The Dinner Winner

Meatless food for all!

Gluten-Free

2 Dinner

Vegetarian Bibimbap

Serves 4
30 – 45 minutes, including prep time

This is Silvia’s first recipe on the blog!

I recently fell in love with Asian food, so I started to make it more often. I am putting bibimbap in this food blog, because I think it is delicious. It’s easy to make, and also a perfect meal for a cold day. If you are not familiar with bibimbap, it is a Korean dish, usually make with Rice, kimchi, beef, greens, and topped with an egg. This version is made with tofu instead of beef. You do not have to just put those particular ingredients in this dish, you can mix and match with any vegetables that you want!

– Silvia

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp + 1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp spicy gochujang (optional)
2 lb tofu
1 tsp cornstarch 
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
3 cups water
2 carrots
1/8 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt
6oz baby spinach
Kimchi (Optional)
Toasted sesame seeds, for serving 
4 eggs

Method

  1. Prepare tofu. Cut each block of tofu into four long slabs, as pictured above. Use paper towels or a kitchen towel to gently press as much water out as you can. Stack the tofu slabs on top of one another, and gut into 3/4″ cubes.
  2. Whisk soy sauce, garlic powder, ground ginger, brown sugar, and 1 Tbsp sesame oil in a medium bowl. 
  3. Transfer 3 Tbsp of the mixture into a small bowl. Whisk in gochujang (if using), Then set aside. Use remaining mixture as a marinade. 
  4. Add tofu and cornstarch to marinade in a medium bowl. Stir well, then set aside.
  5. Add rice and water to a medium, pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a low, cover, and cook 20 minutes. When done cooking, fluff with a fork. Meanwhile, continue to prepare toppings. 
  6. Grate carrots on large holes of a box grater. Add to a small bowl with 1 tsp sesame oil and 1/8 tsp salt. Set aside.
  7. Heat skillet on medium-high. Add spinach, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 1/8 tsp salt. Cover, cook 2 min, then stir until wilted. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.
  8. Add tofu and marinade to the same skilled you used for the spinach on medium-high. Cook until beginning to brown, 7-10 minutes. Resist the urge to stir too often, or nothing will brown.
  9. Assemble the four bowls. Add rice, then top with tofu, carrots, spinach, and kimchi (if using). Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  10. Heat a clean skillet over medium-low. Coat with oil. Crack one egg into a small bowl, then add to skillet. If you prefer your eggs more firmly set, cover the skillet. Repeat with the remaining eggs. 
  11. Cover and cook the eggs until whites are firm and yolks jiggle slightly 2-3 minuets.
  12. Use a spatula to move one egg on top of each bowl. Drizzle with sauce. 

4 Dinner

Cauliflower Parmesan Bake


This is plant based comfort food at its best. Stick to your ribs goodness that will warm your belly and nourish your soul on a cold night. Best of all, it comes together very quickly and is almost entirely hands off. It’s basically throw everything in a dish and walk away. What could be better? This meal was so good, my family couldn’t even wait for me to snap a pic before they dove in.

Yield:8 servings

Recipe

For the Cauliflower and Farro

  • 2 pounds cauliflower (about 1 medium cauliflower head), florets and tender stems cut into large bite-sized pieces
  • 1¾ cups semi-pearled or pearled farro (about 12 ounces)
  • 1(40-ounce) jar good-quality marinara sauce
  • 1 2/3 cup water
  • ¼cup olive oil
  • ½cup pitted kalamata or black olives, roughly chopped (optional)
  • 6 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
  • 3 ounces grated Parmesan (about ¾ cup finely grated)
  • 1½teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1½teaspoons dried oregano
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)
  • 1½teaspoons kosher salt
  • Black pepper

For the Topping

  • 1 cup panko or homemade breadcrumbs
  • 2 ounces grated Parmesan (about ½ cup finely grated)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced into rounds

