Sunday, February 6, 2011

Vegetable Marengo

Last term I went through a tofu kick... I basically put it in almost everything from vegetarian chili to indian dishes as a substitute for paneer (which works really well btw). During this time I came across this recipe in one of our many vegetarian cookbooks (1,000 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes). This is a Mediterranean inspired dish that you can have with rice, couscous or on its own. Its hearty enough to be its own (student) meal...

Ingredients:
Vegetable Cooking Spray (I usually just use canola oil)
1 Package (10 1/2 oz) tofu, cut into scant 1-inch cubes (I use firm tofu, sometimes with herbs)
2 Medium onions, cut into wedges (or coarsely diced)
2 medium zucchini, cubed
1 cup halved small mushrooms
2 cloves minced garlic (I tend to put more as I love garlic... same with the mushrooms)
1 tbs flour
1 can (14 1/2 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained coarsely chopped (In the summer I prefer to use fresh tomatoes)
3/4 cup Mediterranean Stock or Basic Vegetable Stock (I use 1 veggie bouillon cube)
1 strip orange rind (3x1 inches)
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 large bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups cooked couscous or rice, warm
parsley, finely chopped, as garnish

Zoe's variation: turmeric, cumin and chilli powder for sauteing the tofu

Directions:
1) Spray large saucepan with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Add tofu and cook over medium heat until browned on all sides 8-10 min. Remove from skillet and reserve. (Zoe's variation: heat a little oil and add the cumin, turmeric and chilli powder. Then add the tofu and coat on all sides while cooking... this ads a bit more flavour to the tofu).

2) Add onions, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic to saucepan; saute 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add tomatoes, stock, orange rind, herbs and reserved tofu; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard bay leave (I never do this); season to taste with salt and pepper. (I also usually add a bit of lemon or lime juice to taste at this point).

3) Serve mixture over couscous in shallow bowls; sprinkle with parsley

As with most of what I cook... I never make this quite the same way. I sometimes vary the vegetables I put in as well. Last time I added carrots and red and orange bell pepper.. this expanded the recipe and added a nice dimension.

Enjoy-

Zoe

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