Day 10 - Marinated Italian Tofu and Mushroom Marinara Sauce

Marinated Italian Tofu

I had a package of tofu in my fridge nearing extinction, so I thought I'd whip it out tonight and try one of I&T's cooking methods for this vegetarian standby.

Those people who knew me in the 90's remember that I was a diehard vegetarian for the better part of that decade... so I put in some major time with tofu back then, since it was one of the only games in town for us veggies. But it had been a while since I pressed a block of tofu, and I couldn't remember the best way. I had stuck it in a colander with a can of tomatoes on top, but then I did a little googling, and I found this. Genius! This REALLY gets the job done!

I decided to bake it, since I've never really embraced my cast iron grill pan, and I've been putting off pulling it out. (It's so hard to clean between the ridges!) 

I should mention that the baking version takes longer than the grilled version. Add about 15 minutes. (The parchment was my idea, not I&T's.) And I did opt for the extra credit broil at the end.

The result? Good. Very respectable. Of course, I wasn't dressing it up with any sauciness or folderol. I just ate it as is. They nicely straddled the line between tender and chewy, with enough flavor from the marinade to be tasty and little enough flavor to be able to be a supporting character in another ingredient's vehicle.

SFO: 5

(Eaten alone, these are great for vegetarians but not likely to convert a meat-eater. In the context of a more specific meal, I can see these getting a higher SFO score.)

Mushroom Marinara Sauce

Well, there's nothing unusual about this marinara recipe: it's very straightforward and very good! Tons of garlic, and a sprinkling of dried herbs. I have to confess, after my "internships" with Martha and Cooks Illustrated, I was very haughty about fresh herbs over dried. I&T don't seem to traffic in fresh herbs, and I thought this was going to be a problem for me, but I'm surprised to learn that dried herbs taste good too! Who knew?

Typo alert: I do have one gripe about the recipe as printed. It says that it yields 5 cups. But I'm here to tell you, it doesn't. It's not even 4 cups. When you do the math, it makes sense: the only ingredient with heft is the 28 oz can of tomatoes. 28 ounces is 3.5 cups. In weight, and in this case in volume. I can't imagine a 28 oz can of tomatoes that could yield 5 cups of sauce. I added a whole lot of mushrooms to this sauce, and I still ended up with less than 4 cups total.

SFO: 10