Most people's response to tofu is to wrinkle their nose! I never ate tofu (except for in my miso soup when having sushi) until I met my partner Matthew who is vegetarian and thus depends on tofu as a source of protein (and it has other benefits such as low in fat and high iron level). I found it surprisingly delicious when Matthew cooked it for me and have since learned how to prepare it and enjoy it. The 'secret' to tofu is that it is a great carrier of taste - ie whatever you marinate it in will become the flavor of it. This is especially great when you are not on the detox and you can soak it in ingredients like tamari and soy and make it a delicious addition to your stirfry. A great way to prepare it detox-friendly is to griddle it on a griddle pan and serve it with tahini (as I have done in this recipe).
Tahini is a sesame paste which unprepared doesn't taste of much, but with added spices etc has a delicious taste not too dissimilar to hummus (and is in fact one of the ingredients used for making hummus). I have included a recipe of how to prepare it below.
I also use tofu and tahini as a snack so if you are so inclined make some extra tofu and cut it into slightly larger pieces (though still max 1 cm thick) to dip in tahini. It tastes great both warm and cold.
Butternut squash is one of those vegetables/fruits that cause a bit of debate as to whether it is alkaline or not! I have had it during my detox periods and have not found it to cause any sort of reaction (which you do have if you have a piece of chocolate) so my take is that it is appropriate for it. If you disagree then you can substitute it with another vegetable such as broccoli or asparagus which will both go well with the other ingredients.
Serving 4
200 g butternut squash cut into pieces
4 celery stalks finely sliced
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Salt & pepper
150 g green beans, blanched and cooled
A handful pine nuts, dry roasted on a non-stick pan
4 sprigs spring onion sliced
A handful rocket
250 g firm tofu
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the butternut squash and celery in a medium baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, cumin, coriander, salt & pepper. Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender. Remove and allow to cool.
Cut the block of tofu so that each slice is no more than 1 cm thick. Lay the slices on paper towel and gently press to remove excess moisture. Heat a griddle pan – once very hot, put the tofu on and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the tofu is golden brown with darker griddle lines. Remove from heat, let it cool for a few minutes and cut into smaller cubes
Tahini
2-3 tblsp Tahina paste
½-1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tblsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tblsp ground cumin (to taste)
1 tblsp vegetable oil
2-3 pinches Maldon sea salt
water
For the tahini, whisk the tahina paste with water with a fork until the paste and water has a smooth consistency. Add lemon juice, garlic, cumin and salt to taste. Depending on how thick you like the tahini to be you can add more water or lemon juice as you see fit. The tahini will get thicker with time - ie if you leave it in the refrigerator until the next day it will have become thicker again but you can then again make it thinner by adding water or lemon juice.
Mix together the butternut squash, celery, green beans, spring onion, pine nuts, rocket and tofu.
To serve: Divide the salad up on 4 plates and drizzle with tahini.
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