Friday, February 3, 2012

Tofu Almondine in a White Wine-Butter Sauce

I recently spearheaded a very informal survey in which I asked my readers if they liked tofu or not. Overwhelmingly, the answer was that it really depended on how it is prepared. I can assure you that this recipe would pass the test. I mean, the tofu is accompanied by sweet toasted almonds and a buttery white wine sauce. What could be better than this vegetarian take on a New Orleans classic?

The sauce is the key to the deliciousness of this dish. I try to be calorically frugal, so I used it sparingly. However, the pan with the sauce in it found its way to the dinner table where it was further drizzled with abandon.

Tofu Almondine
(serves two)

1/2 cup almonds (toasted in a dry pan until lightly browned)
1 block extra firm tofu
1/4 teaspoon each: sea salt, cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup canola oil 
1 tablespoon butter
White Wine-Butter Sauce (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (for garnish)

Cut the tofu into six 'filets' that are thicker on one side than the other (i.e., they come to a point). Season both sides of the tofu with sea salt, cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes, and paprika. 

Heat a 12-inch skillet to medium heat and add the canola and butter. Place 1/4 cup of flour on a large dinner plate. Dredge each filet on both sides and shake off any excess flour. Once the butter has melted, gently lay seasoned, dreaded tofu filet into the pan; this is best done in batches of three. Cook tofu for 4-5 minutes on the first side of until golden brown. Flip each piece and repeat the same cooking process for the other side. Removed cooked tofu filet to a cookie sheet and keep warm in a 300-degree oven until ready to serve.

To serve, place one tofu filet on a bed of wilted greens or potato hash, drizzle a teaspoon of sauce over it, and then add a few toasted almonds. Repeat by stacking the filets three high. To finish, drizzle the sauce around the plate and garnish with a little chopped parsley.

White Wine-Butter Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter (divided)
1/2 cup shallot (diced)
1 lemon (or meyer lemon)
2 tablespoons vegetarian Worcestershire
1 teaspoon sugar
2 dried bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup of half and half

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt one tablespoon of butter and sauté the shallot in butter until shallot appears translucent -- this should take about two minutes. Cut the lemon in half and add the juice from the lemon and also the rind to the pan. (Don't worry about seeds; you will strain this sauce later.) Add the worcestershire sauce, sugar, bay leaves, pepper and wine to the pan. Allow mixture to reduce by half (this should take 8-10 minutes or so). It will look syrupy when it's properly reduced. 

Turn off the heat. Temper the half and half by adding two tablespoons of the wine mixture to the half and half before adding it all back into the mixture. This will keep your sauce from breaking. Strain the whole thing through a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse the pan of any debris and then return the strained sauce to the pan. Keep warm until ready to serve. Just before serving, whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter. This process is known as mounting a sauce with butter, and it results in a very rich and flavorful sauce.

7 comments:

  1. Nobody has done this? I got this one. Give me through the weekend to dig in.

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  2. Making this tomorrow the 14th for Valentines dinner!

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  3. God that was good, we enjoyed it immensely. So little to fix. Excellent recipe. I pressed the tofu for an hour to reduce moisture and improve texture. I was able to measure the block and get 6 even portions....maybe showing a diagram would help others new to tofu? We used a meyer lemon as it's what I had on hand...they're delicious, sweeter and "brighter" in flavor. I am not a saucier' and was not sure how long the reduction would take....I am guessing it was 15-20 minutes. I was really bummed when I added the cream it broke. :( I think had I thought about it, I would have known to temper it in...I think the recipe should suggest same...but it still tasted wonderful. Do you recommend dredging the tofu immediately before frying? Due to poor planning, mine sat for 20 minutes and the flour went wet. It worked just dandy though. When cooking the tofu, I thought it best to put the thick edge in the center of the pan as it would want more heat...yes? While composing the stack, I put 5-7 almonds per slab. There was definitely at least an almond per bite and I still had 1/2 of the almonds left over....I think 1/3 cup is plenty. What a treat and I will surely be using both the sauce technique and the tofu method in the future, thanks! Good job.

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  4. Trevor,

    All great points. I should have said both about tempering the cream and dredging just before frying.

    I will add this to the recipe for sure.

    I really appreciate you taking this one on. I think it tastes so good and with your help it'll be great.

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  5. You should have used more almonds though. I love almonds!

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  6. Ch ch ch check it. See if I missed anything.

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