This is the first post of a new sporadic feature where I will share some of my favorite cookbooks and recipes from these books.
Yotam Ottolenghi is an english chef, he focuses on fresh middle eastern flavors in his three cookbooks. His book, Plenty, has one of my favorite tofu recipes of all time and has many other recipes that are delicious, fresh, and healthy. Finding one recipe to share in this post was difficult considering all of his recipes are delicious! I would highly recommend any of these books.
Black Pepper Tofu (serves 3-4)
2 cups canola oil, or any oil that has a high smoke point so you can fry in it
2 # firm tofu, cut into ~1 inch cubes
cornstarch
11 tbs. unsalted butter
3 tbs. finely chopped ginger
12 small shallots, thinly sliced
12 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 hot red peppers, seeded and minced
5 tbs. coarsely ground black pepper
3 tbs. sweet soy sauce (you can find this at any asian market)
3 tbs. light soy sauce (this is the normal soy sauce)
4 tsp. dark soy sauce (you can find this at any asian market)
2 tbs. sugar
16 small scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
Cooked white rice, for serving
Heat the oil in a frying pan until the temperature is high enough that it will bubble if you drop a tiny bit of cornstarch into it. At this point dip the tofu cubes into the cornstarch and fry in the oil, turning as necessary, to get all of the sides a consistent golden brown color. Once all of the tofu is fried, empty the pan and wipe it out with a paper towel. Add ginger, shallots, garlic, hot peppers and saute them until they are soft. Add the pepper the soy sauces and the sugar and stir together. Now add the tofu and warm through. Just before serving toss in the scallions and serve over white rice.
This recipe is DELICIOUS! But spicy. If you aren't a huge fan of spice dial back the hot peppers, I wouldn't change the amount of pepper though since you want that strong black pepper taste! Enjoy!
xxC
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