’t soak them, but the veggies should have a light coating once mixed.
- Add the paprika, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, and salt to your heart’s desire. Start small and add if needed.
- Gently mix everything so the veggies are evenly coated with the oil and seasonings.
- Pop it in the oven for 40 minutes. Set a 20-min timer, also, to mix halfway through.
- [FOR SAUCE OPTION] In a medium bowl, combine tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, dill, cumin, nutritional yeast, salt, and black pepper; mix to combine. Add 2 to 3 Tbsp of cold water, mixing after each Tbsp, until it’s your desired consistency. Spoon sauce over your veggies and serve!
- [FOR EASY FINISH OPTION] After serving the veggie bake in bowls, add a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of dried dill, and salt to taste.
Vegan Red Pozole
Holy moly (or should I say, holy pozole), this might be on my top 3 favorite foods list! Hangover cure, flu relief, comforting on cold days; what can’t pozole do?
Credit: Based on a recipe by Patrick Calhoun.
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 5-6 ancho dried chiles
- 5-6 guajillo dried chiles
- 1 small yellow onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 10 cups vegetable stock (2.5 qts)
- 1-2 30 oz. cans of hominy, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup uncooked rice (optional)
- carrots & cooked beans(optional)
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp Mexican oregano
- pinch of ground clove (optional)
- pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
For the garnish:
- thinly sliced cabbage, tossed with lime and salt
- thinly sliced radishes
- avocado slices
- thinly sliced Serrano or Jalapeño peppers
- freshly chopped cilantro
- crispy tortilla strips
- squeeze of lime
Recipe
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Wipe off the dried chiles, then de-stem and de-seed them. Give the chile pieces a quick roast for 1-2 minutes. (You won’t need the oven again, so you can turn it off after this step.)
- Add the roasted chiles to a bowl, cover them with hot tap water, and let them rehydrate for 20-30 minutes, or until they’re needed.
- Dice one onion finely and drop it into a large soup pot with a generous glug of oil. Sweat the onion over medium heat until it turns soft, then stir in 6 cloves of minced garlic and cook just until fragrant. Transfer roughly half the onion-garlic mixture to a blender (set aside for the chile puree) and leave the rest in the pot.
- Add 8 cups of stock to the pot along with the hominy. Two 30-oz cans of hominy for this batch will make your Pozole a bit chunkier. For a brothier Pozole, use just a single can of hominy.
- Taste the soaking liquid before you drain the chiles. If you like the flavor, use it to blend the chile puree. If you find it bitter, pour it out and use stock instead. A bonus if you like the soaking liquid: use some of it in the pozole broth too, in place of an equal amount of stock.
- Add the chiles (and “broth” if you’d like) to the blender. Half of the onion-garlic mixture should already be in the blender. Add 2 cups of stock and puree thoroughly. Add the chile puree to the soup pot.
- Add the remaining spices to the soup pot: 1 Tbsp Mexican oregano, ½ tsp cumin, a pinch of ground clove (optional), a pinch of ground cinnamon (optional), some freshly cracked black pepper, and 1 tsp salt. (Also optional: add ½ cup uncooked white rice, some diced carrots, cooked beans). Stir well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning one last time before serving. How much salt you need depends entirely on your stock: a low-sodium one may need 2 heaping tsps. With store-bought stock, start with less and build up from there.
- Serve immediately and top with your desired garnish. I recommend thinly sliced cabbage that was tossed with lime juice and salt, avocado slices, serrano chile slices, and loads of freshly chopped cilantro.
Note for leftovers: The soup will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Simmer in a pan to reheat. You may also use freezer soup cubes to keep it much longer, but the texture of the hominy will change a bit upon reheating.
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