Hazelnut Encrusted Tofu

One rainy day at Kings Valley Gardens we spent an afternoon sitting in the hoop house cracking hazelnuts (otherwise known as filberts, I am unsure what, if any, the difference is). The hazelnuts had been gleaned the year before from a nearby hazelnut orchard. I love hazelnuts and for my designated cooking night (we take turns) I wanted to feature them. I had heard of people encrusting various things with them, and tofu seemed like the only available thing to encrust. I was really happy with how the meal turned out and I know others liked it because a repeat was requested the next week. 

In a past post I mentioned including more recipes that actually fit the name of the blog and were cheap, quick and local. This meal fits the bill... but only if you have hazelnuts and strawberries that you grew/gleaned. I am guessing this is a relatively small portion of the population. If hazelnuts are too expensive or not available you could use any nut you have on hand. The strawberry sauce was delicious but if it's not strawberry season the tofu would be good on its own, or I would probably eat it with catsup. 

The hoop house where we sit on rainy days to crack nuts

The hoop house where we sit on rainy days to crack nuts

The full menu that I served the was:

Hazelnut Encrusted Tofu

Strawberry Merlot Sauce

Macerated Kale Salad

Quinoa 

For the tofu:

1 container tofu

1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/2 cup flour (I used brown rice flour to make it gluten free)

pinch of salt and pepper

1 egg (you could leave out the egg to make it vegan, but the coating may not stick quite as well)

1 tbsp stone ground mustard

1 tbsp tamari

1 tbsp honey

Hazelnut encrusted tofu, strawberry wine sauce, quinoa, and macerated kale salad

If you are doing the full suggested menu start the salad first (scroll down for the recipe)

Tofu Directions

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees and grease a large cookie sheet.

At Kings Valley I was introduced to using frozen tofu which I would recommend, but fresh will also work well. To freeze tofu start by slicing it into 1/4 inch pieces. Drain as much water as possible and then simply store it in the freezer. The defrosted tofu will be much more spongy than its fresh counterpart. If you froze tofu a couple of days/weeks/months ago you will need to remember to get it out of the freezer the day before you want to make this dish (probably obvious, but you never know). 

Hazelnut encrusted tofu, strawberry wine sauce, quinoa,
and macerated kale salad

If using fresh tofu start by slicing the it into 1/4 inch slices, or whatever shape you want. We did some "nuggets" and they turned out really well.

Blend/process the nuts, flour, and salt/pepper until everything is a fine powder. Pour this coating mixture into a small bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients (egg through honey) in a second small bowl. Dip each slice of tofu into the egg mixture and then the nut mixture and lay it on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with all available tofu. 

Cook tofu in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, flip, and cook for an additional 15 minutes. 

Sauce Directions

Once the tofu was in the oven I started the sauce. For the sauce I simply cooked 2 cups of strawberries and one cup of red wine (in this case merlot) on simmer for about 5 minutes and then mashed the strawberries with a fork. 

Salad and Quinoa 

Do the salad FIRST so that the kale has time to marinate which makes it more tender. This salad is also delicious the next day, when it has had even longer to marinate. I just tour up a large bowl of clean fresh kale and tossed it with about 1/2 cup of garlic salad dressing (which I will post the recipe for next week) but you could use any dressing you like. You may want to start with a smaller amount of salad dressing and continue adding dressing until the kale leaves seem evenly coated.

I used a pressure cooker for the quinoa. The pressure cooker makes is very quick so you can start this after prepping the sauce. I put

• 5 cups water
• 4 cups quinoa

in the pressure cooker and turned the burner on to high. When the pressure cooker reached pressure, on mine this is marked by the gauge on the top rocking back and forth, I immediately turned it off and let it sit. If the pressure cooker is not ready to open when you want to eat run it under cold water for 30 to 60 seconds and the pressure should drop.

This was a lovely summer meal. I look forward to experimenting more with nut encrusted tofu and varying the flavors to match the season. I think walnuts and maple would lend themselves to an autumn dish...

Summer Menu #3 Stew

This is the last of the menus that I came up with for Cooking Matters.  Stew may seem like an odd choice for summer but what I really wanted to feature was the slow cooker. I think slow cookers are a really handy appliance since they allow you to do a little bit of prep before work and come home to an already made dinner.

Both the early and late summer menus use dry legumes which will take planning a day in advance, BUT dried legumes are inexpensive and nutritious (great sources of protein!). You can also use canned beans, but they are more expensive, and often high in sodium. Every decision has its positives and its negatives.

Early summer menu:

Garbanzo and Kale stew
Brown Rice
Banana Pudding with Flaked Coconut

Items to look for at the farmers market: Kale

Garbanzo and Kale Stew
makes 4 servings
Kale is a super food and very high in iron and calcium. Kale tolerates cold temperatures, so it is one of the first local produce items available in the spring.  luckily I am able to get a lot of locally produced dried beans in Minneapolis at the grocery co-ops including garbanzos. I also usually use barley instead of rice because I like the chewy texture and it is grown locally, which makes this a very local dish (with the major exception of the coconut and bananas) You can also use any green you like. Spinach works well, and if you are using frozen you don’t even need to defrost since it will be cooked in the slow cooker.

1 cup dried garbanzos
1 bunch kale
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
½ tsp pepper flakes (or to taste)
½ can light coconut milk

One day before you plan to eat this meal soak the garbanzo beans in water overnight. The next morning drain the garbanzos in the slow cooker with the other ingredients, except the kale. Pour about 8 cups of water in. Cook on low for 8 hours. If the water starts to look low, feel free to add more. Wash and roughly chop the kale and add to the slow cooker for the last hour of cooking (or when you start the rice).

Brown Rice
For 4 cups of rice
Boil 4 cups of water (I like to use vegetable or chicken broth instead of water). When the water is boiling add 2 cups of dried brown rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Banana Pudding -
I used bananas in this recipe because they are delicious and I thought would go well with the curry in the stew, but you could use any fruit you like. You likely won't find bananas at the farmers market (actually you can find them at the downtown Minneapolis Market but they still aren't local and I think this is an odd choice for a market), but berries are always a good bet.


Makes 4 servings

2 cups low fat or non-fat milk
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup corn starch
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 bananas
4 Tbsp shredded coconut

Mix sugar and corn starch in a small saucepan. Turn heat to low and slowly add the milk while continuing to stir with a whisk or a fork. Continue stirring more or less constantly until the mixture thickens. It wont be as thick as pudding until it has had time to set, but it will be thicker than milk. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt and refrigerate until it’s time for dessert.

When you are ready to serve dessert slice ½ banana into a small bowl and top with ½ cup of pudding and 1 tbsp of shredded coconut. Repeat for each serving.

Late Summer
Kale prefers cooler weather so you are more likely to find it at the beginning and end of the summer. At the peak of summer I think this stew would be delicious with eggplant. Or maybe I just like the novelty of purple vegetables. Instead of kale wash one eggplant, cut it into bite size chunks and add it to the stew at the beginning (not the last hour like the kale).