Silken Tofu Scramble

One of our favorite weekend breakfasts is tofu scramble. Every time I try another version I make changes to my recipe to improve it.

When we moved to Costa Rica I was disappointed to discover tofu was hard to find. I was accustomed to spending $1.99 for a pound of organic tofu at Wegmans and now the only tofu I could find was silken or canned neither of which was organic. To add insult to injury, the canned version is $5.00 for less than a pound.

My oldest daughter suggested using silken tofu reminding me that it had a similar texture to scrambled eggs. Silken tofu is typically only used in puddings and pies but I took a chance and substituted the extra-firm cold tofu I usually used with a shelf-stable firm silken tofu. The result was a creamy and delicious tofu scramble.

When developing this method I used Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's recipe as a starting point and added my own modifications to create the perfect tofu scramble. I hope you love it as much as we do.


Silken Tofu Scramble

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 scallions, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
10 mushrooms (any kind), sliced
1 (12 oz.) box of firm silken tofu, drained
5 stalks of swiss chard, or any other tender leafy green veg, chopped
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast
1/2 cup vegan cheese, any kind
1/4 tsp. salt

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and mushrooms and cook until onion is translucent. Add garlic during the last minute of cooking.

Add swiss chard, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, and nutritional yeast and cook until spices are fragrant and chard has thoroughly wilted.

Crumble drained tofu into the pan and stir to thoroughly combine. Cook for 5-8 minutes until tofu is heated through. Add vegan cheese and stir until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Minestra

I'm posting this here as I work through revamping my website. Oh, how I'd love to know even a little bit about building one. Sigh.

My mother made this all the time when I was growing up and it was one of my favorite meals. In fact, it was the meal I most often requested she make as my birthday dinner. Maybe I was always a vegan at heart.
Over the years, as much as I tried, I couldn’t get the recipe to taste like Mom's. I tried again this week. Nailed it.

Minestra over Fried Polenta

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced into large chunks

2 cans of kidney beans, undrained

3 bunches of Swiss chard or endive, sliced into short ribbons (stems are okay)

3 ½ Tbs. olive oil, divided

1 Tbs. minced garlic

4 C. vegetable broth

Cornmeal polenta

1. Heat 1 Tbs. of olive oil in a large skillet. Fry the potatoes until the outside is slightly crispy but not thoroughly cooked. Set aside in a bowl.
2. In the same pan, heat up ½ Tbs. olive oil. Add greens and cook until wilted. In the last minute of cooking add minced garlic and stir to combine.
3. Cook polenta according to instructions (I used 1 ½ cups of polenta). After polenta is cooked, press onto a floured surface into a 9x9” square. Polenta should be approximately 1” thick
4. Sprinkle more flour on top of polenta and cut into 9 squares.
5. Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Fry polenta slices for 3 minutes on each side and move to paper towel to drain. You may need to add more oil to the pan as it gets absorbed by the polenta.
6. Heat vegetable broth to boiling in a large pot and add potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes then add beans with their liquid, and greens and garlic mixture. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add salt and/or garlic powder to taste.
7. Serve beans and greens over fried polenta.