Thursday, July 17, 2008

Thinking Outside the Grill, 2.0

We had this magnificent salad last week for dinner. Fresh spinach, marinated and grilled red onions, a bit of bacon (optional for your vegetarian and pescetarian (have you heard this new term?) friends), and, drum roll please...

grilled tofu.

Now stick with me here. I am not a tofu-nut, although I am quickly learning to appreciate its versatility and healthfulness. I tried grilling tofu so I could cross it off my list, as a "tried it, let's move on" cooking experience. Little did I know how tasty grilled tofu can be. It was yummy, SPH liked it (!) and the Sweet Peas ate it up. It also just looked nice:


Here's the recipe I created, I really hope you will give it a try. Look at it this way, tofu is so inexpensive, you don't have that much to lose.

Grilled Tofu Sesame Salad
1 block of extra firm tofu, drained, sliced three times lengthwise and pressed between two towel to get rid of the extra moisture
1 large red onion
10 ounces of organic baby spinach
4 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled
2 T sesame seeds

Marinade (for the onions and tofu):
1/2 c low sodium soy sauce
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 T brown sugar
1 T fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 t hot pepper flakes

Salad Dressing:
1 T sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T honey

Mix the marinade together and place in a 9x13 glass pan. Marinate the tofu and onions for about 15 minutes, turning the tofu to coat about 3-4 times during the 15 minutes. In a preheated and oiled grill pan (or alternatively, on a grill), cook the onions and tofu, for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until both things have a good "browning." Mix the salad dressing and prepare the salad bowls...Toss the spinach and bacon together. Once the tofu and onions are cooked, give them a rough chop and toss them in the bowls. Top with dressing and sesame seeds.

SPC

8 comments:

Slacker Mama said...

Looks deelish. One day we'll have to get together and you can cook me all the things that my husband utterly refuses to try.

Tofu tops that list.

riley said...

Thanks for your nice comment on my blog! Let me know how the granola goes if you make it! I'll be back to check out more of what you have here!

Lauren said...

Hi, I've been lurking for a while, and I really enjoy your insights. I thought I'd introduce myself and share a recent tofu experience--I made your baked burritos and added cubed tofu to the beans. I find that the white wave tofu(non-silk), has the best texture for this. Even my non-food-adventurous husband LOVED them. A great way for me to get extra protein, calcium, and iron, as I'm not much of a meat-eater.

BTW, I found this site through my sister, a former classmate of yours: EBL (farm-girl).

Whew, sorry for such a long comment, I usually don't have so much to say!

Sweet Pea Chef said...

Lauren, Thanks for the tip on the tofu! We have been trying to find new ways to sneak it in too, so what a great idea.

Please tell E I say, "hi!" I am going to try and hit her farmer's market later this summer when I travel to visit my folks.

Lauren said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lauren said...

Will do, and just in case you hadn't heard, the market is now on Sundays!

Renee said...

I made this salad night. My husband and I really liked it. My little girl ate some of the tofu and my son put it in his mouth several times but wouldn't chew or swallow it. I think I need to offer them tofu more often.

Thanks for the healthy and yummy tofu.

Renee said...

I put the leftover salad in flour tortillas for lunch today. The wraps were good.