Category Archives: Main Dish

Creamy Baked Tofu Taquitos

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Julie • 1 Comment
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I never get tired of Mexican food. I strongly believe that food wrapped/rolled/stuffed into things is pretty much as good as it gets, and Mexican food has that down pat. I also love that it’s pretty easy to find satisfying vegetarian options in Mexican restaurants (although beware the refried beans). Most of all, I love that Mexican food is easy to make it home, and that you can usually make it much healthier than you could ever hope to get in a restaurant.

This recipe for creamy baked chicken taquitos began making its merry way around the internet several years ago. After reading wistfully of its charms in blog after blog, it almost began to haunt me – everywhere I went, I seemed to be staring at it, but I couldn’t have it! The humanity! Even the disgusting deep-fried messes they call taquitos at 7-11 seemed to be mocking me as they slowly rotated over and over on their dirty griddle. After suffering through this for years, I finally decided to Take Back the Taquito.

“But Julie,” you may be saying, “how can you take back the taquito when you never had the taquito?” If you are saying that, then you’re arguing semantics. And you know what rhymes with semantic? Pedantic. So there. Now eat one of the taquitos I just took back, and like it.

You’ll need to plan a couple of days ahead in order to freeze and thaw the tofu. Remove the tofu from the package and press gently with paper towels to remove excess water. Place in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and seal tightly. Freeze for at least a day. Remove the night before or morning of the day you plan to make these and place in the refrigerator to thaw. After thawing but before shredding, gently press with several paper towels again to remove additional moisture. This will give the tofu a firmer, chewier texture.

I’m going to say one more thing about these taquitos before I beg you to make them – whether you’re a vegetarian or not really doesn’t matter with this recipe, so please don’t be put off by the tofu. In fact, I think this is a great introduction to tofu for those who perceive it as a wobbly, spongy, inadequate meat substitute. Freezing it first firms it up a lot, and the shredded texture mimics chicken so closely that I honestly don’t think most people would be able to tell the difference, especially with all the flavor in this recipe. Just this once, give tofu the benefit of the doubt. Your taste buds will thank you.

Tastes like chicken. Actually, better.

Creamy Baked Tofu Taquitos
Yield: about 16 taquitos

Ingredients:
1 package (14-16 oz) extra-firm tofu, frozen and thawed
4 oz light cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/3 cup salsa
3 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 generous tsp jarred garlic
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 scallions, chopped finely
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
6-inch flour tortillas (you can use corn, but I find flour easier to work with and I prefer the taste)
Cooking spray
Coarse sea salt (optional)

Instructions
Using a vegetable peeler, box grater, or your fingers, shred the tofu into strips and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, lime juice, salsa, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, and scallions. Stir well to combine. Add the cheese and shredded tofu and stir until well mixed.

Remove the tortillas from their plastic bag and place the stack between two paper towels. Microwave for about 30 seconds. This will make them pliable enough to roll.

Place 2-3 tablespoons of filling into a tortilla (I did closer to 2 Tbsp because I’m all about quantity and more taquitos = yay! Also makes them easier to roll). Roll the tortilla away from you, as tightly as you can. Place seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with the rest of tortillas and filling, ensuring that the taquitos aren’t touching each other on the baking sheet.

Spray the tops of the taquitos lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the ends are lightly browned. Serve with refried beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and a large margarita.

Source: Adapted and vegetarianized from Our Best Bites

Filed Under: Main Dish

Vegetarian Five Bean Chili

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Julie • 2 Comments
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Look, I like spring. Who doesn’t? New life in the air, the bitter chill of winter replaced by the still-crisp promise of coming warmth, the hardiest of crocuses fighting their way up through the solid remnants of the last frost…that’s all well and good, but here’s my problem:

IT’S NOT SPRING.

Today is the first of February, and I’ve just been informed by my usually dour but suddenly cheery local meteorologist that it’ll be 67 degrees today. Tell me that on the first of April? I’ll be ecstatic. But right now, I feel cheated of my winter. Where are my evenings huddled under blankets with mugs of spiced (and spiked, obviously) cider? Where are my hushed mornings laced with the whisper of falling snow? Most importantly, where is my chance to ceaselessly mock the panicked hordes buying the grocery stores out of toilet paper and bread? No, I’m not ready for spring yet, and I will kick, scream, stubbornly wear my winter coat, and make hearty comfort food until 11:59 on March 19th. So there, spring.

I’m sharing my favorite chili recipe on this particular day, a 67-degree February day, as an act of peaceful protest against this winter’s apparent desire to go out like a lamb without ever really roaring in. I will call it Occupy: Winter. When we get two feet of snow in three weeks, you’ll likely point me back to this post and laugh, but I’ll just be patting myself on the back for a successful campaign.