Method

Step 1
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a 9-by-13-inch pan, combine the cauliflower, farro, marinara sauce, olive oil, olives (if using), garlic, Parmesan, sugar, oregano, and red-pepper flakes. Season with the salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Pour in 1⅔ cups water and stir everything well to combine. If your 9-by-13 does not have high sides, you might have to mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, then transfer to the pan. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Step 2
Uncover the pan, stir, and continue baking uncovered until the farro is tender-chewy and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes more. (If the farro has already soaked up all the sauce and the pan is looking dry, stir in ½ to ¾ cup water, just to make sure the farro has enough liquid to become tender and saucy.)

Step 3
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, make the topping: Stir together the panko, Parmesan, salt, and olive oil.

Step 4
Turn on the broiler. Evenly cover the top of the farro with the panko topping. Top with the sliced mozzarella. Broil on the top rack, about 6 inches from the heat source, for 2 minutes, rotating the pan once and watching carefully for burning, until the panko topping is deeply browned and the mozzarella has melted.

If your oven, like mine has a very powerful broiler, use the convection fan instead of the broiler. Keep the oven on 425, turn on the fan, and cook until the mozzarella is a bit browned and bubbling, usually about 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from Sarah DiGregorio’s Farro and Cauliflower.

4 Dinner

Broccoli Soup with Lemon and Pecorino

Italian Broccoli Soup with Lemon and Pecorino Cheese
Broccoli Soup with Lemon and Pecorino Cheese

Winter has really set in here in New Jersey. At West Point, this is called the gray season, where the sky, roads, grass, and pretty much everything is a shade of gray. It can be a depressing time. Or, you can curl up next to the fire with the kiddos and read some books, or throw some vinyl on the stereo while a pot of this brightly flavored Italian broccoli soup with lemon and pecorino bubbles away merrily on the stove.

If you take a look through the other recipes on the blog, you’ll see that I have fallen head over heels for the tried and true flavor combination of garlic, lemon, and pecorino. (Simple kale salad, spring snap peas with pecorino) It’s a really versatile holy trinity of flavors that you can apply to a lot of things. Deb over at Smitten Kitchen has done this with a bunch of recipes. I thought taking these flavors and making them into a healthy, stick to your ribs, winter soup was just the thing.

This brightly flavored Italian broccoli soup is a nice departure from the umami bombs that we tend to eat so much of in the winter. I’m all for a bowl of ramen, or a really well made French onion soup, but sometimes I need something acidic to wake yourself up. This recipe is very forgiving. You’ll save yourself a bunch of time if you have a decent immersion blender, but you can blend the soup in a regular blender too.

Also, here’s a tip for this recipe, and anything else with broccoli. While the onions are cooking, peel the long stems of your broccoli. This makes it so you can use the entire broccoli instead of throwing away the stems. After peeling, chop the stems off of the broccoli. Cut the toughest bit off of the very end and discard it. Now cut the broccoli stems into 1/3 inch pieces and add to the onions. The stems need a bit more cooking time than the florets.

six cloves of minced garlic
six cloves of minced garlic

As I was tinkering with this recipe, I thought I wanted something with quite a lot of garlic, so don’t shy away from the 6 cloves. It’s not too much, really. Also, as I was grating the cheese for this, I was using my new microplane box grater, which was a christmas present from my brother. I’m not usually one to get excited over a box grater, but this thing is amazingly sharp. I accidentally grated much more cheese than I intended to, but just went ahead and used it all. It’s just the thing to balance out the garlic in the soup.

grated pecorino cheese
A bit too much pecorino romano (or is it?)

Recipe

Ingredients

1 large onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice
8 cups water or broth
Salt to taste
1 tsp black pepper
2 lbs broccoli cut into florets, stems cut into 1/3 inch pieces and separated
2 cups grated pecorino romano
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
Crushed red pepper for serving

Method

Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, and sauté for 4 minutes or so until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Don’t let the garlic burn. Add the chopped broccoli stems and potatoes, and sauté for 3 – 4 minutes.

