Apple

Caramelized Tofu and Gala Apple Salad

by:
July 28, 2010
4.5
2 Ratings
Caramelized Tofu and Gala Apple Salad
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

101 Cookbooks has a wonderful recipe for caramelized tofu, which is where this recipe is inspired from. I am always trying to make tofu edible for my partner, who just hates tofu. He loves it, so what else more can I want? Note, that the garlic seems like an odd ingredient (apples and garlic?), but it finds itself quite nicely in this recipe. Enjoy! —fraîchement

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 14 ounces extra-firm tofu, baked
  • 3 cups green leaf lettuce (I am using baby spinach next time, so whatever lettuce you normally use is fine)
  • 1 gala apple, peeled and diced
  • 10-12 whole, raw pecans
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • drizzle of BoltHouse Farms “Original Coleslaw” Yogurt Dressing
  • 1 teaspoon salt
Directions
  1. First thing of action: bake your tofu. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Let tofu sit on a kitchen towel for 15 minutes, turning once, to absorb moisture. Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes. Brush them lightly with vegetable oil (I always use olive oil, but I am certain that this recipe would be best with a peanut oil). Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, turning once.
  2. In a small pan, heat butter and garlic on low until the butter has just almost melted. Add the apples, tofu, and salt. Bring heat up to medium, and cook for about 4 minutes. At this point you should add the water and stir every minute for the next 6-7 additional minutes, or until there is little moisture left in the pan. Turn off the heat, and add the brown sugar. Stir to incorporate all of the sugar. Place on top of salad lettuce and drizzle the Bolthouse farms yogurt dressing, but don’t put too much dressing— just a scant drizzle for each salad. Serves two.
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    fraîchement
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    aargersi
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    lapadia
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8 Reviews

tomstone
tomstone August 4, 2012
great recipe, just made it and added a little soy to the water (helped I think) and some Korean syrup on the the Tofu to make it a little sweeter. Highly recommended, thanks for sharing!
 
Dorissa
Dorissa July 20, 2012
Wow! This is the first review I've ever written & I couldn't help but share my comments about this recipe. It is fabulous.

First off, let me say that I used the recipe as a framework & did make some adjustments. I've been cooking with tofu all my life & could not bring myself to bake it naked with just oil. So, I drizzled a little maple syrup and a little soy sauce (~1 T each) and tossed them with that and olive oil, baking as recommended. I used a green apple since that is what I had & I doubled the pecans. Then, for greens I used chopped romaine hearts and no dressing...just tossed the tofu, nuts, and apples with the greens & the light syrup they were in coated the greens beautifully! Thank you for such a delicious, surprising recipe.
 
fraîchement
fraîchement August 1, 2010
nothing wrong with ginger and garlic! yum :)
 
aargersi
aargersi August 1, 2010
This sounds wonderful, always on the lookout for new tofu ideas - I love the stuff but am in a bit of a ginger garlic toasted sesame oil rut :-) I will try this!!!!
 
fraîchement
fraîchement July 28, 2010
Yum-- I have to try your apple jalapeno slaw sometime. It seems that your dressing for the slaw may work out. If you try it, let me know how it goes. Just make sure that you only use a very scant drizzle because the caramelized brown sugar that is left on the tofu definitely packs flavor into the salad.

Have you tried marinating tofu before baking it? I have once tried that, and it seems to help with the lack of flavor that bestows tofu. I've been eating tofu for so long that I have grown accustomed to it's texture and flavor (or lack thereof). However my partner is a big chicken guy, and he tells me when I make tofu dishes that are bad, and rarely good. This one he thought was really good, so hopefully that meant the tofu turned out alright!
 
lapadia
lapadia July 28, 2010
I will check back after I have made your recipe. I am thinking about making my slaw dressisng with either a plain or honey flavored greek yogurt instead of the mayo. As soon as I get my right arm out of a sling (fractured shoulder), I will be in better shape for typing these comments, driving to the store, cooking, trying out new recipes! PS-Marinating the tofu 1st before baking it...I will try that too...can't wait to try it all!
 
lapadia
lapadia July 28, 2010
I have tried a lot of tofu recipes, most seem lacking in the flavors it is supposed to absorb, the technique for tofu in this recipe sounds great, am definately going to try this...I have a question...I am not familiar with Bolthouse Farms dressings (don't buy much of the bottled ones), am thinking that perhaps a drizzle of the dressing I use for my Apple Jalapeno Slaw will work here...appreciate if you would check that out and offer your opinion....thanks...and thanks for sharing this recipe!
 
fraîchement
fraîchement July 28, 2010
ouch! i had a disjoint broken clavicle (it's actually permanently broken, if you can believe that), so i know what you are going through. whatever you do, give your shoulder time to heal before taking it out of the sling. i once had a doctor who wanted me to do arm exercises 2 weeks after the initial break, and that made my life a whole lot worse. good luck and get better!