All bitterness about floundering winters aside, I can eat this chili in any weather (although you might want to ask me again halfway through a DC July). It has a ton of flavor, and is extraordinarily hearty for a vegetarian chili thanks to its two special ingredients – peanut butter and cocoa powder. No, before you ask, I did not have a glass of wine and accidentally shuffle my chili recipe with my peanut butter cup recipe – I know it sounds strange, but these two additions make this chili everything wonderful that it is. Although you can’t taste it, the peanut butter adds a rich flavor that tempers the heat, and the cocoa a subtle depth and beautiful color. Together with five different beans, you can taste winter in every bite, even when it’s 67 degrees. Something you can also taste? An incredibly easy one-pot meal that’s perfect for Super Bowl Sunday.

Vegetarian Five Bean Chili
Yield: approximately one metric ton. Seriously – this very nearly overflows my 6-quart stockpot. Feel free to halve it if you’re not a sucker for leftovers and pawning food off on everyone you know like I am, or if you’re not making this for a large group of hungry football fans.

Ingredients:
1 cup dried kidney beans
1 cup dried cannellini beans
1 cup dried black beans
1 cup dried pinto beans
1 cup dried navy beans
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
8 oz cremini or white mushrooms, quartered
3 carrots, diced
2 red or green bell peppers, diced
3 serrano chili peppers, minced (remove ribs and seeds for less heat)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp dried oregano
3 cups vegetable stock or water
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Any toppings your heart desires (such as grated cheddar cheese, scallions, raw onion, cilantro, sour cream)

Instructions:
Place the beans together in a large pot and cover with three inches of water. Bring to a hard boil for one minute over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand at least one hour. Drain and set aside.*

Heat olive oil in the same large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms and bell peppers and saute, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the serrano chilies and garlic and cook for two minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and oregano and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.

Add beans and vegetable stock or water. Simmer, partially covered, for 20-30 minutes, until beans are softened. Add tomatoes and return to a simmer. Whisk in peanut butter, cocoa powder, salt and pepper and let simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes (I generally make this on a weekend and let it simmer for hours, which allows the flavors to deepen as the chili reduces and thickens).

Serve with toppings and enjoy huddled under piles of blankets. If your spouse/significant other/roommate insists that s/he’s too hot and doesn’t want to be under a blanket because it’s almost 70 degrees, shush them and feed them more chili.

*NOTE: You can of course replace dried beans with canned if you’re having an impulsive chili craving (it happens – trust me, I know). 1 cup of dried beans = about 3 cups once cooked. Your standard can will be a little more than two cups – when I’ve made this with canned beans, I simply omit the 3 cups of stock/water and add the (rinsed and drained) beans and tomatoes at the same time.

Filed Under: Main Dish, Vegan

Pistachio Crusted Tofu

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Julie • 1 Comment
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I’d be lying if I said it’s easy to keep tofu perpetually interesting. If you don’t eat meat, chances are you’ve had tofu six ways from Sunday – fried, baked, sautéed, roasted, breaded, blended, smashed, scrambled, shredded…and now I sound like Bubba. The point is, tofu can get old – if you let it. It’s all too easy to get stuck in a rut with any food. The same way a lot of people have the old go-to chicken recipe that they can whip up in a snap, but has kind of lost its zing, so goes tofu.

I don’t like to allow myself to fall into ruts, in life or in food, so I’m always looking for ways to keep foods like tofu that are staples for us interesting and fresh. It’s incredibly easy to make the same stir-fry four nights a week and have the leftovers for lunch the next day, but it’s also incredibly boring. For me, too much repetition takes the fun out of cooking, and I find myself more inclined to heat up some processed frozen garbage or order take-out rather than have the same old thing yet again. So I look for inspiration in my towering stack of cookbooks, and on the internet, which is where I stumbled upon this fantastically simple yet undeniably rut-breaking recipe. A pistachio-laden breadcrumb topping clings to getting-more-interesting-by-the-minute tofu that’s first been coated in a silky maple-mustard sauce (which is good enough to eat plain). Served with a quick homemade sweet chili dipping sauce on the side, it’s good to go in under an hour and will send that tired four-night-a-week stir-fry straight to a dark corner in the back of your mind, where it can sit and think about what it’s done.

Pistachio Crusted Tofu
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the tofu:
1 14 oz package extra-firm tofu (not silken)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp brown mustard
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Vegenaise (or mayonnaise)

For the sweet chili sauce:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1-3 tsp dried red chili flakes (1 for mild, 3 for hot)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water

Instructions:
Drain tofu and press lightly to remove extra water. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and brush with the tablespoon of soy sauce. Set aside while you prepare the coating.

Combine mustard, maple syrup, 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, and Vegenaise in a bowl.

In a food processor, pulse pistachios until finely ground. Combine ground pistachios, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper in another bowl.

