These cutlets were born out of a last minute, not-very-well-planned-out idea that I had at about 6 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day to make tofu with the seasonings of corned beef. Obviously the texture would be nowhere close but I still thought the flavors might work.
Well, turns out it tastes nothing like corned beef either, but it is still delicious so I’m sharing! #WinningFail
SPICED TOFU CUTLETS
Yield: 2 servings (2 cutlets each)
Vegan and gluten-free
Ingredients
Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 small bay leaves (or 1 large leaf torn in two)
1 small cinnamon stick, roughly broken up into shards
4 whole cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/16 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. black mustard seeds (yellow would be fine too)
1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 4 slices
Additional salt for sprinkling
Directions
In a shallow dish, add lemon juice and salt and swirl around until salt is dissolved.
Add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and sugar, and stir to combine and to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Add tofu to marinade and sprinkle the tops with salt. Marinate for at least 10 minutes, then flip, sprinkle the other side with salt, and continue to marinate.
You can eat them right out of the marinade, or prepare them hot by pan-frying (the method I used) or grilling. [This probably goes without saying, but please be sure to remove the bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, and peppercorns before eating. The mustard seeds are okay to eat whole.]
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These are great on their own as a meal component. I enjoyed mine with colcannon on the side:
And also on a sandwich with greens and a dab of dijon mustard:
I’ve been loving this cheap, quick, versatile recipe lately, as things have been rather hectic in my neck of the woods. More on that in an upcoming post…
Quick Ragnar Update
My training has completely stalled out over the past two weeks as I’ve been dealing with a strained hip flexor. It doesn’t bother me at all except when I run so I’ve been trying to just rest, stretch, and cross-train. It’s hard though and I’m getting worried that I won’t be ready for the race (which is only 6 weeks away)! If anyone else has experience with this type of injury, I am open to any and all advice 🙂
A.Cook in the Making 