Recipe: Herbed Tofu Tomato Salad

On Sunday, I prepared a Mother’s Day Feast. We have a big family here, and my son is lucky enough to have his mother, two grandmothers, and two great grandmothers. I wanted to treat everyone to a delicious vegan feast — it’s the least we can do for the amazing mothers of this world.

I had two salads on display. I always like to have a spicy salad, cut finely into a salsa texture; and another more hearty one. I wasn’t entirely sure what that second salad would be, so I decided to flip open my ‘Vegan Bowl Attack!: More than 100 One-Dish Meals Packed with Plant-Based Power” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener” aria-label=”Vegan Bowl Attack (opens in a new tab)”>Vegan Bowl Attack‘ cookbook — an awesome gift I received from my sister.

I came across an awesome-looking ‘herbed tofu salad’, so I got to work!

Spoiler: I loved it, and the entire bowl was finished. It has three simple (main) ingredients: Tomatoes, arugula, and extra-firm tofu. It wasn’t specified in the recipe, but it turns out the tofu-marinating process essentially creates a vegan feta — only guilt free, leaner, and with more protein.

Here is the recipe (*note, the recipe says to marinate the tofu between 2-8 hours, or as desired based on how salty you want the tofu to be. I marinated it for just two, and the flavour was more than salty enough):

Herbed Tofu Tomato Salad

Pair the salty, herbed tofu-cheese with ripe tomatoes, peppery baby arugula and a squeeze of fresh lemon together and you have yourself a simple, seasonal salad that makes a great side dish.

Prep Time: 10 minutes. Servings: 4. Author:Jackie Sobon of Vegan Yack Attack

Ingredients

• 14 ounce Block of Organic Extra Firm Tofu Drained and Rinsed
• 1/2 C. Water
• 2 1/2 T. Coconut Vinegar
• 1 1/2-2 T. Sea Salt
• 2 T. Olive Oil optional
• 1 tsp. Dried Basil
• 1 tsp. Dried Oregano
• 4 C. chopped Heirloom/Plum/Champion/etc. Tomatoes
• 3 C. Baby Arugula
• 1 T. Fresh Lemon Juice
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• Pinch of Coarse Sea Salt optional

Instructions

• Take your block of tofu and wrap it tightly in a clean dish towel/cloth. Place it on a plate and stack some heavy (but stable) objects on it to press the moisture out. Leave it pressed for 20-30 minutes.
• In resealable container or bag whisk together the water, sea salt, coconut vinegar, olive oil, basil and oregano.
• Take the pressed tofu and cut it into 1/2 cubes, then place it in the marinade. Marinate it for 2-8 hours depending on how salty youd like it to be. Stir it around or flip container over every couple of hours.
• Once the tofu is done marinating, drain it of the excess liquid and toss it together in a large bowl with the tomato and arugula.
• Drizzle the lemon juice over the top of the salad, along with some cracked pepper. Chill for 30 minutes and serve!

Notes

If you don’t have coconut vinegar (you should really get your hands on some!), you can try replacing it with 1 T. apple cider vinegar and 1 T. White Miso Paste.

From: Vegan Bowl Attack (buy below)