Baked Tofu with Fresh Vegetables

I had something very similar to this at a recent neighborhood chili potluck. I'm usually NOT a fan of tofu - at all - but tasting this made me think I had been doing it wrong, and with tofu that wasn't suited for the recipe. For instance, silken tofu goes best in desserts and soft food. Extra firm is best for something like this. She described the process and ingredients and said she could drop off a copy of the recipe, but I didn't think that would be necessary. Now I'm wishing she had. Sooo, we'll see how this turns out 🙃 

Cooking is always a fun adventure, even when we get it wrong. That becomes part of the learning process so we can do it right, or at least 'more right' the next time. This is my version of the way it was described to me with a couple of my own variations. For instance, tamari or soy sauce would have been good, maybe even tahini (?) but I'm up at the lake and don't have that here. Since I did a quick trip to the grocery store earlier, I decided to just improvise with what I have.

14oz. extra firm tofu

This comes in a block about 2" thick by 6-8" square. Drain off the liquid, then cut this through the middle creating two 1" slabs. Place them on several layers of paper towel, covering with more paper towels. Weigh this down, pressing the moisture out, with about 5# books or another form of weighted pressure, for 10 minutes. Meanwhile make a marinade-coating:

3-4T EVOO

2T honey

2T apple cider vinegar

A big shake of garlic salt

A smaller shake of smokey pepper 

Cut the pressed tofu into cubes about 1" in size. Toss in the marinade, place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400° oven until the tofu is all brown and toasty around the edges. While that's happening, put the vegetables shown in a big bowl and combine with about 1/2c mayonnaise.

10 oz. carrot matchsticks

1/2c chopped purple onion

2/3c chopped celery

When the tofu has cooled slightly, add it to the vegetables and toss gently. Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers can be chilled, then reheated just a little, before serving again. . .Lin