I had to find something quick to make for lunch today, I just had 45 min to prepare and eat my lunch so that was a bit of challenge. For a fast food dish, I can say that this was a well done project. This soup is flavorful, nutritious and light, and needless to say quick to prepare, you just need to have the ingredients handy. I always keep chick peas in my pantry. When you don’t have time to cook them, you can use jarred one.

I started with the same way as making dahl, which was my inspiration in this dish. Then you had toasted spices when the soup is cooked and mashed, and instead of cilantro I use two handful of mixed greens (added at the end). Tofu is optional, but I felt like eating tofu today so it added an extra pleasant texture.

The great thing about this soup is that it will satisfy you for the whole day, you will not be hungry around 4-5pm wanting something to chew on. I love that feeling of feeling just right.

Ingredients for 2-3 people

• 1 tbs + 1 olive oil
• 1 tbs onion + 1, chopped
• 1 inch piece ginger, grated
• 1 lb cooked chick peas
• 5 ripe tomatoes, peeled, chopped and seeds removed
• vegetable broth enough to cover the vegetables
• Turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 handful of baby mixed greens, chopped (spinach, kale, chards, etc…)
• 4 tbs extra firm tofu, cubed
• salt and pepper

Preparation

In a pot heat olive oil, then add onions and let it soften. Add cooked chick peas, tomatoes, turmeric, ginger and broth. Let it cook for about 20 minutes.

In a pan, heat olive oil. Add onion, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and let it cook until onions are brown and seeds start to pop. Add garlic and stir for about 20 seconds, then remove from heat.

In a small pan, saute tofu in a little oil until browned on all sides. Remove from heat and keep warm.

When the soup is cooked, using a hand mixer, start mixing the soup but leave some pieces do not mix to a smooth texture. Adjust with salt and pepper. Put back on heat and add spice mixture and chopped greens. Stir until the greens are wilted.

Pour soup on plates, divide 1 tbs of tofu on top of each plate and drizzle with olive oil.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2017/11/a-la-va-vite-tomato-and-chickpea-soup-with-spices-and-saute-tofu/feed/ 1 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2017/03/more-vegan-layers-of-spaghetti-squash-with-vegetables-and-tofu-polenta-cakes-with-herbes-de-provence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=more-vegan-layers-of-spaghetti-squash-with-vegetables-and-tofu-polenta-cakes-with-herbes-de-provence http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2017/03/more-vegan-layers-of-spaghetti-squash-with-vegetables-and-tofu-polenta-cakes-with-herbes-de-provence/#comments Thu, 30 Mar 2017 23:58:18 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=18506 Courge spaghetti aux légumes et tofu, galettes de polenta aux herbes de Provence

Spaghetti squash is very versatile, delicious and fun to eat. I would not say it can replace spaghetti because if you are craving spaghetti, eating spaghetti squash will not satisfy you but it’s a light vegetable that can be prepared like spaghetti, so you just have to use your imagination. It would be a quick dish to prepare if you didn’t have to cook the squash.

The trick is to not over cook the squash or it will get mushy and soft and produce water, so the texture will be difficult to handle. The fun part of eating spaghetti squash is to work with the stringy texture, so I recommend to not overcook it.

I used express polenta that cooks in a few minutes, it will save you a lot of time. Regular polenta takes hours to cook so when using it as a element in a dish instead like this one instead of being the main focus of a dish, I use express polenta. Usually the quantity is 4 tbs per person for 1/4 liter liquid. since we are using it as a cake in this recipe, I used less.

Ingredients for 2-3

For the polenta

• 2 cups (or 1/2 liter) vegetable broth
• herbes de Provence
• 8 tbs express polenta

For the spaghetti squash

• 1 small spaghetti squash cut in half lengthwise, wrapped in foil
• 300 g extra firm tofu finely diced
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 2 heirloom tomatoes, seeds removed, peeled and chopped
• 2 zucchini diced
• 1 small red bell pepper diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• piment d’Espelette
• 1 tbs chives, chopped

Preparation

For the polenta

In a pot, bring broth to a boil. Add herbes de Provence, then add polenta gradually. Stir constantly until thick and homogeneous. Remove from heat. Spread on a wooden board and make it 1.5 cm thick. let it cool to make it solid. When solid, cut rounds with a rind (that you will use to mount that little “tower” shape).

