I just bought Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry, and it has tofu recipes in it.  I should have known by the “vegan” in the title, but I optimistically hoped it might be more centered on beans, which seemed like the more traditional choice.

I don’t love tofu, but O does.  He eats it strait out of the package, which is fine for a toddler.  But I had almost given up on it.  Then yesterday I took a leap of faith and made Blackened Tofu Slabs with Succotash Salsa.   Romeo declared it the best tofu he’s ever eaten.

It think one of the reasons we don’t always like plant based food is that we are busy and spend all of our energy on the meat- the main dish.  But with tofu, it’s about planning ahead, not laboring.  You can’t just plop a pound of extra firm tofu on the grill and expect it to be appetizing.  (You wouldn’t be able to do this with meat either, except that when most meat is processed, it is injected with a brine or broth which contains salt and other seasonings.)

Even extra firm tofu has too much moisture in it for an application like this.  Bryant Terry recommends freezing and thawing it, and then pressing the extra water out by wrapping it in paper towels and weighing it down.  I’ve also had good results by salting (or drizzling soy sauce) and baking slowly before using it in a recipe.

This made for a beautiful, tasty and satisfying meal without too much effort.

This dish may not look like much, but it delivers.  With each bite it endears itself more, until you’ll wonder how you ever lived without fonio, a tiny whole grain from Africa.  I was skeptical of this simple recipe.  But the fonio and peanuts blended together to a nutty toothsome texture.  The eggplant went silky smooth and melded with slices of okra and the broth is tart and suprisingly flavorful.  There’s supposed to be some spice to this dish, but I left out so my kids (ok, and I) could eat it.

You might have a hard time finding fonio, but it’s worth a look.  I couldn’t find anyplace online to buy it, so I thought I was out of luck, but my in-laws took me to a Mexican restaurant which happened to be next door to Baobab African Grocery in Indianapolis.  Sure enough, they had it, along with kenkey flour, which you’ll hear about soon.  I couldn’t stop talking about it on the way home, to the point where my enthusiasm began to be met with awkward silence.

When you find fonio, try Pierre Thiam’s Sesame Fonio too, or check out his cookbook Yolele!: Recipes from the Heart of Senegal.  It’s the best cookbook I’ve seen that focuses on a Sub-Saharan African cuisine.  Not to mention the photography by Adam Bartos, which alone makes for a worthy purchase.

Steamed Fonio and Crushed Peanuts with Spicy Eggplant (Djouka de Fonio)
Reprinted with permission from Yolele!: Recipes from the Heart of Senegal by Pierre Thiam
Published by Lake Isle Press

1 cup raw shelled peanuts
1 cup fonio
1 tablespoon salt dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup finely sliced okra
1/2 cup water
2 large eggplants, cut into 3-inch chunks
1 habanero pepper
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon white vinegar

SERVES 4

1.  Finely crush the peanuts using a food processor.
2.  Place the fonio in the top of a steamer lined with cheesecloth.  (MM NOTE: I lined the top of a rice cooker and added a little cooking time to the end).  Set over simmering water, cover, and steam the fonio 10 minutes.  Drizzle with salted water, using a fork to fluff.  Steam 5 more minutes.  With the fonio still in the basket, top with the ground peanuts and return to steam for another 10 minutes, until well moistened.
3.  Meanwhile, in a small pot, bring 1/2 cup water to a simmer and cook okra, 15 to 20 minutes.  Combine okra with fonio mixture.  Set aside, covered, to keep warm.
4.  Place the eggplants and habanero pepper in a small pot with just enough water to cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until the eggplants are soft, 15 minutes.
5.  Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper.  Cook until the onions are soft, 5 minutes.  Add the eggplant and habanero along with their cooking liquid.  Stir in the vinegar.
6.  Serve the fonio on a platter with the eggplant mixture on top.  For a less-spicy version, omit the habanero.

