Scrambled tofu with spinach, pine nuts and raisins

by Alice on marzo 13, 2008

             
If you have to convince someone that tofu is a tasty alternative to meat and animal proteins, try with scrambled tofu. Scrambled tofu allows you to be very creative: it can be paired with almost any kind of vegetable, from zucchini to carrots, from seaweeds to peppers (just to list a few). It’s also great with nuts. I think that firm or extra firm tofu work best for this kind of recipe but this is just my personal suggestion as I know that some people prefer the softer version. Choose extra fresh spinach.

Ingredients

250 g firm, organic tofu (GMO-free)
1 1/2 cups cooked spinach
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
1 tablespoon organic shoyu
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted 
grated zest of 1 organic lemon
whole sea salt, to taste
chili powder, to taste

Makes 2-4 servings.

Directions

Blanch the tofu by placing it in a pan of boiling water. Simmer for 2 minutes, remove the tofu from the boiling water and rinse it under cold water. Set aside. 

It’s always a good idea to blanch tofu before sautéing it or baking it or using it for dips. The blanching procedure, which is very easy and takes only a few minutes, makes tofu more absorbent of flavours and its soy protein a lot more digestible.

In a wok, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until it’s tender, then add the shoyu and the rice malt syrup. Keep cooking over medium heat for 1 more minute. If you are using frozen spinach you can throw it into the wok once you have cooked it separately in a pan of boiling water (and drained them well) and sautè for a couple of minutes. If you choose fresh spinach you’ll have to figure out the amounts (as you’re going to need more than 1 1/2 cups) and stir fry the spinach in the wok until wilted. Crumble the tofu using your hands and add it to the vegetables. Cook for 3-5 minutes, then add the pine nuts, raisins, chili, lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and chili if necessary, stir and serve.


Posted in: cooked

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Eric Gower marzo 14, 2008 alle 18:05

Looks delish Alice. I do a version of this dish, except I use soft tofu. I get everything ready, and add the soft tofu right at the end and very gently mix it all together.

Can I ask: how hard is it being a vegan in Italy? Do Italians generally accept it?

2 Alice marzo 14, 2008 alle 19:48

I’m not 100% vegan, I haven’t been eating any meat for 13 years now, but I still might have cheese and eggs now and then. I’ve been posting vegan recipes because this is the way I have been eating lately but I don’t define myself a vegan, although my diet is almost completely vegan and I like experimenting with vegan recipes and I love vegan food and I certainly tend to avoid non-vegetable ingredients. Anyway, to answer you question, being a vegan in Italy is not that common, and it’s not that easy if you want to have nice vegan food when you dine out, although it’s true that Italian cuisine uses lots of fresh vegetables. I’ve realized that people who are interested in a natural/vegetarian/vegan diet around here are more than I expected, but I would say there’s still a lot of work to do for veganism in Italy.

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