Tofu Spaghetti Sauce
Not too difficult. Actually, once you crumble it, firm tofu is pretty much a one-for-one replacement for ground beef. (And, I should point out, 1 block of tofu pretty much doubles its volume during crumbling.) The taste lacks a certain body brought to it by the beef, but I’m sure a little experimentation will help that.
The only real problem I have with the tofu is it’s colour. Tofu is white and stays fairly pale when cooked. Beef, on the other hand is red and cooks to a nice brown. The first solution that occurs to me is to just marinate the tofu in beef broth overnight, which should darken the colour and may even add the ‘meaty’ body. However, this stands a good chance of adding a fair amount of salt to the tofu which could be a problem.
The colour can be camouflaged by simply sprinkling parmesan cheese on top of the sauce. The parmesan is pretty much the same shade as the tofu, so the tofu sort of blends in with the cheese, and parmesan is something my mind expects to be present on the spaghetti. This doesn’t help the fact it looks wrong while cooking, though.
As for methodology, it was pretty straight forward: I sautéed about 1 tsp of minced garlic and 1/2 cup of minced onion in about 2 tbsp of olive oil. Once that was softened, I added 1 block of crumbled firm tofu (the tofu had seasonings already in it, so this step smelled really, really good) and cooked for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Then I added 2 jars of off-the-shelf pasta sauce (Healthy Choice Chunky Lovers Italian Vegetable and Traditional, to be exact), brought it to a simmer and let that go for about 20 minutes. I added about 1 cup of water while it was simmering since it looked a bit dry. The pleasant surprise was that when I added the tofu it absorbed most of olive oil in the pan, and carried it right through to the plate, which was neat.
Health food? What? WHY?!
Try using the St ives veggie ground round next time. From a vegetarian perspective, the veggie ground round is super tasty, and it fools some carnivores, AND i’ve found carnivores who will a) eat it willingly and b) outwardly admit that they liked it.
firm tofu however, when marinated in a herb, spice and lemon rub then put on a skewer then broiled (just make sure it doens’t burn ) is SUPER tasty! and it has a similar consistency to good feta cheese.
enjoy!
I’ve tried a similar recipe before, but couldn’t get the tofu to absorb any of the tastes, leaving it tasting like it’s rubbery self. . Is crumbled tofu a different brand from the average rubbery type?
Stace: I was looking for veggie ground round, but I couldn’t find it at Safeway, I’ll venture into Sobey’s next time and keep my eyes open next time I’m in Superstore.
John: Crumbled tofu is just tofu that you’ve broken up into crumbs with your fingers. Also note that you need to dehydrate it a bit before you cook with it so that it’ll suck up whatever flavourful liquid you cook it in. And, when it’s in little ground-beef-sized bits, it’s not rubbery at all.
best is to get extra firm tofu and squish the beejeezus out of it, cut it up and squish it some more, it will crumble nicely
OH and veggie ground round is only 3$ at superstore, or 7 ish for 4 pkg. and you can freeze it and use it later.
AND you can mix 1 package with 2/3 cup of mashed potatoes (real or fake) and 1/2 a package of onion soup mix, put it in a pie plate (with crust on bottom and top) and bake. Serve with salad, token vegetable, stuffing and gravy for a nummy meal!
So… Safeway does have Veggie Ground Round, I just missed it last time. It definitely solves the colour and ‘body’ problems.
sounds really good. is this interest in vegetarian food sudden?
Try draining the tofu, then freezing it. The morning you will make the spaghetti sauce, leave it on the counter. Then crumble it with your fingers. You will be surprised at the great new texture and it is not rubbery in the least! Tofu is terrific, you just need to learn how to cook with it!