Dip each slice of tofu into the maple-mustard sauce, coating evenly, then dredge in the bowl with the breadcrumb mixture. Coat each side well with the breadcrumbs. Try not to lick your fingers, even though you will have tempting alien-like bulbs of pistachio crumbs extending from them.

Place tofu on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Flip each piece over and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden-brown. Serve warm with sweet chili dipping sauce on the side:

While the tofu is baking, prepare the sweet chili sauce. Combine cornstarch and 2 Tbsp water in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Set aside.

Combine the rest of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for ten minutes over medium heat, until reduced by 1/2. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cornstarch/water mixture. Cook over low heat for another two minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat.

Source: Pistachio crusted tofu adapted from Fat Free Vegan.

Filed Under: Main Dish, Quick & Easy, Vegan

Mushroom and Leek Quiche

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Julie • 0 Comments
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Take a leek.

Being able to make that joke each and every time I make this may in fact be the only reason I like leeks. It’s hard to dislike food that so easily lends itself to 12-year-old humor. In fairness to the leek, though, this is quite good even without the lame jokes. Leeks are milder and sweeter than onions, and are a great way to impart an onion-like flavor without the tears and inevitable halitosis. They also contain less of the sulfur compounds that make onions difficult for some people to digest, and thus make a good substitute for people who don’t tolerate them well. And that is why the leek shall inherit the earth.

Okay then. Now that I’ve indulged my insatiable need to pun, let’s move on. This quiche is a staple for us – although the total prep-and-cook time is close to an hour and a half, it’s all easy, and extremely satisfying to boot. And I’m saying this as somebody who isn’t really a quiche person – my general rationale is along the lines of “if you’re going to throw a bunch of eggs together and call it dinner, why not make an omelet and save us all the hassle?” But this isn’t a quivering three-inch-high egg pile like some quiches. The rich flavors of the roasted mushrooms and leeks are the real stars here – the eggs just quietly hold it all together. Serve with a simple green salad and as many bad leek puns as you can think of.

Mushroom and Leek Quiche
Ingredients:
1 pound mushrooms, quartered or diced (I use a combination of cremini, shiitake, and portabello)
1 bunch leeks, washed and sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup half and half or milk
1.5 cups grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese (about 4 ounces)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)
3 eggs
1 9-inch pie crust
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine mushrooms, leeks, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a large bowl and toss to combine, making sure everything is well coated with the oil. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Return to bowl and stir in cheese.

Prick pie shell with fork and prebake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove and lower oven temperature to 350 F.

Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl. Add the half and half and thyme, and more salt and pepper to taste. Spread mushroom mixture into the pie pan in an even layer and pour half-and-half/egg mixture on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until lightly browned and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Filed Under: Main Dish

Roasted Tofu With Wasabi Dipping Sauce

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Julie • 2 Comments
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I might need to rename this blog. I’m starting to see a theme. I wonder if “foodmostpeoplehate-butireallyloveandwantyoutoloveittoo.com” is already taken. First the brussels sprouts, and now tofu – maybe next time we’ll tackle lima beans.

Tofu and I do not go way back. When I attempted vegetarianism as a teenager, I successfully cut out meat from my diet; however, in doing so, I also invented an entirely new dietary classification known as “pizzatarian.” I wanted nothing to do with anything remotely healthy, let alone anything that contained the words “fermented” and “soybean.” I did suck down an alarming amount of processed fake meat (the creepy bacon that even has the fake fat marbling), but that was as close as I got to tofu until a few years ago.

At some point I will post the tofu recipe that won me over. This is the recipe that’s won a lot of other tofu skeptics over, though, and it’s so good and so deliciously simple that you should really probably make it tonight. The high-temperature roast gives the tofu the pleasing texture of the deep-fried tofu you often see in restaurants, without the fat and grease. The outside is perfectly browned and crispy, the inside chewy and soft. And with a side of wasabi dipping sauce, it’s nothing less than addictive. Pop out a plate in the afternoon as a quick snack, or serve for dinner with broccoli and rice. And enjoy – if I’d known how to make this in high school, Mama Celeste pizza would’ve gone out of business.

Roasted Tofu with Wasabi Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
For the tofu:
1 package extra firm tofu (not silken)
4 tsp olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper (freshly ground, if possible)

For the dipping sauce:
4 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/8 tsp prepared wasabi
1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

Cube the tofu into 1 inch squares. In a large bowl, toss with salt, pepper, and oil, coating evenly. Toss the cubes in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn the tofu cubes over and roast for an additional fifteen minutes, until outsides are browned and puffy.

While the tofu is roasting, combine all ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Serve tofu warm or at room temperature.

Filed Under: Main Dish, Quick & Easy, Snacks, Vegan