For the spaghetti squash

Preheat oven to 400F. Wrap the squash in foil. Bake in the oven for about 45 min until cooked but still firm to the touch.

In a pan, heat olive oil. Add tofu and cook tofu on all sides until golden. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, add extra olive oil. Add onion and let it soften. Add all vegetables, garlic and piment d’Espelette. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cover and let cook at medium heat until tomato has reduced and vegetables cooked but still firm. Add tofu and chives. Mix well.

Place one polenta cake at the bottom of a plate. Using your rind, add some squash mixture. Add another polenta cake, and more squash. Drizzle some olive oil around and decorate with fresh herbs.

I am going back to my phase of vegan cuisine. Once in a while I just want to eat plants only, it makes me happy. I usually do have an 85% plant based diet, but I want to be 100% plant based for a couple of months. I am leaving fro France next Monday and looking forward to discovering some new products while I am there.

I was browsing through my vegan cookbooks and one of my favorite is called “Great Chefs Cook Vegan” and I found an inspiring recipe from Jason Cunnigham from which I had made quite a bit of changes to the original recipe, but kept the essence of the dish.

I found those delicious green tea brown rice noodles that are very easy to prepare, you don’t have to cook them, just soak them in hot water for a bit and the trick is done. You could easily substitute the noodles by brown rice if you prefer, but I love the chewiness of brown rice noodles, so for me no substitution is needed.

I discovered this particular red seaweed called dulse (or sea lettuce). It is very nutritious, has high protein content and contains lots of fibers and mineral (like most seaweeds). When saute in a pan, it gets crunchy and tends to develop a bacon-like flavor and quite tasty. I like to use it as a topping on tofu or salads or vegetables.

Ingredients for 4

For the tofu and eggplant

• 2 packages extra firm tofu (about 8oz), cut into 1/2 thick slices
• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2 thick slices (same size as tofu)
• salt
• 1/2 cup reduced salt soy sauce
• 1/3 cup sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbs grated ginger

For Coconut emulsion

• 1 tbs sunflower oil
• 1/4 cup onion, finely minced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 lemongrass stalk (end only), finely minced
• 1 tsp red curry powder or madras curry
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• salt

For the mushrooms, romanesco and noodles

• 200 g brown rice noodles
• 1 tbs sunflower oil
• 1 shallot, finely minced
• 1 romanesco
• 1.5 cups wild mixed mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, etc…)
• 2 tbs mirin
• salt

Preparation

For the eggplant and tofu

Drain tofu and pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess water. Sprinkle salt on eggplant slices and let sit for one hour until it releases water. Rinse and pat dry.

In a mixing bowl combine say sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and ginger and mix well.

In a deep tray, place tofu and eggplant. Take 3/4 of the above marinade and pour over tofu and eggplant. Coat well and marinate for about one hour.

For the coconut curry émulsion

Heat oil in a small pot and saute onions. Add garlic, ginger and lemongrass and cook 3 minutes at medium heat. Add curry powder and stir for about 3 more minutes. make sure not to burn the curry. Add broth and cook until the mixture has reduced. Add coconut milk, simmer for about 5 min, then remove from heat.

Blend mixture in a blender until smooth texture. Strain the sauce and return to stove with low heat. Add salt and keep warm.

To make the crispy dulse, saute in a pan with olive oil until crunchy. Make sure not to burn it or it will get bitter.

For the noodles

Soak noodles in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with left marinade from tofu.

For the mushrooms and romanesco

In a pan saute shallot in vegetable oil, add mushrooms and romanesco. Add 2 tbs mirin and simmer with lid until the water evaporates and romanesco cooked all the way through but still firm.

Who said tofu is boring? When you start preparing it like you would prepare meat, it’s the same thing. Meat by itself is boring too in my opinion. The great thing about tofu is that it absorbs all the flavors it is exposed to. So you cook it the same way, you would cook meat, and the problem is solved.

I like to always have two vegetable dishes on my plate, mo matter what I eat, so you can play around with this recipe. I always say recipes are just there to give you ideas, it’s not something rigid, you can modulate them to your tastes.

