Tofu Tuesday Tutorial 2: Suspending Disbelief

Tuesday, April 5, 2011
What time is it?! Tofu Tuesday time! This is week 2 in a 4 week series.

I have no doubt that last week’s Sloppy Toes left many of you staunch tofu un-believers. Wait a minute, you said to yourself as you poked at the soy crumbles lurking in your sloppy joe sauce, that’s not ground beef. If the hearty ketchup-based sauce of last week’s recipe wasn’t enough to win you over, this week we suspend disbelief a little further in an attempt to mask tofu to the point where it actually looks and tastes delicious.

The recipe below uses silken tofu, a tofu we never used in my house when I was little because its slimy consistency left something to be desired. Nobody wants gelatinous hunks of soy protein cavorting around in their stir-fry. However when you whir up silken tofu in the blender, it takes on a creamy texture, making it a perfect substitute for more fattening soft cheeses. (I will admit, I have yet to brave, attempt a tofu “cheese”cake.)

Unless you know it’s in there, you’ll never guess that tofu is the key ingredient to this creamy pesto pasta dish. Who doesn’t love a hot bowl of basil-y, lemony pasta?



Penne with Tofu Pesto
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup firm silken tofu (about 6 ounces)
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 ½ cups slice cremini or button mushrooms
¼ cup minced onions
4 cups hot cooked penne

Combine first 8 ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and sauté 4 minutes. Add pesto to skillet and remove from heat once pesto is heated through. Toss pesto, onions, and mushrooms with pasta and serve with Parmesan cheese on the side.

Next week we tackle . . . loving tofu for what is. Until then, happy Tofu Tuesday and happy eatin’.


12 comments:

  1. Oh my that does look really good.

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  2. I may just have to try this. Sounds great and a nice way to get some protein into pasta! What a great site, I'm glad I found you on BlogFrog. I'm a new and happy follower! Look foward to reading more.

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  3. I'm ashamed to admit this as a lifelong vegetarian- but I've never had the silken tofu, only the firmer kinds. Thanks for the idea- now I know how to try using it!

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  4. This sounds great! I love tofu!

    Thanks so much for stopping by my blog during my SITS weekend!

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  5. I've never had tofu, but this certainly makes it look delicious. I'm incredibly ignorant when it comes to tofu, and I guess I didn't realize there were different varieties. This is something I may have to research. Great recipe!

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  6. Tofu pesto! I'd never thought of that before, good call :)

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  7. Hi!! Just stopping by to thank you for joining the Tuesday Train!!! I have to admit, I'm a little afraid of tofu but the tofu sauce looks awesome!!

    Thanks again for joining the hop - hope to see you back soon!!!

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  8. Oh cool - I went dairy free last month, so I should try this (leaving out the parm cheese) and give it a whirl. Ha, no pun intended. ;)

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  9. hey, i LOVED your sloppy toes!

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  10. This looks fantastic! I'm not an everyday tofu user but I'm not afraid of trying it. I found a yummy vegetable soup recipe that has silken tofu in it that I love. I can't wait to try this.

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  11. No way -- Tofu pesto? That's pretty darn awesome and something I must try! What a great way to sneak in some healthy protein for the kids without sacrificing amazing flavors!

    Thank you for linking up to "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Ada!

    Jenn

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