Baked Tofu and Vegetable Salad

Cook Your Way to the Life You Want by Christina Pirello

Ingredients

Baked Tofu

• 4 (¼ inch thick slices) extra-firm tofu
• 2 t soy sauce
• 1 t Mirin

Cucumber Salad

• 1 large cucumber, peeled, halved length-wise, and cut into very thin half moon slices
• Generous pinch of sea salt
• 1 carrot, cut into very fine matchsticks
• 1 red onion, cut into thin half-moon slices

Mustard dressing

• 2 t stone ground mustard
• 2 t sesame tahini
• 1 t brown rice syrup
• ½ t soy sauce
• ½ t umeboshi vinegar
• Juice of ½ to 1 orange

Instructions

Tofu:

1. Preheat oven to 400F (205C).
2. Place tofu slices in a shallow baking dish, and cover with water. Swirl in soy sauce and mirin, and marinate 10 minutes.
3. Drain off marinade and bake tofu, uncovered, about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. Turn tofu over and brown remaining side, about 7 minutes more.

Salad:

1. Meanwhile, toss cucumber with salt to remove excess fluid, and place in a strainer in the sink or over a bowl.
2. Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add carrot and then onion, separately, and blanch 30 seconds.
3. Drain well.
4. Combine cucumber, carrot, and onion in a medium bowl.
5. Cool tofu until you can handle it. Using a sharp knife, shred tofu into irregular pieces.
6. Stir into vegetables.

Dressing:

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.
2. Add a small amount of water if needed to thin the dressing.

To serve at room temperature, toss cucumber and tofu mixture with the dressing. If serving chilled, refrigerate salad and dressing separately, and mix together just before serving.

Yields 4-5 servings

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