Tofu Piccata

You’ll probably realize after reading this blog that just because food is vegan doesn’t mean it’s always healthier for you.  This recipe will prove just that.

I started writing this post and I was getting into my history with capers, which I realized is pretty boring to everyone, including myself.  I’ll skip the background and just get into the dish.  I made this meal about a week ago and it was husband and child approved.  I used noodles made with squash in a feeble attempt to make this dish a little healthier.  Here’s what I did…

Ingredients

• 1 block extra firm tofu (pressed)
• 6 tablespoons vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
• 1.5 cups of flour (rough estimate, you’ll need enough for dredging)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeeze lemon juice
• 3/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup rinsed capers (we love capers, you might want to use 1/4 cup)
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegan pasta of your choice or veggie noodles (most store bought boxed pasta is vegan, but double check just in case, some pasta contains egg)

The first thing you want to do is press your tofu to remove the extra water.  I have a tofu press (because I’m that cool) but if you don’t what you can do is wrap it in a towel and place something heavy on top, like a tea kettle with some water in it.  I pressed mine for about 30 minutes.  I cut the tofu into slabs, about 1/2 inch thick to resemble chicken breast.  You could use a vegan chicken alternative as well.

Next you’re going to take your tofu slabs (sounds appealing doesn’t it?) and dredge them in the flour.  Shake off any extra flour.  This is the point when the five year old decided to “help” me.  If you have children you know why help is in quotations.  Also, apparently flour is delicious by itself…  Anyways, we survived and so did the tofu.

Next, in the skillet over medium heat I melted 4 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons of olive oil.  Once I heard a sizzle, I added my tofu to the skillet.  I honestly don’t know how long I cooked each side for, but I flipped them until both sides were browned and honestly they looked a lot like chicken breast.  This is also where I added in my garlic as well.  I love garlic, but feel free to leave it out. I then removed the tofu from the skillet.

Next I added my veggie stock, capers and lemon juice and whisked them together.  I then whisked in the remaining butter and about two tablespoons of flour to thicken the sauce.  I poured my sauce over the tofu and noodles and dug in.

I don’t want to brag, but this was pretty awesome.  I hope if you give it a try, you’ll like it as much as we did!  Oh and as you can see I added peas to ours as well…never hurts to sneak a veggie in right?