Curried Tofu Scramble with Spinach

Hello! Welcome to This Spicy Life… I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post. Spring has brought so many chores and activities that have kept me away from blogging for the past few weeks. Hopefully I can get the momentum going again and start posting more frequently!

This morning I woke up early with the kids. It’s a sunny-cloudy day, so we aren’t sure if it’s about to pour down rain or if we should get outside while the weather holds. Either way, with a very active day ahead I wanted to make a high-protein breakfast this morning. I decided on tofu and a vegetarian sausage along with some fresh organic strawberries and a left-over chappati from last night.

A word about the sausage: I found this pack of Harmony Valley Vegetarian Sausage Mix at Henry’s Market.

I used a portion of it over the last few months adding a little of it to chili and jambalaya with great success. I finished up the pack today by adding water, letting it rest, forming it into patties and then shallow frying in a bit of oil. The texture is fantastic and the taste is great. I like this more than the Gimme Lean brand of sausage for making patties. If you can find it at your local grocery, I recommend you try it out.

Here’s my recipe for Curried Tofu Scramble with Spinach. If you don’t have the individual spices listed, you may substitute 2 tsp curry powder. I have seen lots of similar recipes in cookbooks and on blogs, so can’t attribute my adaptation to any one source.

Curried Tofu Scramble with Spinach

Serves 4

• 1 package of firm or extra-firm tofu (not silken)
• 2 – 4 tsp oil
• 1/2 cup onions, chopped (I used spring onions with green tops)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped (or 1 cup frozen, thawed, water squeezed out)
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, cut in bite sized pieces
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder (optional)
• 1/2 avocado, diced (optional)

Method:

1. Press the water out of the tofu: Remove the tofu from packaging and place on a towel-lined plate. Place another towel on top of the tofu and then a can of something as a weight or another plate inverted. This will press out a lot of the water. Let it sit like this until step 5.
2. Heat a skillet or saute pan over medium heat and add the oil.
3. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Stir around occasionally for 2 minutes.
4. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili (if using) (or the curry powder  if using in place of these spices) and the salt. Stir to incorporate and let cook for 1 minute.
5. Crumble the tofu with your hands and add it to the pan. Stir it around, but don’t mash it. I like it to remain pretty chunky. (Actually this is a personal choice – some people may like it more finely crumbled – so crumble it to the size you like!)
6. Allow the tofu to start getting brown spots here and there. Let it cook for about 3 minutes, stirring about once every minute.
7. Add the spinach and allow to cook for about 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Make sure that any water that was added along with the spinach evaporates. You may have to increase the heat a bit.
8. Turn off the heat and stir in the tomatoes and garam masala (if using). Allow to sit for a minute before serving.
9. After plating, top with the avocado (if using). You can also top it with hot sauce or another condiment…Enjoy!