Has anyone got an exciting recipe for polenta and/or tofu?

Question

In need of inspiration

Best answer gets my recently perfected recipe for ``pledger's awesome chickpea and lentil burgers'' ;)

Greenghost: ``Vegetarians do not eat fish. A fish eater is a Piscivore. Spread the correct word!
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/piscivo...''

Calm yourself down sir!!!

Besides which you're quite quite wrong...a piscivore refers to the HABITUAL eating of fish, like with omnivores,herbivores etc

The correct word you should be bitchin about is ``Pescitarian''

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pescetarian

x x x

Answer 1

I use them both (together) as layers in lasagna and as pizza toppings! In either case thaw and drain some chopped frozen spinach (or use cooked drained fresh spinach) and mix it into the tofu along with fresh Italian herbs. Add some powdered cashew nuts into the polenta to give it a cheesier taste (sounds weird but it works) and make separate layers in lasagna instead of ricotta and other cheeses. Dollops of the same mixes are also tasty on pizza!

Edit:

Rather than answer the email you sent I'll do it here since your mail was identical to the slam you provided in this question.

I'd suggest you reread that wiki article again! Here's the applicable snippet:
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As of August 2004, "pescatarian", "pescotarian", and "piscatarian" could also be found on the Internet, but "pescetarian" was perhaps the most popular. (While Italian pesce is pronounce with a soft "ch", the English term is usually pronounced with a hard "c".) "Pescavore" is also quite common, formed by analogy with "carnivore" (though the more regular word piscivore already existed).
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Piscivore has been applied to humans that eat fish for millenia! The recent 'innovation' (less than 20 years) of applying the -arian suffix to the practice of eating animals instead of the real -vore suffix appears to have been started by anti-vegetarian groups as a method of diluting the meaning of vegetarian. Every internet reference to this practice leads back to that wiki article you link. The earliest citation I've been able to find is in articles from the cattleman's association published around '90. Do you have any earlier citations? Mayhaps you'd like to also ask William Safire to study the etymology of the term?

I refuse to accept this trashing of what it means to be vegetarian. It's time to stop this new meme of abusing -arian while it's still young. We've seen the trend to start adding birds to a vegetarian diet; what's next? pork and beef used as a prefix to -arian?

I *don't* have a problem with folks eating meats but I DO have a big problem with people using terms that confuse the issue as to what a vegetarian is and what we eat!!

Answer 2

Are you making it or buying it premade? Either way it is awesome! If you live near a Trader Joe's, step in and get a premade tube of it. Slice it in 1/4 inch slices and lightly fry in some olive oil.

Trader Joe's also has a great sundried tomato pesto. Pick some of that up along with some brie or another soft or semi soft cheese. After you flip the polenta slices, layer on some cheese and let melt. When half melted, top with pesto and heat until warm. Simple but good.

In the morning I do the same thing but instead of pesto I layer a poached egg on top of the polenta. Then I make a spicey sauce with thinly sliced green onions a little sour cream and hot sauce combined. It's a Mexican Eggs Benedict!

You can do the same thing with soft polenta as well. If you make your own polenta, pour into a shallow pan and let cool. Turn it out and cut into thick slices or "fingers". Stick on skewers and lightly fry and dip in tomato sauce with parm!!!!

Also good for breakfast with syrup or applesauce. Be creative, you can use poletna for almost anything!!

Here is the BEST soft polenta recipe (via Michael Ciarello!)

1 1/2 cups veggie stock
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground white pepper
5 tablespoons polenta
5 tablespoons semolina
1/4 cup freshly grated Fontina or Telme
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for dusting

In a heavy saucepan, combine the stock and cream, and bring to a boil. Add the nutmeg and salt. Whisk in the polenta and semolina and cook over low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until the grains are soft. Fold in the cheeses. Serve immediately or reserve.
To encourage polenta to come cleanly out of the pan, cook over medium heat. Run a spatula or wooden spoon around the sides of the pan to clean off the polenta. Do not stir, but wait and watch for a few seconds until a large bubble begins to form and pushes the polenta upward. Pour immediately into a warm dish.
The polenta can be made ahead and reheated: add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water or stock, cover the dish, and reheat in the microwave or over low heat. Whisk well before serving. Grate a dusting of Parmesan over the top just before serving

Answer 3

Listen Hala, I am not after the 10 points, but you have to try this! Take your 1 pound block of tofu (firm or even better extra firm) and cut it in thin (1/3 inch) slices, and put in a zip lock with enough tamari or soy sauce to marinate well. Freeze this over night and pull out. Freezing tofu opens up the "pores" so that it will take more of the flavor of the marinate. Then, mix a tablespoon of nutritional yeast with a little of the marinade so that it is kind of thick and sticky. Dip tofu cutlets in this mixture and then drop into dry nutritional yeast with a little garlic and onion powder to "bread" it with this mixture. Pan fry on both sides in grape seed or other healthy high heat oil till golden brown. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice, with vegan mashed potatoes (or vegetarian with milk and butter if you roll like that) and skillet sauted corn or green beans or whatever... this is my fav "country fried tofu" recipe. This sh!t is the bomb! If you do this or want other tofu recipes email me, I have muchos! .

