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In the Kitchen

Tofu with Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients

Serves 2

  • 6oz green tea noodles or soba noodles
  • 1 tsp EVOO
  • 2 medium cloves garlic
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 2 small shallots
  • 2 small serrano peppers, minced
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 1 tsp fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbl EVOO
  • 8oz extra-firm tofu,

Instructions

Cook green tea/soba noodles as per package instructions. Drain, run under cold water, then toss with the 1 tsp of olive oil. To make cilantro pesto, put remainder of ingredients (except tofu) in a food processor. Blend for 1 min or until desired texture is achieved. Add more EVOO as required.

Cut the tofu into slabs, and rub gently with olive oil. Using a cast iron skillet, cook tofu on one side until golden brown, flip, and grill the other side as well.

To assemble, toss the noodles with a pesto, reserving enough to drizzle generously on top of the tofu. Place the tofu on top of the noodles, and drizzle with more pesto.

My 2012 food challenge – vegan one day per week.  The impetus – part sustainability, part recipe experimentation and part health.

This dish is very simple to make and tastes exquisitely good.  The tofu soaks up the cilantro pesto and gives it a fresh, spicy finish. The addition of the noodles makes it a comforting Winter dish.  Either green tea or soba noodles could be used for this dish. The green tea noodles have only 12 calories and 3g of carbs so are ideal if you a following a low-carb/anti-Candida diet.  Sea Tangle green tea noodles are my favorite. Soba noodles are rich in manganese which helps promote radiant skin.  If you are gluten-free, make sure the soba noodles are 100% buckwheat (often they are buckwheat and wheat). Alternatively, the tofu can be served over asparagus or green beans.

Cilantro can help to decrease abdominal bloating and is a great detoxifier. It’s particularly good with helping to remove mercury from the body.  So if you’ve been eating too much tuna or Chilean seabass lately, make up an extra large serving of the cilantro pesto.  Ginger could also be added to the pesto to warm it up a bit.

Experiment and have fun with your food!

Photo Credit: www.101cookbooks.com
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