Category Archives: Tofu

Kale Salad with Creamy Cashew Dressing and Crispy Tempeh Croutons

Entrees, Main Dish, Recipes, Salads, Side dishes, Tofu, Vegan, Veggies October 11, 2014 Comments: 6

Yum, Kale Salad with Creamy Cashew Dressing and Crispy Tempeh Croutons

This is my current salad obsession and I’ve been making it weekly for the past couple of months. By now, everyone has heard of all the health benefits of kale and about what a superfood it is. It’s true it really is super and not just for the high amount of nutrition in each bite (super crazy amounts of vitamin k, tons of beta carotene & vitamin C, plus a good source of calcium and magnesium), it’s also highly versatile and my go to green for everything from salads, chips, sautés, soups and pesto. One of my favorite things about using kale in salads is how well it holds up to time, which makes it fantastic to make ahead, bring to a party or save leftovers. One of my least favorite things about so many kale salads you find out at shops and restaurants, is the “way too big to enjoy eating” leaves. So my biggest tip for making kale salads great at home, is to be sure to tear or cut your leaves into very small bite size pieces. Smaller bites of kale will be much more tender and a lot easier/more enjoyable to chew.kale salad with creamy cashew dressing

Now I don’t usually get kale salads when I’m out due to the aforementioned giant leaves issue, plus I cook so much at home I like to get dishes I don’t often make myself, but, I was having lunch with Colin’s sister Glynis at Sweet Grass Grill in Tarrytown and they had a kale salad that intrigued me. It had a creamy cashew truffle dressing and was served with crispy grilled salmon on top. I loved the idea of the creamy vegan dressing and I’m a sucker for tender salmon with a crisp exterior. The salmon did not disappoint and the dressing was fantastic, although I will say when I thought about it later I had no memory of the truffle in it. I went home and searched online for a recipe and found a big fat nothing. So instead, I decided to make up my own, starting with a base of cashew cream and adding to that some of my favorite salad dressing ingredients. I tend to like my salad dressings with a bit more acid and a hint of sweetness and since I don’t usually do creamy dressings this was a bit of a departure for me, but I have to say I love it and it has become a regular in our weekly meals. Cashews for Creamy Cashew DressingThe first many times I made this kale salad with creamy cashew dressing, I used orange juice for my sweet component, but the last time I sadly found myself with none on hand, so I substituted maple syrup, using about a third of the amount since it is sweeter and I can’t say which I like better as they’re both delicious.  chopped tempeh

Next on to the Tempeh croutons, I really wanted to make this entirely vegan (although if you’re not, adding a few shards of shaved Pecorino cheese over the top is fantastic) and also make it a complete meal in itself, so I needed a protein and wanted a bit of extra texture too. If you’ve never had tempeh before give it a try. It’s made from soy, but completely different from Tofu. It is fermented which makes it very easy to digest, plus an amazing probiotic. It’s also high in both protein and fiber, which is a rare combination. When marinated and roasted it develops great flavor and a nice crispy texture. I’ve tried a few different brands and really prefer Lightlife to all others. Tempeh Croutons Marinading

This salad, complete with the tempeh is a perfect main course, but also makes a nice side salad with or without the tempeh, to a more substantial meal and any leftovers are great for lunch or an after school snack if you have a kale salad loving kid like I do. Chopped Rosemary for Creamy Cashew Dressing

 

Kale Salad with Creamy Cashew Dressing

and Crispy Tempeh Croutons

Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones

  Ingredients:

Dressing:

¼ cup Raw Cashews – soaked in water to cover for at least 2 hours

2 Tablespoons Water

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Orange Juice Or 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup

½ Tablespoon Shoyu or Soy Sauce – I use low sodium

1 small clove Garlic

1 teaspoon chopped fresh Rosemary

Sriacha Sauce – a few drops or more to taste

 

Tempeh Croutons:

1 package Tempeh – diced into bite size pieces (I use Lightlife Soy or Flax)

1 small clove Garlic

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Shoyu or Soy Sauce

Red Pepper Flakes – a sprinkling

 

Salad:

1 large bunch Curly Kale – cut or torn into small bite size pieces / ribs removed

Cranberries or Currants – about 2 Tablespoons

2 Tablespoons Sunflower Seeds

Flaked Sea Salt and Rosemary

 

Directions:

Dressing: After soaking cashews, drain and rinse. In a high speed blender (I use my Magic Bullet), add cashews, water, olive oil, vinegar, orange juice or maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, rosemary and sriacha. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. This can be made hours ahead or even a day, refrigerate dressing if preparing in advance.

