Meatless Monday: Yummy, Healthy Tofu Bowl

Ever since I ate a delicious meal at Fresh on Spadina in Toronto a few weeks ago, I have been trying to re-create the dish. Well, I haven’t had much success is getting the taste just right, but I have found a new meal that I now make on a regular basis. It’s full of lots of delicious stuff, and you can really just add whatever you have in your fridge, making it a great thing to make on the weekend.

Here’s how I made it this weekend:

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa (or brown rice)
1 cube extra-firm tofu, diced into chunks
Chickpea flour (just enough to coat the tofu)
1 sweet potato, sliced,
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1 red pepper
handful of salad greens
chia seeds
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (or grapeseed or other high-heat cooking oil)
1 tsp curry powder

Dressing:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs Tahini
Dash of maple syrup
Dash of soy sauce
Dash of Siricha (omit if you don’t like spicy)
Dash of water (if it feels a bit too thick)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook the quinoa or rice as per package directions
2. Meanwhile, heat up oil in a shallow-dish pan and heat oven to 350F
3. Dice tofu and place into bowl. Add chickpea flour and mix over tofu until it is covered
4. Dice sweet potato into chunks and place onto pan. Dash with gapeseed oil, salt and curry powder. Place into oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until soft, flipping half way through
5. By now, the oil should be hot. Turn down to medium heat and place tofu into pan. (BE CAREFUL! Don’t let the hot oil splash up on you!) Cook tofu until all sides are crispy, about 15 minutes
6. In another pan, fry up the red pepper and any other vegetable you decide to put in (zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower. The options are endless!)
7. While tofu is quietly frying, make the dressing:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, tasting along the way. You do not need a lot of dressing as the tahini can make it a bit intense. You want it to be a bit thick and flavourful.

8. Once everything has cooked, layer together in a bowl: salad greens, quinoa or rice, a bit of sauce, tofu, sweet potato and any other vegetable, more sauce then add chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and a little bit of Sirachia.

This makes enough for two bowls and the leftovers are delicious for lunch the next day.

What did you make for dinner this weekend?

-Jessica Harding, associate web editor