Friday, October 14, 2011

Down Home Vegan Cooking

Post number 11 for VeganMoFo.

As you know from my recent posts, we went to Asheville last weekend. One of our stops included a meal at Rosetta's Kitchen. We did not get pictures of our food because we were in a hurry to get on the road. I had a yummy Pad Thai bowl with peanut butter tofu and John had a plate with peanut butter tofu, mashed potatoes and gravy, and greens. His plate was not g
luten free, so I could not try it. I was a bit disappointed that the dish was not gluten free, so when we got home I decided to try and make it myself. I have never tried it before, but I felt confident that I could replicate the meal and possibly even make it better!

So, I came up with a recipe for the a peanut butter tofu and got to work. T
he result was a delicious and hardy meal. John said that it was better than the one he ordered, but he was probably being nice. I only have mine to go off of and I loved it. I could not get enough of the peanut butter tofu! The greens and the mashed potatoes were awesome as well. It almost made me want to open a vegan and gluten free down home cooking restaurant. Almost.

Baked Peanut Butter Tofu
  • 1 lb of tofu
  • 1/4 c nutritional yeast (also known as nooch)
  • 1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
  • 3 tsp low sodium gluten free tamari
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp agave nectar
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water
Drain the tofu and wrap it in two paper towels. Place the wrapped tofu on a plate and top with a second plate. Use a weight to press down the plate and let the tofu sit for 15-20 minutes. While the tofu is pressing, make the sauce. Mix the peanut butter in a bowl and pour about 1/4 c of the warm water over the peanut butter. We use fresh ground, so it is a bit harder than the kind in a jar. Mix the two until creamy. Add in the tamari, rice vinegar, and agave. If the mixture is too thick, use more of the water. Set the sauce aside.

Preheat the oven to 420. Meanwhile, place the nooch on a plate. Unwrap the pressed tofu and cut it into about 1 inch cubes. Roll the cubes in the nooch and place them in a baking pan sprayed with olive oil spray. When they are all coated, place the tofu in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip the tofu and let it bake on the other side of 15 minutes. Then add the sauce making sure that each piece gets coated. Bake for another 15 minutes, turning once. The tofu will get a little crispy and smell wonderful! I cannot wait for the cold weather so I can have this meal again!

Sauteed Greens
  • 1/2 c onion, chopped
  • 1 bunch of swiss chard, leaves washed and chopped and stems set aside
  • 2 tsp of olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 clove of garlic

Heat the oil in a large skillet, preferably an iron skillet. When hot, add the onion and red pepper flakes and saute' for 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and saute' for 3 minutes. While cooking, chop the stems small and add to the pan to saute' for an additional 3 minutes. When stems are tender, add in the chopped chard and cook until the leaves wilt. Serve hot.

Mashed Potatoes
  • 3 large potatoes
  • 3 Tbsp soy sour cream
  • 1 Tbsp Earth Balance (vegan butter)
  • 1/4 or more nut or soy milk
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Wash the potatoes. Leaving the skin on, chop the potatoes into about 1/2 inch cubes. Place the cubes in a soup pot and cover with cold water. Place on the stove and bring to a boil. Allow the potatoes to cook, checking them for tenderness. When the potatoes are tender, turn off the burner, drain, and place back in the cooking pot. Place back on the burner, turned of. Add the non-dairy milk and Earth Balance and begin to mash. Add in the soy sour cream and powders and mash until you reach a desired creaminess. Serve this with your favorite vegan and gluten free gravy!

14 comments:

Jen Treehugger said...

AMAZING!!!!
and GENIUS!!!!
and getting made pretty darn soon.
:-)

affectioknit said...

Really looks like comfort food!

YUM!

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

I used to live in Asheville and I've been missing Rosetta's in a big way lately... :(

Absolutely must try your version! Looks yummy!

Angela @ Vegangela.com said...

Congrats on making the Vegan MoFo roundup! I love peanut butter, as well as new ways to prepare tofu, so this has been swiftly bookmarked. Thanks!

x said...

I love meals that contain peanut butter and this looks delicious, I bet it was a great dinner!

VeggieAmanda said...

Thanks for featuring me on the MoFo round up! Yay!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, this looks delicious.

K said...

Such a great idea, I heart pb and tofu so am sure this is great!

GiGi said...

Wow I just tuned into this and it looks scrumptious.

KitteeBee said...

You got me with the PB Noochy Tofu. Dazee is gonna wig for this, thanks for the recipe, Amanda!

xo
kittee

Anonymous said...

The Rosetta's version is GF without the gravy, they have a fuller list of the GF goodness behind the counter, check it out next time! I moved away from Asheville just 2 months ago and am so missing that place, this was my go to dish and am stoked to find your replication. Thank you!!

VeggieAmanda said...

Thanks for the tip about Rosetta's Anonymous. I did check out the list but a lot of items on the GF list aren't acceptable for those with Celiac. The list for those with Celiac is small because they use shared fryers and grills. . :-(

Moses Casual said...

Thanks for the peanut butter tofu recipe! I just googled "peanut butter tofu" and found this post, and when I saw your picture the first thing I thought was "family favorite!" because that is the name of that dish at Rosetta's, which is totally what I had in mind when I decided to make peanut butter tofu earlier. I don't have all of the ingredients on hand right now, but I'm using your recipe as a base to make my own for dinner tonight. Your method sounds spot on, but I'll have to change up the sauce a little. Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

I inquired about the recipe at Rosetta's once, and I remember that they said it also had tahini in it. I am going to make this tonight- thanks!