Tempeh Croutons: Combine the Tempeh and remaining crouton ingredients and allow to marinate, either a few minutes, a few hours or even overnight (refrigerate if marinating more than a few minutes). Pour into a baking pan and bake at 350 F for 15-25 minutes, turning once, until desired crispness. Remove from the oven and set aside until ready to serve.

Salad assembly: To a large bowl, pour a little of the dressing into the bottom of the bowl and then add in the kale in batches, pouring a little bit of dressing in layers. Top with the remaining dressing. Mix in the cranberries or currants and a bit of extra rosemary. Toss to completely coat all of the kale with the dressing. Then top with sunflower seeds and a little flaked sea salt to taste. Give it a final toss.

Top each serving of salad with some of the Tempeh croutons.

Optional add ins:

Shaved Pecorino Romano

Pickled shallots

Grilled Salmon

kale salad with creamy cashew dressing, tempeh croutons and shaved pecorino

Tofu Summer Rolls with Miso Dipping Sauce

Entrees, Main Dish, Recipes, Side dishes, Tofu, Vegan May 14, 2014 1 Comment

IMG_5004 Tofu Summer Rolls with Misco Cashew Dipping Sauce

Tofu Summer Rolls

Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones

These summer rolls are so flavorful, light and fresh tasting, perfect for the warm days of Spring and Summer.  They make a great appetizer or party hors d’oeuvres and are perfect as a light lunch or dinner served alongside a nice salad or Asian slaw.

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce package of Extra Firm Tofu – drained and pressed

1 Avocado – thinly sliced

1 Mango – thinly sliced

Fresh Mint leaves

Baby Arugula

Rice Paper a.k.a. Spring Roll Wrappers

Flaked Sea Salt (or other Salt)IMG_4955

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Miso Marinade/Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

 1 Tablespoon White Miso

1 Tablespoon lite Soy Sauce or Wheat Free Tamari (to make it gluten free)

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider or Rice Vinegar (or 1 Tablespoon of each)

2 teaspoons Honey, Agave or Maple Syrup (Agave or Maple to make it Vegan)

1/4 teaspoon (more or less to taste) Sriracha Sauce

1 Tablespoon Olive or Sesame Oil

IMG_4949 Miso Cashew Dipping Sauce

 Alternate (Miso Cashew) Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Cashew Butter (Almond or Peanut Butter would also be good)

1 Tablespoon White Miso

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

2 teaspoons Honey or Agave Syrup

1 teaspoon lite Soy Sauce or Tamari

1 teaspoon Water

1/4 teaspoon (more or less to taste) Sriracha Sauce

A sprinkling of white or black Sesame Seeds – optional

 

Directions:

Starting with drained and pressed Tofu, slice the Tofu block into approximately 8 even slices and the then halve each slice lengthwise, leaving you with about 16 strips.  Season lightly with salt.

Meanwhile heat a large non stick pan and drizzle a bit of oil (I use olive, canola or coconut oil).

Saute each piece of Tofu over a medium to high flame, adjusting temperature as needed, until golden brown on both sides.  Beware of splatters when cooking.

IMG_4715 Golden Tofu in Miso MarinadeWhilst cooking the tofu, prepare the Miso Marinade.  Add the cooked Tofu to the Marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to a few hours or even overnight.  Refrigerating the cooked tofu allows the texture to firm up and also gives it time to absorb the flavors of the marinade.

To make the Summer Rolls:

Fill a pie dish or other similarly sized bowl with warm water.  Working one at a time, soak 1 Rice Paper wrapper in the water until it softens.  Beware, if you’ve never worked with rice paper wrappers before, they are delicate and prone to tearing, but don’t worry about small tears they should still wrap up fine.

On a flat surface, like a cutting board lay out the softened Rice Paper (you can place a paper towel on top of your board if you like to help absorb a bit of extra moisture and prevent it from sticking to your board).

Begin to layer your filling – start with 2 -3 leaves of Mint placed vertically down the center of the rice paper.  Next, line up 2 slices of tofu on top of the Mint, then 2 slices of Mango and 2 slices of Avocado, finishing with a small handful of Arugula and a little sprinkle of flaked Sea Salt.IMG_4970 IMG_4993IMG_4988

IMG_4981Now to wrap, if you’ve ever rolled up a burrito this is very much the same.  Start by folding up the ends over the filling, then , fold up one side over all the filling tucking it to make it tight, then roll the whole thing over the last end until it is completely wrapped, tucking as you go to make a nice tight roll.  Using a sharp knife cut the roll in half (I like an angled cut).  Now repeat.

