black pepper tofu
Every recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbooks "Plenty" and "Plenty More" is a tantalizing feast for of vegetables. I've had my eye on this recipe for ages, and even though I modified it by using smaller quantities of some of the ingredients, it truly did not disappoint! Spicy and tasty, it gives your lips a buzz and you just can't stop eating it!!
ingredients
1 block non-gmo extra-firm tofu, cut into 1" cubes.
1/4 red onion
3 cloves garlic
1" stem fresh ginger root
1 red chili pepper
2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp raw cane sugar
2 Tbsp low-sodium tamari
3 Tbsp+ chives, finely chopped
method
Place the tofu cubes on a plate lined with a clean tea towel. Place another tea towel on top of this and then rest a really heavy flat-based pot on top of this to press and dry the tofu for 15-20 minutes while you prepare your other ingredients.
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Grate the ginger, and remove the seeds from the pepper and finely chop this. Take care when handling the chile, it can cause a burning sensation on your hand, which takes time to go away.
Coat a large front pan with olive oil. On high heat, saute the onion, garlic, and grated ginger root for 3-5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the tofu cubes and saute for another 2 minutes before adding chile, black pepper, sugar, and tamari. Serve with a generous sprinkle of chives.
