Broccolini & Tofu in Chili Garlic Sauce

Here is a recipe I’ve been cooking a lot lately, because it’s quite easy and also checks all the boxes (veggies, protein, lots of flavor). Though, I’ve learned some lessons along the way:

• Broccoli rabe and broccolini are not interchangeable. While they seem similar at first glance, broccoli rabe is more like mustard greens—spicy and leafy, and the flavor overwhelms this dish. Opt for broccolini, and if you can’t find it, go for regular broccoli.

• A clean towel from your pantry is just fine for drying your tofu. I’ve never gotten my tofu very dry before, because we don’t keep paper towels in the house and I always hesitated to use a kitchen towel. But in the January edition of Bon Appetit the suggested a clean towel in their tofu recipe, so I went for it, and now I’m not really sure what my previous hesitation was all about. (And yes, dry your tofu! It’s how you’ll get those nice edges!)

• Add the garlic to the pan (not the marinade) for maximum roasted garlic flavor. Add the marinade to the pan at the end of cooking for that sauciness that’s so delicious. While we’re talking about sauce, here’s something else: broccolini is ideal for sauce, because it has all these nooks and crannies that soak up sauce (in other words: bites of broccolini are extra flavorful).

Broccolini & Tofu in Chili Garlic Sauce

Published January 21, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4 with rice   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the marinade/sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons sambal olek (chili-garlic sauce)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

For the stir fry:

1 fourteen ounce block extra-firm tofu

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bunch broccolini or 1 head broccoli, chopped into 1-2 inch pieces (note: I do not recommend broccoli rabe for this dish, which has a much stronger flavor that broccolini, and overwhelms the dish)

1 teaspoon coconut oil

2 green onions, sliced, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons minced cilantro, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

For serving: cooked brown rice

Directions:

1. Drain water from tofu, and wrap in a clean kitchen towel to remove excess liquid. Cube tofu into bite-sized pieces.
2. Combine all ingredients for sauce in a medium-sized bowl or pyrex, and stir. Add tofu to sauce, cover, and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes (or all day, until ready to cook).
3. When ready to make stir fry: heat coconut oil in a large skillet or wok or medium heat. Add minced garlic, and cook until it just begins to brown.
4. Using a fork or slotted spoon, remove tofu from sauce, allowing excess to drip off. Place in pan (there may be some splattering). Cook tofu for 5 minutes, until tofu begins to brown on one side. Use a spatula to turn tofu over, and cook 3-4 more minutes.
5. Add chopped broccolini to pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Drizzle remaining marinade over stir fry, along with sliced green onions. Stir briefly, and continue to cook for a few more minutes until broccolini is bright green and tender.
6. Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds.
7. Serve: Scoop prepared brown rice into bowls, and top with stir fry. Add additional green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds as garnish.

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pine Nuts

This recipe is from the Foraged Dish archives. It’s a favorite this time of year, and the photos were old (and embarrassing! 😛). I made it for dinner recently and took the opportunity to reshoot, and write simpler directions. Recipe is the same!

Cauliflower: under-the-radar fall veggie (squash gets all the glory this time of year), but versatile, well-loved, and absolutely delicious. In this dish, the cauliflower gets tossed in harissa for a touch of heat, and then mixes with rich dates and pine nuts. Lemon zest and parsley brings brightness. A great side dish for a fall dinner party.

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pine Nuts

Published August 23, 2016 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 active minutes

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Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

2 tablespoons Harissa paste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup dates, pitted

Small handful parsley, flat leaf

Zest 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon rosemary

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk Harissa paste with olive oil. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Place florets in bowl, and toss in Harissa mixture. Spread out on sheet pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, until crisp on edges and tender. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a small skillet over low heat until golden. Watch them closely to avoid burning.
3. Roughly chop dates, and mince parsley and rosemary.
4. When cauliflower is ready, transfer it to a serving bowl. Add additional salt or pepper to taste. Zest half a lemon over the cauliflower.
5. Sprinkle dates, pine nuts, parsley, and rosemary over cauliflower and serve.

Raspberry Popsicles with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Poison ivy and raspberry bushes—when I was a kid, these were the two plants my dad always pointed out to me on camping trips. This summer, as we hiked through Big Elk Meadows (which is not a meadow and there were no elk), the wild raspberries were copious. The dry creek was spotted with small bushes, each of them ripe with red gems. Those wild berries were far better than the ones growing in my own backyard, and not just because we were eating them outside. They were juicier and sweeter. We ate the ripest ones and left the others for the birds.

These popsicles are an end of summer hoorah! A sweet-tart cool down for mid-afternoon.

Raspberry Popsicles with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Published September 10, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 20 active minutes

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Ingredients:

12 ounces fresh raspberries

1/4 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

Optional: 1-2 tablespoons raw sugar or coconut sugar

Equipment: Popsicle molds and popsicle sticks

Directions:

1. Place raspberries in a blender and purée.
2. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a sauce pan, and pour raspberry puree through sieve in order to remove seeds. All of the juice should go through the sieve (into the pot), and you should be left with just seeds in the sieve. Discard of seeds.
3. Place raspberry purée on stove over low heat and stir in lemon juice. Bring to a slow simmer, and add sugar to taste. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow mixture to cool, about 10 minutes.
4. Pour raspberry mixture into popsicle molds with popsicle sticks and freeze for 8 hours, until frozen solid.
5. When popsicles are frozen, prep the chocolate: melt chocolate in microwave (at 30 second increments, stirring in between each until smooth), or in a double boiler.
6. Remove popsicles from molds, and drizzle with chocolate. Allow chocolate to set. Serve immediately, or store in air-tight container until ready to eat.