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Dec 30, 2016

chimichurri potatoes and tofu


As promised, I am taking the recipes from Prep Ahead Week 3 and posting them individually for the folks who would rather not make the entire menu.

If you are as busy as I am and life sometimes serves up plain beans and rice or a simple sandwich, when you'd rather be enjoying a delicious and unique meal, then I highly recommend you give the Prep Ahead menu a try.

The first recipe in the rotation on Week 3 is Chimichurri Potatoes and Tofu.


Typical chimichurri sauce is made with tons of oil and loads of fresh herbs, but I wanted to come up with a recipe that used no oil, but still tasted great.

Instead of the oil, this sauce recipe uses yogurt and tahini. The yogurt offers the body and the tahini offers the richness that would usually be supplied with olive oil. You can still make the sauce using oil, if you'd rather, and Becky Striepe has a terrific recipe over at Glue and Glitter, so I'd head there for a more traditional version.

I used both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes when I made my dish, but you can use one or the other. Press the tofu overnight using a flour sack (just wrap the tofu tightly and set in the fridge) or press it for an hour using a machine.

I air-fried my potatoes and tofu, but you can broil them instead.

Since the tofu and potatoes need a vegetable, I went to my go-to, easy way of cooking up greens, kinpira. This is a very old and traditional way of quick braising vegetables in any flavored broth. I chose a spicy kinpira for this dish to help elevate the chimichurri even more. The veggies are ready in about 5 minutes with minimal fuss.

Serve these with warmed tortillas; use the tortillas as tacos or just use them to scoop up all the goodies.









Chimichurri Potatoes and Tofu
Makes 4 servings

2 (14-ounce) packages firm tofu, rinsed and pressed 1 hour

Chimichurri Sauce:
1/2 cup packed parsley (1/2 bunch)
1/2 cup packed cilantro (1/2 bunch)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoon unsweetened plain vegan yogurt or olive oil
1 tablespoon tahini
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes

2 pounds potatoes, any kind

Kinpira:
1 pound bok choy
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 tablespoons vegetable broth

4 tortillas, warmed

1. Make sure to press the tofu first. Preheat the air-fryer at 450-degrees F. If not using air-fryer, preheat the broiler if needed.
2. For the sauce, combine the parsley, cilantro, garlic, water, vinegar, yogurt, tahini and chili flakes in a food processor. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch wedges. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch slices. Cut the slices of tofu into 1-inch pieces. Toss 3/4 of the sauce with the potatoes and tofu. Add them to a baking sheet or air-fryer basket and cook until crisp and tender, about 15 to 25 minutes. 
4. For the kinpira: Chop the bok choy. Add it to a large pot. Add the minced garlic and chili flakes. Add 2 tablespoons broth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until tender and the broth has reduced. 
5. Serve the potatoes, tofu, vegetables and warmed tortillas with the rest of the sauce.


© 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.



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5 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this separately.
    I know what Sunday dinner is going to be!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is the second recipe using an air fryer I read today. What one do you suggest? Do you use it often? Does it use much oil? I am sorry to slam you with questions. This recipe looks delicious and I cannot wait to try. . .maybe with a new air fryer as I am curious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Shawna, I'd be very happy to answer all your questions. I'll get back to you tomorrow since I'm on my phone now and I won't be able to get on my computer until tomorrow. Happy New Year!

      Delete
    2. Hi Shawna,

      I bought the Philips Air-Fryer (Digital) Refurbished. https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/philips-viva-digital-airfryer-certified-refurbished

      I think this item has become very popular because I bought it in August for $99, excluding the 10% off for signing up for the email. I also bought a second shelf for the basket so that I can stack more food. This machine worked great and I had no issues with it at all.

      For the holidays (and my birthday) my husband and I purchased the Breville Smart Oven Air because it is a convection oven, dehydrator, air-fryer (fits so much more food), proofer, etc. This I love and highly recommend for its versatility and lack of plastic. It is $400 but does so much more than air-fry and it replaces a few appliances.

      I try to use no oil mostly, but let's say you want to make french fries without deep frying them, you can use 1 or 2 tablespoons oil to coat them and they come out really well. The idea is that the food is in a basket (although you can use a cake pan to cook other foods like cakes and bread), and high-powered air is circulated around the food. Because of this, the food shouldn't have too much liquid because the liquid would drip off anyway.

      JL Fields is coming out with a vegan air-fryer cookbook this year: http://amzn.to/2hKCebA

      If you have any other questions, please just ask.

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Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu