Originally, I had something else in mind, I wanted to use this tofu as the stuffing of some filo dough triangles. Unfortunately, sometimes things change…since I had no filo dough in my refrigerator. The funny thing is that I was so convinced I had some, so here I am all ready to roll the filo dough but no filo dough at the horizon. I needed a plan B.

Since tofu works well in many different ways, I figure cakes it will be, just no dough.

I wanted some Mediterranean flavors in my tofu, and what’s more Mediterranean than tapenade? This wonderful olive paste that is so fragrant. In this tapenade, I did not include anchovies, I kept it vegan which would go better with this dish.

The great thing about tofu is that it’s naturally bland, so you can season the way you like. It absorbs whatever spice and ingredient you combine it with.

I loved this dish and will definitely make it again for vegetarians and non vegetarians, including myself.

Ingredients for 2

For the tofu cakes

• 230 g extra firm tofu
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 handful kale, finely chopped
• 2 tbs parsley, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs + oat flour
• salt and pepper

For the salad

• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 large yellow bell pepper
• 1 medium eggplant, sliced 1 cm crosswise
• 2 tsp Meyer lemon juice
• 2 tbs extra virgin unrefined olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbs cilantro, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

For the tapenade

• 150 g green olives, pitted
• 1 tsp capers, rinsed
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbs olive oil

Preparation

For the tofu cakes

Squeeze water from tofu, using your hands. With a paper towel, pat dry all excess moisture. In a mixing container, crumble tofu using your hands to obtain a very thin and smooth and almost non-grainy texture. There should not be any thick pieces of tofu.

Add carrots and garlic to tofu.

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add shallots and cook until soften. Add tofu mixture and cook for about 5-7 minutes until carrots soften. Mix well. Remove from heat and place in a mixing container. Add all other ingredients and add the flour at the end. If the mixture is too liquid, add a little more flour.

At this point, the mixture is ready to form little cakes of about 2 inches diameter.

Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook cakes at medium temperature until golden brown on both sides.

For the salad

Char broil the peppers under a broiler. Turn peppers on all sides until the skin is burnt. Remove from oven and place in a plastic bag until cool. Peel the peppers and remove seeds. Cut strips of 1/2 inch wide.

Heat skillet, add eggplant slices and cook until golden brown on each sides. Cut each slice in quarters.

In a mixing container, add peppers, eggplant, and all other ingredients.

For the tapenade

Mix all ingredients in a mixer until smooth but a but with a bit of a grainy texture.

Place some salad on a plate, top it with tofu cakes and add a tsp of tapenade on top

I am still in the middle of boxes and no kitchen cabinets and no silverware and tons of boxes filled with junk stuff…the bad news is that I need to cook tomorrow for some new clients and that I am still wondering how it will happen…All I want right now is sleep 24 hours straight.

This is the second post featuring a sandwich, just because I am not a sandwich fan…but sometimes, they can be fun to make, even if you don’t eat them. I wouldn’t say this is a quick one to make, since you need to grill your vegetables first but still it’s fun put it together and look at all the bright colors combined. When you organize a picnic party, those can come in handy since they’re tons of vegetables packed in two slices of bread, so instead of eating junk food at a picnic, you can actually enjoy some healthy food.

Sandwiches for me, were only eaten during the time my parents and I would leave Nancy to drive to Italy. My mom would make a few of them for the 10 hour drive trip, since my dad would drive straight, without any stop in between point A to point B. You needed to have some sort of food handy in the car. My mom would get up at 2 am and make a few panini per il viaggio and by 3 am we would be on the road. I hated to get up at 2 am…but my dad always wanted to hit the road on Sunday at 3 am because there would be no truck on the freeways (trucks don’t drive on Sundays) and the freeways in Europe are not as large as the one in the US…now at 70 years of old, he still gets up at 2 am to hit the road at 3 pm and there is nothing and no one that will make him change his mind.

In France, the most traditional sandwich you get, is the jambon, beurre, cornichons = ham, butter and cornichons (It’s not really a sandwich country). On a great crunchy baguette, with great ham and salted butter, it’s wonderful. What I like about the real French baguette is that there is very little crumb, the middle is airy and not dense, so it’s not as filling as some other breads. Now many boulangeries are making some fancy sandwiches with all kinds of baguettes and all kinds of stuffing (but always on baguette) and even though I am not a sandwich fan, I somehow like the ones on baguettes once in a rare while because they have a lovely crust and almost no mie (the breadcrumb inside) that is the stuffy part.

Ingredients for 4

For the Kalamata olive tapenade spread

• 1 cup kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup capers
• 3 tbs. olive oil
• ½ tsp garlic crushed
• ½ tsp. extra strong Dijon mustard

For the sandwich

• 2 small size eggplants, cut crosswise
• 3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
• 4 tbs sundried tomatoes
• 1 cup arugula
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 4 tsp parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp oregano, chopped
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 4 tbs crumbled goat cheese
• 4 tbs roasted peppers, sliced and well drained
• 2 tsp olive oil

Preparation

For the spread

mix all ingredients in a mixer.

For the sandwich

Grill eggplants and zucchini in a grill pan or regular grill. Place in a mixing bowl with sliced roasted peppers. Add parsley, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Cut country bread in two, grill on a grill pan or regular grill.
Spread 1 tbs. of tapenade on each slices of the bread. Add arugula, avocado, grilled zucchini and eggplant. Add sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers and goat cheese.

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