When I put my head on my pillow that night, it suddenly occurred to me that frozen and thawed tofu would be great in a pasta sauce, a little like a meat sauce. The next morning, I started to text her my ideas and quickly realized this was a recipe I wanted to share on my blog as well.
Why use frozen tofu? Freezing tofu firms up the texture making it chewier and more porous even after it's thawed. The chunks of tofu have a satisfying bite and soak up the flavours from the sauce like a sponge. Freeze the tofu, in the package, for at least 24 hours and thaw completely before making the sauce. Once thawed, open the package, drain the water, and using your hands, squeeze as much water out of the tofu as you can. You will be surprised at how much squeezing it can take before it breaks. Break it into little chunks or large crumbles, and set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
Canned Italian plum tomatoes will give your sauce the best flavour. I used salt-free San Remo crushed and diced Italian plum tomatoes. Add traditional Italian seasonings along with some fennel seeds and ground cayenne pepper and you'd think you are eating at fine Italian restaurant.
makes 6-8 servings
1-350 gm (almost a pound) package of firm tofu, frozen for 24 hours, thawed, and broken up
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems chopped, leaves cut into ribbons
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons gluten-free tamari
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1-125 ml jar capers, drained and rinsed
1-798 ml (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1-798 ml (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
To your health and happiness,
Beans and Rice