Fennel and Cauliflower Gratin with Olives

1 head cauliflower broken into bite-size florets

olive oil

1 bulb fennel, trimmed of stalks and sliced

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

heaping 1/2 cup olives, pitted and roughly chopped

5 oz. ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add salt and cauliflower. When tender but still firm, drain.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over med-high heat.  Add onions and fennel and cook until until the fennel is tender and picks up a little color. Add garlic and olives and cook a couple minutes more.  Remove from heat.

Gently toss the cauliflower, fennel and olive mixture, ricotta, salt and pepper (to taste) and pour into an oiled baking dish.  Mix breadcrumbs and parsley and pat on top of the vegetables, and drizzle olive oil over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and the top is golden.

Serve with polenta oven fries, if desired.

Polenta Oven Fries

6 cups water

1.5 cups polenta

salt, pepper and olive oil

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add a couple of pinches of salt and slowly wisk in the polenta.  Turn down heat to a simmer and cook until very thick.  Pour into a nonstick cake pan and let cool.  After cooling, turn out polenta onto a large cutting board and slice into batons.  Place on broiler pan, brush generously with olive oil and broil until crisp and golden.  Season with salt and pepper while still hot.

I’ve thrown away fresh artichokes on three different occasions.  There.  I said it.  Don’t tell my grandma Norine.   And the first time I was served a whole one at a restaurant, I very nearly cried.  Ask Romeo.  It’s just that they are so intimidating.

The last three times (all this spring) I bought artichokes, I’m relieved to say, I put them to good use in this pasta dish, which tastes exactly what I want every pasta dish to taste like.  It’s got peas and slow roasted tomatoes bursting with sweetness.  There’s a garlicky white wine sauce with a splash of lemon and little flecks of fresh parsley.  But the fresh artichokes…  they brown so beautifully in the olive oil, unlike frozen or jarred.  So you’ve got to conquer fresh artichokes.

Sometimes you just need to dig in.  Get a lemon or two.  Fill a bowl with water and add some lemon juice.  Start snapping off the leaves, rubbing with lemon as you go.  Keep going until the leaves are yellow.  Your halfway there.  Chop off the top just above the ridge.  With a paring knife, trim the rough part where the leaves were snapped off.  Slice the whole thing in half lengthwise (including the stem.)  Spoon out the fuzzy choke.  Trim the stem until just the tender part is left.  Plonk in the bowl of water.  You’re done.  Unless you’re still trying to figure out where to chop the top off, in which case you should check out Becks & Posh’s guide, which is much better than mine.

Although the artichokes are the highlight of this dish, very often the slow roasted tomatoes get eaten right out of the oven, 1/4 of them gone before they even get tossed in the pan.  So you might want to make extra.

Artichokes, Peas and Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Pasta

serves 3-4

Make sure to start the tomatoes the day or night before, as they take 10-12 hours to cook.

adapted from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

1 lb. tomatoes (with salt, sugar and olive oil to slow roast)

4 large artichokes

6 T olive oil

4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled, but left whole

salt

1/2 cup water

3 T dry white wine

6 T finely chopped fresh Italian parsley (just use the leaves, washing and drying them before chopping)

1 T fresh lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. whole wheat shells or penne pasta

Preheat the oven to 175 or as low as it will go.  Cut the tomatoes in half and place closely together on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt and sugar.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for for about 10-12 hours.  I often stick them in the oven before I go to bed and take them out in the morning.  The tomatoes should be a shriveled, but still a little juicy.  Chop into 1 inch pieces and set aside.

Prepare the artichokes until you are left with just the hearts.  Slice thinly, and pat dry with a paper towel while you are heating the oil in a large frying pan over med-high heat.  Add the garlic cloves and artichoke hearts and stir until golden brown, adjusting the heat as necessary to make sure they pick up nice coloring.  Sprinkle with salt, and add water, wine and peas.  Bring to a simmer and cook until peas are tender.   Uncover and add parsley, lemon juice, pepper, and salt to taste.  Turn heat down and cook gently for a 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, stir and turn off the heat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt generously.  Add the whole wheat pasta, and cook until still firm, but no longer grainy.  Drain, return to pan, and toss with the artichokes, peas and tomatoes.   Check for seasoning and serve at once.