Make Ahead
Curried Chickpea Tofu Salad
- Makes Enough chickpea tofu for about eight salads
Author Notes
I adore anything with chickpeas in it, so when I saw the recipe for genius chickpea tofu on Sarah Britton's brilliant blog My New Roots I couldn't wait to try it. I've adapted her recipe and method here, adjusting and upping the spices for a tofu that really packs a flavour punch. Feel free to use your imagination and experiment, this recipe really lends itself well to adaptation. I've also pan-fried the tofu cubes to get that unbeatable crispy tofu crust that I just can't get enough of (but if you're pan-frying-averse, don't worry! This is still delicious as-is.)
As for the salad, this is really more of a suggestion than a hard-and-fast recipe. I've tossed together some of my favourite salad ingredients, but use your imagination (and your crisper drawer's forgotten contents) to come up with something that makes you eagerly anticipate lunch hour.
Sarah suggests freezing extra chickpea tofu. I'm sure that would work great. If there was any left. —k s
Ingredients
- Curried Chickpea Tofu
-
2 cups
chickpea flour
-
6 cups
water
-
2 tablespoons
coconut oil (or other oil of choice)
-
3 tablespoons
curry powder
-
2 teaspoons
ground black pepper
-
1 tablespoon
garlic powder
-
1 tablespoon
onion powder
-
3 tablespoons
nutritional yeast (optional)
-
1 1/2 teaspoons
sea salt
-
3 tablespoons
lemon juice
-
2 tablespoons
honey
-
cornmeal (optional- for pan frying)
-
coconut oil (optional- for pan frying)
- Chickpea Tofu Salad Bowl for One
-
large handful shredded purple cabbage
-
handful chopped carrot rounds
-
large handful chopped frilly kale
-
1/4 cup
fresh or frozen (and reheated) peas
-
1/8
curried chickpea tofu recipe
-
1
egg (hard or soft-boiled. Eliminate if vegan)
-
2 tablespoons
dried cranberries
-
2-3 tablespoons
salad dressing of choice (I went for a simple lemon-tahini-garlic dressing)
Directions
- Curried Chickpea Tofu
- The night before, combine chickpea flour and water (whisk well to eliminate any clumps) and allow to rest overnight.
- Line an 8" by 8" square baking dish with paper towel and set aside.
- The next day combine the spices (curry powder through to sea salt) in a small bowl. Heat the coconut oil in a medium to large sized pot. Once the oil is hot, add the spices and heat until they become fragrant. As soon as they become fragrant, carefully pour the top layer of liquid in your soaking chickpea flour mixture into the pot (be careful that you don't let the spices burn).
- Add lemon juice and honey and whisk over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Pour in the remainder of the chickpea slurry and whisk vigorously to eliminate any clumps. Turn heat down to low and continue to whisk until mixture begins to thicken up (you're going for a consistency roughly between cake batter and cookie dough.)
- Scrape mixture into prepared baking dish, spread evenly, and set aside to cool and set (if you want a really flat top surface you can lay another piece of paper towel on top and flatten it out.)
- Allow to cool and set for several hours before cutting into cubes.
- If desired, you can pan fry the tofu (while not essential, I highly recommend it). Toss cubed tofu in cornmeal to coat. Heat enough coconut oil (or other oil of choice) to thinly coat the bottom of a non-stick pan. Once oil is hot enough that a piece of coated tofu begins to sizzle when placed in the pan, add more cubes to fill the pan (don't pack too closely, you want the tofu to fry and not steam). Turn pieces individually once you've developed a nice brown crust. Repeat with remaining tofu.
- Chickpea Tofu Salad Bowl for One
- Toss all ingredients together in a bowl to enjoy immediately or pack for later (if packing to bring to work, pack the dressing separately and add right before enjoying).
- Enjoy. Try to ignore your co-workers' looks of envy. Pack more to share tomorrow.
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