Thursday, August 21, 2008

Pomegranate Marinated Tofu

Baked PomegranateTofu

I don't know maybe it's still my sister's gift singing soft inspirations in my ear but I've been wanting to marinate tofu in a pomegranate sauce all week. It's one of those things, like a dark chocolate craving, that won't quiet until you've surrendered to it. I decided to make the marinade out of pomegranate concentrate because that's what I had on hand. The result was beautiful and the tofu baked to perfection, leaving the house smelling like a trip to the Middle East with a layover in China or Japan to pick up the tofu of course.

Pomegranate Marinated Baked Tofu (serves 4)

Ingredients Pomegranate Marinade

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of paprika
1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon of honey or 1/2 tablespoon of agave nectar
1/4 cup pomegranate concentrate
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon roasted walnut oil
1/4 cup of cooking wine (such as sherry or sweet cooking rice wine)
Salt to taste
1 pound of firm tofu, cut horizontally in half and then into four equal portions (you'll have 8 pieces total)

In a pan, under medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add the spices and saute for a minute or two until well combined and fragrant. Then add the walnuts. Saute another minute, add the cilantro, honey or agave nectar and pomegranate concentrate. Mix well. Transfer to food processor, pulse a few times and add the remaining ingredients, except for the tofu. Pulse to obtain a sauce consistency.

Pomegranate Marinade

Put the slabs of tofu in a baking lasagna dish. Pour marinate over, rub gently with your fingers if necessary. Make sure that all pieces are covered on all sides by the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, longer is better (up to 24 hours).

Close-up Pomegranate Tofu

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake tofu for 30 minutes. Serve over rice and with a nice crisp salad. I served mine with imperial black rice and a refreshing fennel apple slaw.

9 comments:

vb said...

This looks great! I happen to love tofu but I bet this would be great on shrimp too.

Anonymous said...

This looks fantastic. I love pomegranate anything, and we've been eating a lot more tofu over the past year or so. Great idea!

rachel said...

Alexa,
Your blog has now beome my home away from home. BTW: my Mom is out here visiting and I showed her your blog and she was completely enthused by your recipes and the accompanying photos. So much so, she's willing to get over her technophobia-she won't even do that for me! Kudos!

Alexa said...

VB,

Thanks for your comment. Try it and let me know. :-)

Fearless Kitchen,
I am glad you liked it. Tofu is awesome... You can do so much with it.

Rachel,

You're so nice! and I am so glad to hear that your mom enjoyed looking at my blog. If I did help to get her over technology phobia, I am surprised because I still can't get my father to go on his computer to open my emails. he he. :-)

Apples and Butter said...

Thanks for the recipe! I like tofu, but don't know a lot of different ways to cook it so I am always excited to find new ones. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Interesting post, and I was attracted by your nice photos.

But Tofu is something that would NEVER be found in our trailer house. I'm afraid that my boyfriend "Big Bear" would kill me (literally) if I ever tried to serve him tofu.

Louise,

Senior Adviser, Serious Eats

Alexa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bonbon Oiseau said...

looks incredible!!!! I will be trying this this week!

test it comm said...

This sounds like a tasty way to enjoy tofu.

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