Place the completed rolls on a platter until done and then serve with either the leftover marinade or the miso cashew dipping sauce.  Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:  These rolls take a little pre planning as you need to first cook and marinate the tofu before moving on to make the rolls, if you want to save time, you can use already baked and marinated pre-packaged tofu. 

Click here to view printable version

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Simple Asian Tofu

Main Dish, Recipes, Tofu, Vegan February 7, 2014 Leave a comment

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Simple Asian Tofu

Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones

Vegan

4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

2 – 12 ounce packages Extra Firm Tofu (or Sprouted Super Firm Tofu)

4 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Sesame Oil

1 Tbsp Honey or Agave Syrup

1 heaping tsp Chili Garlic Sauce (found in the Asian aisle, I use the one with the Rooster)

2 Tbsp Orange Juice

1-2 Tbsp Water

2-4 Scallions – thinly sliced lengthwise, cut into 2-3 inch pieces

Canola Oil or Cooking Spray

 

Directions:

Prepare Tofu: Remove from package and drain out liquid.  Place in a rimmed plate or pie dish (to catch any liquid that releases) wrapped in a few paper towels and top with a heavy object (book, cast iron skillet, etc).  Allow to press and drain out excess liquid for about 20 minutes.  Note: do not skip this process, it will affect the texture of your finished dish and the tofu will not fully absorb the marinade.IMG_2487

Meanwhile, Prepare the Marinade: Combine remaining ingredients, up to the Canola Oil/Cooking Spray in a small bowl or directly in whatever container you will marinate the Tofu in.

 

After 20 minutes or so, unwrap the Tofu and slice each block into about 8 equal pieces (my last slice almost always ends up a bit slimmer).  Leave the Tofu in slabs OR if you prefer, cut each slab in half lengthwise into “fingers”.

In a small casserole dish or lidded container, pour a little bit of the marinade on the bottom of the dish and then layer the sliced Tofu, pouring a bit more marinade between layers and top with all remaining marinade.  Add the sliced scallions. Slosh around a bit so all the Tofu is covered in the marinade.  Cover the dish and refrigerate. 

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Allow the Tofu to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, all day, over night or up to 2 days.  You can prepare it in the morning and it’s ready to go when you get home from work.

 

To cook: If pan searing, heat a non stick 12 inch skillet over medium heat coated with a bit of Canola (or other light) Oil.  If baking, pre-heat oven to 375 and spray a rimmed sheet pan with Cooking Spray. 

Remove Tofu from refrigerator, leaving the marinade behind, place pieces in your prepared pans.  A 12 inch skillet can hold about 8 slabs or 12-16 fingers of Tofu at a time.  Cook in batches, removing finished Tofu to a serving platter.  Save the marinade. 

Pan Searing: Over medium-high heat, cook the Tofu about 7-8 minutes on the first side, then carefully flip and cook another 3 ½ – 4 minutes until both sides are golden.  If necessary, add a little more oil to the pan.

IMG_3089_Simple Asian Tofu

When all the Tofu has been pan seared and placed on a serving platter, pour the saved marinade into the hot skillet, lowering the heat to avoid splattering.  If you wish, add a little more orange juice into the pan to help deglaze and make it a little more saucy (note there will not be a lot of sauce).  Cook for a few minutes, allowing the marinade to reduce and slightly carmelize.  You can then add some of the Tofu back to the pan and flip around the sauce or simply pour the sauce over the finished Tofu. The scallions can be cooked slightly with the marinade or left raw. 

Oven Baking: Place all the Tofu in a single layer with a little space between each piece on the baking pan.  Cook Tofu at 375 F for about 20 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 10-15 minutes, until both sides are lightly browned.  

IMG_3094_Baked Simple Asian Tofu

Oven Baked Simple Asian Tofu

Notes about cooking methods:  Pan frying the tofu will allow the exterior to brown and carmelize a bit more, while leaving the center a bit softer.  When I have the time to let the tofu rest a bit after cooking or plan ahead to serve it cold or at room temperature, I much prefer it cooked this way.  However, if I am going to eat the tofu warm, I prefer the oven baked method, which will result in tofu that is a little drier (but not in a bad way) and firmer.  Also, pan frying requires a bit more of your time and presence as you need to keep an eye on things, whereas if you oven bake, you can just pop it in and forget about it for a little while.  Either way, it’s delicious and a frequent meal in our home.  Enjoy

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