Tofu Scampi

Gluten Free/Easily Vegan

The Prince is a tofu nut. When asked his favorite he will say tofu, which is easily followed by pizza. When he answers tofu, King Dad gets this glossed over look, which I find hilarious! 

In addition, to loving tofu, if you followed our FB foodie page, you probably know by now that the Prince has a mature palette, luckily he passed the phase of only eating plain jasmine rice, and NOTHING else, when he was 2. I attribute that to continually encouraging him to try new things, with the caveat that he could spit it out if the taste was so bad it is killing him, and always cooking meals at home.

Anywho, a dish he had never had was shrimp scampi, but when I saw a version posted on the blog The "V" Word, I immediately thought about the Prince. He loves garlic, butter, salt and a bit of heat. Last night, I decided to make him Tofu-Scampi over GF Pasta.

Yes, Yes, linguini would have looked more official, but two things: 1) I didn’t have any. 2) The Prince has never had this dish, so he had no clue.
 

When asked if he liked it, here is how the conversation went:

Queen Mom: What do you think?

Prince: How many stars can it get?

Queen Mom: 5

Prince: You should have 6 be the highest, because this would be a 6!

What you need:

1 block extra-firm tofu, organic, NON-GMO, drained and pressed

2 lemons

5 large garlic cloves, organis

¼ cup coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil, organic

1/8 to ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (depends on your heat level)

Salt and pepper, a must

½ pound gluten free pasta 

3 Tbls butter (vegan if desired)

¼ red onion, organic, diced

¼ vegetable broth

1 tsp Italian seasoning

4 to 5 green onions, chopped

What you do:

Drain tofu, wrap in dish towel and place under heavy object to press.

Make Marinade:

In a shallow dish add zest and juice of 1 lemon, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. 

Prepare Tofu:

Cut tofu in small chunks: I first stand the tofu on its side and cut the block in ½, I then cut each half into 6 long strips and each strip into 6 chunks. I end up with 36 piece of tofu. Add tofu to marinade. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Pasta:

Cook pasta, drain and set aside. If using GF pasta, don’t overcook it, it typically cooks in less time than wheat pasta.

Cook Tofu:

Heat a large sauté pan and add marinated tofu, reserve left over marinade. Cook for 6 minutes, turning halfway through.

Remove tofu from pan and set aside.

Add leftover marinade to sauté pan along with butter and red onion. Sautee about 2 minutes.

Add vegetable broth, zest and juice from 2nd lemon, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Heat until simmering.

Toss in cooked pasta and tofu. Heat through. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Serve immediately, garnish with green onion.

Enjoy!