Tofu 0, LunaNik 1

I am funny about the texture of my food. This is why I never really liked eggs, jello, rice pudding, things like that. If it's jiggly, chances are I ain't eatin' it. So, I knew that tofu would be a problem. It's not jiggly per se, but it is a bit egg-like. My first go around was your standard issue stir fry. I did what I could to eat AROUND the tofu. Ok, so a peice or two snuck by, but for the most part, I didn't eat it.

So I started researching tofu. What's the deal with tofu? How do I cook tofu so it won't make me gag? I learned about freezing tofu, soaking tofu, pressing tofu, slicing, dicing, cubing, scrambling, blending, and finally MARINATING tofu. But every marinade involved some sort of asian food theme. Lots of soy, ginger, and garlic. Not that I don't like that flavor component, but it's not what I was looking for in a basic marinade.

So I decided to use a marinade recipe that I used to use for shrimp. Why couldn't it work for tofu?? Here's what I did...I sliced the tofu thin, maybe 1/4 of an inch thick, then I pressed it for about an hour. Why so long? Honestly, because I forgot about it. Then I stuck it in a container full of marinade and let it sit overnight. Today, I coated the slices in breadcrumbs, a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, a spritz of oil, and into a 400 degree oven they went until they were nice and toasty. I didn't actually time how long it took...maybe 20 minutes. Here's what the finished product looked like...

I ate it with rice and edamame. Not bad, eh? And here's the best part, it actually tasted great! The breading was crunchy, the tofu was tasty, even the texture was good. I highly recommend it.

Here's the marinade recipe:

1 cup olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

2 T hot pepper sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T tomato paste

2 t dried oregano

1 t salt

1 t black pepper

fresh parsley, chopped

This is the marinade as I have it written down. However, I always tweak it a bit. I use ketchup instead of tomato paste for a little added sweetness, I add in some lemon zest to really brighten the flavor, and I use red pepper flakes for added heat.

Please let me know if you try it. I'd love to know how you tweaked the recipe, what you served it with, etc. Remember, I'm still new at this so it will be nice to hear some feedback!