Today I had in mind to make something completely different for lunch. I have no idea why I ended up with this recipe. Mysteries of the brain. It certainly made my day. This is vegan, not that I am vegan but sometimes I like a clean, no-animal dish. It just depends on what I had during the week and this week, I think I had too much fish/seafood. My body clearly communicates with me on what he wants, and today he said no dairy and no animals please. So I had to listen. The body knows.

Originally, I was thinking to eat a potatoes or yams mille feuilles as a main dish (literally translated into “thousand leaves”, not sure what the English translation is, and I am not motivated to Google it). Usually mille feuille is a famous traditional French pastry made with layers of puff pastry with layers of vanilla custard. In this case, since it’s a multi layer vegetable dish, we can also call it mille feuille.

Then I thought ok, yam mille feuille sounds great but what do I eat with it…since it’s more of a side dish than anything else. One thought is always leading to another one, and another one, and finally I decided on tofu.

I used heirloom tomatoes because they have a less seeds and not watery like the other tomatoes. Besides, they have sweet delicious flavors.

This dish is simple. What I mean by simple is in terms of flavors, it’s subtle and nothing strong or overpowering, or pungent. Nothing like that, just simple, a few herbs, no spices or chili. Mellow and very pleasant. I enjoyed myself, and ate many portions that I was not suppose to. Tant pis!

Ingredients for 2

For the mille feuilles

• 1/2 large yams, peeled and sliced thin using a mandoline
• 2 zucchini, sliced thin using a mandoline
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 2 tbs basil (or mixed herbs such as parsley, chives, etc…), finely chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the tofu

• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 tofu steaks (3/4 in thick, 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches)
• corn starch (enough for dusting two sides of the tofu)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tbs soy sauce (reduced salt)
• 1 tsp mirin

For the mushrooms/tomato fondue

• 1 tbs olive oil1
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 1.5 cups mixed wild mushrooms (maitake, trumpet royale, pioppini, forest nameko, etc…)
• 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 tbs dry white wine
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the mille feuilles

Preheat oven at 375F.

Using a mandoline, slice yams and zucchini into very thin slices. Place in a mixing container and combine the two vegetables. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, garlic and basil (or mixed herbs). And add salt and pepper. Mix well to coat the vegetable slices.

Using a muffin rack, place one slice of yam, then a few slices of zucchini, alternating until you reach the top.

Bake in the oven until cooked and browned on top (about 15-20 min)

For the tofu steak

Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Coat tofu with corn starch and remove excess starch. Brown tofu on both sides until golden brown and crunchy. Remove oil from the pan. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Add this mixture to the tofu and reduce heat. Cook for a few minutes until tofu is caramelized and sauce reduced.

For the tomato-mushrooms fondue

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add shallots and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and cook stirring for a few minutes, then add tomatoes and wine. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cook until water evaporates and drizzle with olive oil.

Serve mille feuilles on the sides with tofu steak in the middle topped with tomato-mushroom fondue. Sprinkle with basil and serve hot.

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