The Recipe Room

Is it a dessert?  Is it a main course?  It’s hard to classify precisely although the one thing that’s for sure is that it is 100% awesome yumminess!  I pulled this Baked Tofu in Peanut Butter Sauce recipe out of my hat last Sunday after a meat-loving friend bet me I couldn’t prepare tofu in a way that he would consider delicious or even edible, for that matter.  Since he is notorious for having a sweet tooth, I decided to mix things up a bit and go for something leaning towards dessert than your typical savoury tofu dish.  This was the result.

So, to make a long story short, I made the dish, he tried it, and he was absolutely blown away!  The saltiness of the tamari contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the peanut butter, and the ginger, chilli pepper and garlic seemed like a good idea to give it a bit of a Thai feel.  (Another Thai dish that can be made with tofu is Pad Thai.) It may be a bit rich for some tastes, but if you’ve got a sweet tooth or just love peanut butter, I definitely recommend you try this one right away!

You Need:

• 400g soft tofu
• 3 tbsps gluten-free Tamari Soy Sauce
• 6 tbsps smooth peanut butter
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tsp fresh chilli peppers, finely chopped (can substitute ½ tsp paprika)
• 200 ml boiling water.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.
2. Mix the peanut butter with the boiling water in a bowl.  Stir until all the peanut butter is dissolved.
3. Sauté the ginger, garlic and chilli peppers in a little oil for about 2 minutes or until the garlic starts to brown.
4. Add the spices to the peanut butter and tamari sauce and mix well.
5. Cut the tofu into ½ cm slices.
6. Lay the tofu slices along the bottom of a deep, non-stick baking pan or casserole dish.  If you don’t have a non-stick pan, grease the bottom with a little oil or butter before laying out the tofu.
7. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the tofu slices.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the peanut butter sauce solidifies and starts to bubble at the edges.
9. Serve on top of rice or alongside some steamed veggies.

Ready In:  30 minutes

Serves:  3

Difficulty:   2 out of 5

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve absolutely loved everything Mexican, and when I developed a wheat allergy I was glad to know that at least I’d still be able to eat a lot of my favourite dishes since they tend to use cornflour a lot more than wheat flour.  Or in any case, there are plenty of corn flour alternatives available, as long as you make sure to check the label in case it’s mixed with regular flour.

Anyway, after so many years of eating standard nachos and salsa, I became a little bored with the typical sweet tomato flavour and started to crave something different.  This avocado and mango salsa was the perfect solution and has since become one of my all-time favourite dipping sauces.  The sweetness of the mango is offset perfectly by the spicy peppers and tangy lime juice, and the avocado serves as the glue to bind it all together into one explosive taste sensation! 

If you prefer a spicy salsa as I do, feel free to pump up the quantity of jalapeño chilli peppers and/or the cayenne pepper.  If you go too far with the spiciness, mix in a bit of Greek yoghurt or sour cream to tone it back down.

You need:

• ½  medium red onion, diced
• A splash of rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh coriander
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 large mango, peeled and seeded and cut into small cubes (1cm)
• 1 ripe avocado, cut into small ½ inch cubes
• 1 red jalapeño chilli pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 large bag of plain Mexican-style corn chips

Steps:

1. Bring a small pot of water to the boil
2. Add the onions and stir for 20 seconds.
3. Remove from heat and drain off the water.
4. Toss the onions with a splash of rice vinegar.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cayenne and the coriander, and toss the mixture well.
6. Set aside for about a half an hour for the flavours to set.
7. When you’re ready to serve, toss in the coriander and cayenne.
8. Serve as a dip for the corn chips.

Ready In:  10 minutes

Serves:  2-3

Difficulty:  Out of 5, it’s a 1!