This recipe is very simple, it would almost be an express dish, if you didn’t have to cook the spaghetti squash which takes quite sometime.

 Ingredients for 2

For the tofu skewers

• 1 extra firm tofu package, drained and cut into 1 inch squares
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 inch ginger pieces, grated
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbs sake
• 1 tbs coconut sugar
• salt and pepper

For the spaghetti squash

• 1 small spaghetti squash, cut lengthwise
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 3 large king oyster mushrooms, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 3 large heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seed removed and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbs dry white wine
• 2 tbs mixed herbs (parsley, basil, chives, etc…)
• Salt and pepper

For the dandelions greens

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• chili flakes
• 1 bunch dandelions, cut into 1.5 inches
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the tofu

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except tofu. Mix well, then add tofu, coat it with marinade and let marinate for about 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Grill on a skillet until golden brown.

For the Spaghetti squash

Cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise. Wrap it in aluminum foil, making sure that it’s sealed and no air is going through the wrap. Bake in the oven at 390F for about 45 min. Remove from the oven, unwrap and remove seeds. With a fork carefully detach the spaghetti from the skin and place in a container.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add shallots. When shallot are soft, add mushrooms. Stir well. Add tomatoes, garlic and wine. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cook until water evaporates from tomatoes and tomatoes thicken. Add mixed herbs at the end.

Add spaghetti squash to the tomato-mushrooms mixture and mix well.

For the dandelions

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add garlic, chili and stir until fragrant. Add dandelions, salt and pepper. Add stir well until wilted.

Serve spaghetti squash, add tofu skewers on top and dandelions all around. Drizzle with olive oil and eat hot.

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.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/09/yams-and-zucchini-mille-feuilles-saute-tofu-steak-wild-mushrooms-and-tomato-fondue/feed/ 0 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/07/the-other-grean-bean-curry-mung-beans-galettes-and-tofu-garlic-dipping-sauce/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-other-grean-bean-curry-mung-beans-galettes-and-tofu-garlic-dipping-sauce http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/07/the-other-grean-bean-curry-mung-beans-galettes-and-tofu-garlic-dipping-sauce/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:11:42 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=11766 L’autre haricot vert – Galettes de haricots mung au curry, et sauce tofu à l’ail

I don’t often cook with mung beans, but once in a while I like to eat them, they’re so cute and round and tiny with a little white eye staring at you.

Of course, I didn’t grow up eating those beans since they’re mainly used in Asian cuisine, and growing up Asian cuisine was not part of my diet.

I remember in Nancy, the first time I ate Asian food, was in a Vietnamese restaurant, the only one in town, I must have been 13 year old (so it’s been a long time!), it was located in a gallery (and still is).

Then I used crab mushrooms, as an accompaniment, those look like beech mushrooms to me, but they seem to be different. I saw a box of crab mushroom at the Asian store, next to a box of  beech mushrooms so I came to the conclusion that they’re two different kinds of mushrooms. If I am wrong, please let me know. I would love to know.

The exciting part of this dish is that it’s vegan…and absolutely delicious. The tofu dipping sauce is so creamy and fragrant that the non-tofu friendly crowd will forget it’s tofu. I used regular tofu but silken tofu would be even better. Do not be intimidated by tofu, it’s such a versatile little ingredients and due to its neutral flavor, you can create so many dipping sauces an have a tofu makeover session! it’s so much fun to play with it!

Ingredients for about 10-12 galettes

For the galettes

• 170 g dried mung beans
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, finely diced
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 1 tsp curry powder
• a dash of soy sauce
• 2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
• 2 tbs mint, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the mushrooms

• 1 box of crab mushrooms
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 tbs cilantro, chopped

For the tofu dipping sauce

• 1/4 lb tofu
• 2 tbs soy yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp soy sauce

Preparation

For the galettes

Cook mung beans in water until tender. Drain well and let cool. Mash with a potato masher or with your hands.

Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and brown them. Add peppers, and leeks and cook until tender. Add carrots and stir for a few minutes. Add curry powder, stir well and cook for a few more minutes until all the vegetables are coated with the curry powder. Add soy sauce and stir.

