I’ve only got the one photo of this recipe because, to be honest, I didn’t think it was going to be particularly exciting. Sometimes you just want to eat dinner!
In this case I just modified a recipe from The Spectrum and threw together stuff I had around – some chopped up tofu, cherry tomatoes (although regular tomatoes would be just fine), basil, olives, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a glug of red wine (although white might be nice in this recipe too. Just use whatever you want to drink with dinner.) Mix together everything but the tofu.
Lay a piece of parchment paper (or aluminum foil) in a casserole, put about half of the tomato mixture on the paper, then the tofu, then the rest of the tomato mixture. Make the paper into a nice sealed envelope and bake at 475 for about 20 minutes.
As mentioned, I didn’t expect much from this recipe because I didn’t think the sauce would have a chance to really season the tofu, but it actually came out pretty darn good.
If you don’t like tofu I can’t say I’d recommend it, but if you’re like me and think tofu is fine as long as it’s got some flavor to it, then it’s a super quick and easy dinner to throw together. Plus you get to add “En Papillotte” to the end of if because it’s wrapped in paper while it cooks. Fancy!
Tofu with Tomato, Basil and Olives en Papillotte
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pints cherry tomatoes halved (or about 2 regular tomatoes, chopped)
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves minces
- Handful fresh basil chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- ⅔ cup dry white or red wine
- Handful cured black olives
- Salt to taste
- One package extra firm tofu drained and sliced into 1 inch rectangles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Mix together everything except the tofu pieces.
- Make an “envelope” out of parchment paper or foil (I recommend putting the envelope on a cookie sheet or casserole in case there’s some leakage). Place half of the tomato mixture on the bottom. Lay the tofu pieces on top, then cover with the remaining tomato mixture.
- Seal the envelope and bake for about 20 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before serving.
unfermented tofu I believe is better choice…is that what you use?
Actually it’s fermented soy that is better – things like miso, tempeh, and soy sauce are fermented, and have been shown to have several health benefits. Soy milk, tofu, and many processed foods contain unfermented soy which is supposedly less good for you. There’s a lot of debate about soy but I tend to assume that most plant foods that have been eaten for a thousand years are probably fine – but modern tinkering may make them less so. Tofu might be fine, but genetically modified tofu with a bunch of additives probably isn’t. So I try to buy organic and eat it in moderation to hedge my bets.