Italian themed tofu?

Question

What's a nice, preferably vegan, way to make tofu with an Italian flair?

Answer 1

Add diced garlic some fresh chopped chives simmer lightly in a pan and add some chopped fresh tomato or sun dried tomato. Serve over some angel hair pasta lightly dressed with extra virgin olive oil. Yummy!

Answer 2

Well this recipe has tofu in it...but you cant really tell that it does. It is one of my favs. and has become a staple in my mom's house....and she doesnt even like tofu.

Cheesy Pasta Bake

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 box Mori Nu tofu, extra firm
enough pasta to fill an 8x8 pan (hand full)
8 ounces of your favorite marinara
1/2 block of vegan gourmet mozzarella
spices: parsley, basil, garlic
optional: cayenne

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti halfway. You don't want it to be mushy once you bake it.

While that's cooking, drain the box of tofu and put it into a medium/small bowl. Squish with a fork into small pieces.

Add the parsley, basil and garlic (add more of the spices you like best). I mix in a lot of all three. Blend with your fork but don't squish the tofu into too tiny of pieces.

Then, grate your mozzarella. Use 1/3 to 1/2 of a block of vegan gourmet mozzarella. Put aside.

Drain pasta. Put the pasta into the pan. Add all of the tofu ricotta mix. Mix them together.

Now pour your pasta sauce on top of the pasta/ricotta mixture. Pour a little more sauce than you think, so it doesn't dry out.

Mix all three ingredients well. You can even put some of the extra ricotta on top, if you had any left over.

Once you've mixed the pasta, ricotta and sauce so that it's equally spaced in the pan, simply add the vegan gourmet mozzarella on top. Use as much as you like.

It's important to spray the top of the cheese with your Pam or other oil spray. This makes the cheese on top melt smoothly and have a golden color when it's done.

Bake on high, at least 400 degrees (even up to 500) until it bubbles. Don't be afraid to let it cook until it bubbles and starts turning brown.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes

I usually add some back olives and some mushrooms. You could also put some other veggies in it like broccoli or crooked neck squash. I got it from www.vegweb.com....there are tons of great vegan and vegetarian recipes on there.

Enjoy!

Answer 3

If you want a quick answer and solution, look for products from Pete's Tofu. These are vegan, organic soy products and include an extra-firm block of tofu made with Italian seasonings as well as a products that they call Mambo Italian, which is a package large enough for two servings of tofu, packed in an Italian-spiced tomato sauce. All you need to do with this one is to open the package (carefully, or you'll get the sauce all over you) and enjoy.

Check your local grocery stores and natural food stores, but you can also order it on-line.

Answer 4

VegWeb.com
Recipes => Conchiglie, Cavatelli, Conchiglioni (Sea Shell Shapes)

Recipe submitted by Theresa [e-mail]

Vegan Stuffed Shells

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 container extra-firm tofu
5 tablespoons nutritional yeast (http://vegweb.com/products/censura.php?cmd=details&itemid=803)
dash of nutmeg
vidalia onion (or other sweet onion), chopped
2 boxes of frozen spinach, or the fresh equivalent
3 cloves garlic, 4 if you like garlic
at least 5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large jar spaghetti sauce or fresh made
1 box pasta jumbo shells
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil

Directions:

Place 3/4 of the Tofu in a Food Processor or Blender and add 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil, a pinch of Nutmeg, nutritional yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Blend until smooth. Mash the remaining Tofu into the Blended mixture that resembles Ricotta cheese or cottage cheese. Set aside.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Sauté the onion in a little Olive Oil till it becomes translucent, but not browned then add the garlic and sauté for just a minute more. If using frozen spinach just defrost the spinach do not cook. If using fresh spinach steam until the spinach is wilted about 2 minutes in boiling water. Make sure in both instances to squeeze out all of the excess liquid. Add the spinach, onion and seasonings to the Ricotta mixture and set aside. Can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 24 hours.

In a large pot boil the Shells as directed on the package. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool off enough to handle them. Place enough spaghetti sauce on the bottom of an 8 X 12 baking dish just to cover. Stuff the shells with the Ricotta mixture. When you are done stuffing the shells place the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the shells. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serves: 4 to 5

Preparation time: 60 minutes





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VegWeb.com
Recipes => Manicotti, Cannelloni (Tubes)

Recipe submitted by Adel, Chrisoula & Maxwell

Ricotta and Spinach Suffed Manicotti

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 lbs. firm tofu
1 10 oz package frozen spinach (thawed)
1 tablespoon garlic powder or 1 - 2 cloves fresh garlic - chopped
1/4 cup nurtritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
3 or 4 tablespoon nice olive oil
1 package manicotti noodles
1 good size jar tomato sauce - I like Barilla Lasagna & Casserole Sauce

Directions:

Note: A little trick I learned working in a good Italian
Restaurant in New Jersey. You do not need to precook the
Manicotti Noodles, just leave the filling a bit wetter than
you normally would. The same goes for lasagna noodles.

Oven @ 375 degrees

Drain spinach by squeezing in hands over the sink, not
totally dry! Remove tofu from water and put into food
processor or bowl. Add spinach, garlic, salt, pepper,
oregano, yeast flakes, and about 2 Tbsps olive oil. Pulse
or mix by hand in bowl until well mixed and smooth, scaping
sides of bowl. Taste. Adjust seasoning. Fill large zip
lock or regular plastic bag w / mixture. Snip about a dime
size hole in bottom corner. Pipe mixture into manicotti
shells, filling compactly. Pour tomatoe sauce into a large
bowl. Fill jar up w / about 1/2 - 3/4 cup water. Put top
back on jar and shake well to further remove any remaining
sauce. Add to sauce in bowl, mix well adding some olive
oil. Ladle 1/2 sauce into a large retangular pan. Put
stuffed manicoti into sauce. Top w / remaining sauce. Bake
, covered 20 - 25 min. Remove cover and bake another 10 -
15 min, until nice and bubbly and a little crunchy. If you
have some vegan mozzerella (SOYMAGE), you can shred it and
top the noodles during the last stage when the noodles are
cooking uncovered. I don't think the soy "cheese" makes
much of a difference, but it does make the dish look a bit
more traditional. Let cool a bit and ENJOY!!

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 40 min.





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Answer 5

My mom (she tries so hard!) just picked me up some flavored tofu.

It's "Pete's Tofu2Go" the flavor is Mambo Italiano... It's 2 servings with a packet of Marinara sauce.

I haven't had it yet, but I've had their Ginger & Sesame, and there berry dessert tofu... pretty tasty!

Pretty sure she just picked it up at Whole Foods...

I figure I'll cook up some veggie infused pasta and crumble it into my sauce!

Here is a link for their products!

http://www.sunrise-soya.com/petestofu.htm