Add the vegetables to the mashed mung beans and mix well to obtain a homogenous mixture. Add sesame seeds and mint. Form patties usig your hands. Coat each patty with panko crumbs.

Heat olive oil in a pan, place each galette in the pan and cook both sides until golden brown. remove from pan and serve hot with crab mushrooms and tofu sauce.

For the crab mushrooms

Was mushroom and disassemble them. In a pan, heat olive oil, add onion, ginger and cook the mixture until fragrant, then add garlic and cook for a few extra minutes. Add mushrooms, stir well, then add mirin. Cook until the mushrooms are cooked but still moist. Add cilantro.

For the tofu dipping sauce

Place tofu and other ingredients in a blender, and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Yes time flies and I just realized that this is my 300th post! I completely forgot the 100th and 200th…

I knew when I ordered a new washing machine and dryer that something was going to happen and something did happen…today’s delivery has been canceled because they were in back order. So I have to keep running the dryer six cycles to have the clothes dry. I bet PG&E are thrilled and my mom to lift me up, told me “you don’t need a dryer, it ruins all the clothes”. Very few people have a dryer in Europe, so for most Europeans it’s an unnecessary item…let’s not put all Europeans in the same basket, let’s just say for my mom…but I don’t know anyone who has a dryer among my friends and family.

I was somehow disappointed and bummed, and not in the mood for cooking long and complicated meals…and since I had all the ingredients without rushing to my Greek grocery store, there was no question, I was going to make this soup. I used to make it quite often, then for whatever unexplained reason, it stopped appearing on my table…let’s go back to old recipes, sometimes you forget how great they are. This soup is filled with vegetables and is absolutely a, and 100% vegan. The tofu croutons do add this chewy/crunchy texture that blends beautifully with a spoonful of fragrant creamy soup. You can serve this with a tapenade tartine, so the leftover tapenade from yesterday came in handy. The olives complement the flavors of the soup to perfection. For the broth quantities, you will have to adjust it to your tastes, some people like their soup thicker, some people prefer it thinner, so you will have to play around with it.

Ingredients for 4

• 1 eggplant, sliced crosswise
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 zucchini, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and sliced
• 4 tomatoes, peeled and seedless
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbs oregano
• 1 tbs olive oil
• vegetable broth
• extra firm tofu
• flour
• fleur de sel
• pepper

Preparation

Grill bell pepper under broiler until the skin get charred. Peel and remove seeds. Cut in slices.

Place all the remaining vegetables in a tray, sprinkle with fleur de sel, pepper and olive oil and broil under broiler. Turn the vegetables both sides to grill them.

Mix bell peppers with the rest of the vegetables, add broth garlic, oregano and using a hand blender, mix to obtain a smooth purée.

For the tofu croutons, cut tofu in small cubes, coat them with flour, remove excess flour. Heat olive oil in a pan saute tofu at high temperature until both sides turn golden brown. Serve in bowls, add tofu croutons in the middle and drizzle with olive oil and extra oregano.

This soup can be eaten lukewarm or hot. If you like it hot, just heat it up on the stove for a few minutes before adding tofu.

I know that some of you might think that woman at Citron et Vanille doesn’t make real food, those bites and tiny little things cannot satisfy a hunger, and does not seem like “food”. Real people want real food. I will have to somehow disagree un petit peu!

I love to serve LOTS of small bites, full of flavors when I entertain. Now for example if this will sound more real to you, you can take a regular size plate, place some sprouts, spinach leaves and place with 3 or 4 bites, and top it off with the sauce. Does it sound more real? If you do actually present it that way, it will look not only very real, but incredibly flavorful as well.

I don’t know about you, but my favorite dishes to prepare are appetizers and hors d’oeuvres. I never liked gigantic plates of food in front of me, I find this overwhelming to look at, never knowing where to start.

I rarely use tofu and fish, probably because in my mind tofu is vegan and mixing it with fish defeats its purpose, well the combination of those two ingredients made the bites very moist and soft. For the harissa sauce, there are a few different versions but I like this one. You can decrease the degree of the heat by adding more or less chili peppers. You can make extra harissa and use it with grilled meats or fish, or even spread it on sandwiches or just on toasted bread. The proportions I list here will give you extra, so if you want less, decrease proportions. You can keep the sauce in an air-tight container for about one week.