Answer 4

This is great for tofu. If you are a vegetarian, you can leave out the meat and use vegetable stock.


Hot and Sour Soup

1/4 pound pork or chicken
1 cake bean curd, tofu
3 to 4 Chinese dried mushrooms, soaked
1 pint good chicken or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp. rice wine or sherry
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. shredded Bamboo shoots
1 egg, beaten

Thinly shred the pork, bean curd and the mushrooms. Bring the stock to a rolling boil, add the pork, bean curd and mushrooms, simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, then add wine, soy sauce, peppers, vinegar and salt. Now blend the corn starch with a little cold water to make a smooth paste, pour into the soup slowly, stirring all the time. Add bamboo shoots and beaten egg in a thin stream, stirring constantly until egg cooks. Serve as soon as the soup thickens.

Answer 5

My personal favorite: I found it online, and it's fantasic:
* 1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 8 slices
* 1 cup tangy BBQ sauce
* 1 package (16 oz) prepared polenta, patted dry and cut into 12 slices
* 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
* 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
* 1/4 tsp sea salt
* 1/4 ground black pepper, to taste
* 2 TB organic extra virgin olive oil
* 1/4 cup parsley, minced

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a baking dish, coat the tofu completely with the BBQ sauce. Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the flour with the spices in a bowl and coat each slice of polenta with it. Heat the olive oil over medium low and lightly sauté the polenta for 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a paper towel and drain. To serve, place 3 pieces of polenta on a plate. Top with 2 slices of tofu and garnish with parsley.

Answer 6

MEXICAN POLENTA PIE (OOPS! I didn't see you were vegan!! So...just omit the turkey?? Add some beans instead. Either way, this has some wonderful flavor!)

(This is currently in my oven cooking RIGHT NOW!!)

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green sweet pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound uncooked ground turkey
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can (15-ounce size) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounce size) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup bottled salsa
2 tubes (16-ounce size) refrigerated cooked polenta
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2/3 cup chopped fresh tomato
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.

In a 12-inch skillet cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in 1 tablespoon hot oil until tender. Add turkey, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Cook until turkey is no longer pink, stirring to break up the meat. Add beans, undrained canned tomatoes, and salsa. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer gently, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Cut 1 tube of polenta into 1/2-inch cubes and press evenly into prepared baking dish. Halve remaining polenta lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; set aside. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over polenta in dish. Top with meat mixture. Arrange sliced polenta over meat; sprinkle with remaining cheese and fresh tomato. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with cilantro. Let stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

This recipe for Mexican Polenta Pie serves/makes 8

Answer 7

Oh my goodness, I have a great recipe for polenta. Basically, it is a vegetarian variation of Paula Deen's shrimp and grits- you can find the recipe on foodnetwork.com just look for Paula Deen and shrimp and grits. The variation is to obviously omit the shrimp, unless you want it and add polenta instead of grits. Marianra and polenta make a yummy mix!

Answer 8

1Tofu block- medium firm cut up 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch cubes
1 carrot - thinly sliced
5 Shitake mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic
2 slices of ginger (size of a quarter)
1 stalk of green onion - diced
Mushroom soy 1 oz
Sugar 1-2 table spoon
cooking wine - 1 oz
Sesame oil -just a few drops
Water 3-4 oz
Soak mushroom in warm water for 5 minutes, and slice
Mix soy, sugar, wine, in a small container
Warm up wok/pan to hot, pour in 1 tbl spoon olive oil
Fry garlic / ginger / onion to lightly brown
Put in sauce mixture, stir for 10 seconds, then pour in water, and bring the sauce to boil.
Put in tofu, and shitake mushrooms and let it cook in med heat with cover for about 5 minutes (you really need to sauce to work it self in to the tofu). When the tofu is slightly brown, put in sesame oil and serve.

Answer 9

I have in the fridge tofu and wonton soup.Chicken base, water, tofu, brocolli, carrot shreds, water chesnuts, green onions, and frozen wontons. Spicy tofu and veggie stirfry is good...favorite spicy asian sauce, veggies, tofu, and sliced dried red peppers. Don't stir fry the tofu...gets tough.

Answer 10

www.recipezaar.com has PLENTY of recipes for polenta and for tofu. go there.