Add the broth or water and bring to a boil. While you are waiting for the liquid to boil, add salt to taste. Depending on how salty your broth is, this could be none, or up to 3 teaspoons. Go easy on the salt because you will be adding pecorino cheese at the end which also has quite a bit of salt. Add the fresh ground pepper as well. Once the soup boils, turn to a brisk simmer and let cook for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check to make sure the potatoes and broccoli stems are cooked through. If they are, add the remaining broccoli, and cook for 5 more minutes. Once the broccoli is cooked, take a large ladle, and remove two or three large scoops of chunks of broccoli and potatoes and set aside. Remove the soup from the heat and blend the remainder of it with your immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, do this in batches in a regular blender, or just forget about it and have chunky soup.

Once the soup is all blended, add the broccoli and potatoes you removed back in, along with the lemon zest, lemon juice and pecorino cheese. Give everything a stir to make sure everything is incorporated. The soup should still be hot enough to melt the cheese, but if it isn’t, turn the heat to low and bring it up to temperature. Taste the soup and adjust the salt and pepper if you need to.

Serve with crushed red pepper and enjoy!

11 Dairy-Free

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Balsamic

because This recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic and balsamic vinegar found its way into my life over a decade ago. I’m pretty sure I fist came across it in Mark Bittman’s excellent cookbook, How to Cook Everything. There is even a vegetarian version! This recipe, along with my amazing wife, is responsible for turning me into a serious devotee of the humble Brussels sprout. 

Roasted Brussels Sorouts with Garlic and Balsamic

My sprout awakening

I remember avoiding Brussels sprouts like the plague growing up, probably because my only exposure to a Brussels sprout was in the school lunch line, where they had been steamed or boiled for a fortnight before serving. They smelled terrible, and looked inedible. I don’t think I ever even tried them because of that. Fast forward to today, and I think I probably have sprouts in my fridge from mid-September through May. Chances are, tif I have Brussels sprouts, they will be made into this roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic and balsamic vinegar because its so easy.

Brussels Sprouts in a colendar

M daughters even love this recipe. That may be because we told them they were called “tiny cabbages,” but whatever the reason, they love them. A little rebranding goes a long way. There has never been a leftover sprout in our house, no matter how many we make. 

This recipe is so easy to love. It is incredibly fast to throw together, more or less hands off, and absolutely delicious. All you need is a big, ovenproof skillet, I usually use cast iron, and a couple of simple ingredients. I would stay away from using a nonstick skillet. There has been some bad press about possible chemical off-gassing from the coatings at high temperatures, and I air on the side of caution here. I have used Calphalon aluminum skillets as well with great success.

Kitchen safety

It is really easy to forget to put an oven mitt on your hand after you have taken the skillet out of the oven and it is sitting on the stovetop. Do not forget to do that. We are conditioned that pot handles are safe to grab when they are on the stove because we do it all the time. Nothing will ruin your day faster than grabbing a 400 degree cast iron pot handle with your bare hand. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Balsamic
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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds Brussels sprouts
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

METHOD

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Trim the bottom off of all of the sprouts and slice the sprouts in half. If there are any really. Small ones, you can leave those whole, you just want them all more or less the same size.
  2. Heat a large cast iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. When hot, put in the olive oil and tilt the pan so the bottom is coated. Add the Brussels sprouts to the pan and arrange them so they are cut side down. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt an a couple of good grinds of black pepper on top and walk away for 7 minutes.
  3. After 7 minutes, add the peeled, whole cloves of garlic to the pan and scrape the sprouts up to toss them around a bit. Put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes.
  4. After 15 minutes, stir the sprouts, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to the oven for about 7 more minutes, or until the sprouts are nicely browned, and crispy in some places.
  5. Take the pan out of the oven and immediately pour the balsamic vinegar around the pan. It should sizzle quite a bit. Stir everything around to coat and transfer the sprouts to a serving bowl. You’re done!
7.8.1.2
15

https://thedinnerwinner.com/roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-garlic-and-balsamic/