I just realized that this weekend is Mother’s day in the US, in France is the last Sunday of May, so I imagine many celebration dishes will be all over the web. This could be a nice way to start the celebration of motherhood, thinking about it, my mom would like it, it is somehow like her, soft inside, with a touch of fire on the outside. So happy mother’s day to American moms!

Ingredients for about 10 bites

For the bouchées

• 4.23 oz (or 120 g) extra firm tofu
• 4.23 oz (or 120 g) cod or any dense white fish
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 2 tbs cilantro, chopped
• paprika
• cumin
• salt and pepper
• spinach leaves for decoration
• alfalfa sprouts for decoration

For the harissa sauce

• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 red chili peppers
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 3 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the fish-tofu bites

Blend all ingredients in a mixer and grind to a fine consistency but not too fine, you still want to see the “green” inside. Form small balls the size of a walnut. Place in a sheet and broil under broiler. Broil until golden brown on all sides.

For the harissa

Char broil, red bell peppers and red chili pepper under broiler, until the skin has grilled and starts detaching from the peppers. Remove from the oven, let them cool. Peel and remove the seeds from peppers.

Blend all ingredients in a blender into a smooth purée-type of consistency.

Serve in ceramic spoons or in small dishes. Place one spinach leaf, some alfalfa sprouts and one fish-tofu bite topped with harissa sauce.

I heard so many terrible tofu complaints from so many people that I need to defend this poor little white thingy. I don’t want tofu to be the “forgotten” ingredient, and it tends to be, of course except among vegetarians or vegans and maybe Asia. I think tofu is a very pleasant product to use and also versatile that people should include more often in their diet. Even for the ones who want “real” food (I heard that before) or something tasty, they should try this recipe. I don’t make it very often but once in a while, when well spiced up, I really like it.

I made this for a birthday buffet party with all French/Italians, who are big meat eaters (my friends are) and just the thought of tofu makes them cringe, “ah non! pas de tofu!!” or “c’est quoi ce truc?”, “ma chi te lo mangia il tofu?”. Surprisingly, those polpette went quicker than I had expected, which made me laugh deep inside. I have some of the most traditional friends when it comes to food, they are so basic in their eating habits, that you would not believe it. The traditional Friday night “steak-frites” (steak and fries) in the same restaurant has been a must for years. I do not like habits in the kitchen and especially in my diet, but some people do, I think it gives them a sense of security and comfort. It gives me anxiety.

My theory is the “three tries” or “three chance” theory, I use it to almost everything…If I don’t like something once, I will try it again, and I think after three times, I somehow have a good idea of what it is. It’s the same thing when dealing with people, restaurants, etc… If I have a bad experience once or twice it doesn’t mean that’s the way it usually is. So people deserve more than one chance and food too!

These polpette are on the tender side and quite fragile since they don’t contain any eggs nor bread crumbs (you can add one egg and some breadcrumbs if you wish) because I wanted to keep them vegan, so when turning them make sure you use a small size spatula, or they might break.

Ingredients for 6 polpette

• 1/2 lb (or 220 g) extra firm tofu
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 leek, chopped crosswise
• 1 shallot
• 1 inch ginger root, grated
• 1 tsp mild curry
• chili powder (to your taste)
• 1 tbs light soy sauce
• 1 tbs white sesame seeds
• 2 tbs cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil (or more)
• salt and pepper

For the salad

• 1 lb cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 tbs avocado oil
• Juice of one meyer lemon
• 2 chives, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the polpette

First in a container, crumble tofu with your hands, it needs to be a crumbly mixture.

In a small pan, brown sesame seeds and set aside.

Cook leeks in olive oil, until soft and tender and set aside.

In another pan, heat olive oil, add shallot and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add curry and chili powder and stir well for a few minutes (but do not burn it), add soy sauce, and mix well. Add leeks and carrots and stir well so the curry is well blended. Add sesame seeds and add this mixture to the crumbled tofu. Add cilantro. Using your hands, mix it very well so that the curry has penetrated all the ingredients and the mixture has a yellowish color.

Form patties and cook in a pan with olive oil. Carefully turn them to brown them on both sides.

Make the salad combining all the ingredients and serve with polpette.