blackened tofu caesar salad

blackened tofu in a cast iron skillet

The caesar salad comes from the gorgeous Zuni Cafe Cookbook. The blackened tofu is mine, all mine.

I’ll do my best to write coherent instructions for it. I’m new to the whole writing-recipes-for-other-people thing. Most of my personal recipes look like this:

my recipe book

Help!

Now cleanse your peepers with this:

blackened tofu caesar salad

Ahhhh.

 

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Croutons

a 6 ounce chunk of day-old chewy bread, such as sourdough

2-3 tablespoons mild olive oil

salt

Cut the bread into 1/2″ cubes, toss with oil to coat, sprinkle with salt to taste, toss again and spread on a sheet pan. Toast, tossing cubes once or twice, until golden brown all over, around 10 minutes. The crouton should be slightly tender in the center. Let cool on pan.


Caesar Dressing

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2/3 cup mild olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

a few pinches of salt

2 large, cold, fresh eggs

3 ounces parmigiano-reggiano, grated (about 1 1/2 cups lightly packed)

black pepper

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Whisk together vinegar, oil, salt and garlic. Add eggs, a few sprinkles of the parmesan, reserving the rest for garnish, and lots of pepper. Whisk to emulsify. Add lemon juice and whisk again.

 

 

 


Blackened Tofu

1 pound of firm or extra firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2″ slabs

blackened seasoning

soy sauce

Heat a skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Add a swirl of oil to the pan, then slabs of tofu in a single layer. Fry, turning occasionally, until the tofu is a nice golden brown. Sprinkle one side liberally with seasoning, then turn and cook for a couple of minutes. Repeat with other side. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce over the tofu and cook until absorbed. Transfer tofu to a cutting board and cut into strips. Let cool.

To put the salad together you’ll need 2-3 heads of romaine lettuce, to yield 1 1/2 pounds of usable leaves. Toss romaine with dressing and remaining cheese, then croutons and serve topped with strips of blackened tofu.




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