Nutrition

Calories

787 cal

Fat

43 g

Carbs

91 g

Protein

32 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info


 

 

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4 Dinner

Cucumber Soup with Avocado and Mint

Cucumber SoupToday was one of those miserable late summer days that was so absurdly hot and humid, there was no way I could possibly turn on the stove. I spent my morning working outside, dripping sweat, contemplating what cool refreshing dinner I would make. After much deliberation, I settled on this cucumber soup with yogurt, avocado, and herbs. It required no cooking whatsoever, and I had everything I needed to make it at home.

The biggest problem was that I was totally making the recipe up as I go along. I’ve been reading Samin Nosrat’s excellent cookbook, “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” which lays out some pretty clear and rock solid principles for winging it in the kitchen. Since it was a million degrees outside, I decided to forget about the heat part, but made sure there was enough salt, fat, and acid in the cucumber soup.

I also wanted this to be a meal for my family, so a bowl of watery cucumber soup wasn’t going to fit the bill; the soup needed some body. I wanted to make this redolent of tzatziki sauce without being a dip you eat with a spoon, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I decided to throw in an avocado to make the soup a bit more rich and velvety. Add some mint, dill, and lemon to make the flavors bright, and some feta cheese and olive oil to deepen the flavor a bit. I added a shallot because I was out of garlic (shame!), but it came out great, so I’ll stick to that in the recipe.

On blenders

The best part of this whole recipe is that you all you need to make it is a decent blender. Until about a year ago, I had an old hand me down blender that I thought worked just fine. When it died, I replaced it with a Blendtec and couldn’t be happier. I regularly make huge vats of smoothie to feed an entire family and the thing has proven to be bombproof. I think the motor is 3 horsepower, which seems to be plenty for anything I’ve ever needed to blend.

Make it a meal

If you want to make another dish to make this a meal, why not try pasta with dandelion greens, or a grilled pizza?

 

Cucumber Soup with Avocado and Mint
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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 English Cucumbers
  • 1 Avocado
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup fresh dill
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small shallot
  • 3.5 oz feta cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

  1. Roughly chop the cucumbers and seed and peel the avocado. Separate the mint and dill leaves from the stems.
  2. Add all ingredients to the blender jar.
  3. Blend until smooth. If the soup looks too thick, add a but more water 1/4 cup at a time.
  4. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust the seasoning. Depending on how salty your feta cheese is, you may need no salt, or up to 1.5 teaspoons.
  5. Chill for at least three hours if you are the kind of person that plans ahead. If not, just eat it right away.
7.8.1.2
13

https://thedinnerwinner.com/cucumber-soup-with-avocado-and-mint/

Nutrition

Calories

1119 cal

Fat

93 g

Carbs

56 g

Protein

27 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

5 Dinner

Simple Kale Salad

Farmer's market kale

I have made a lot of kale salads over the years, and done quite a bit of searching around the interwebs to find new ways to make a simple kale salad. There are tons of great recipes out there, but most of them are extravagant, and not something that I’m going to throw together in 10 minutes while the pasta is boiling. So, here is a recipe for a simple kale salad that i make regularly. It is so easy, and so good, that my daughters regularly request it, and can nearly make it by themselves.

Simple Kale Salad

Backstory

A couple of years ago, we visited my in-laws for Christmas. They live in the mountains of northwest North Carolina, right in the corner where North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia all meet. So close in fact that you can walk to either state fairly easily. It is a beautiful, very rural place, and the mountains are surprisingly steep. These are not the rolling Catskills or the gentle Poconos. The valley where they live is dotted with small farms with a few head of cattle or some chickens, along with some vegetable gardens here and there as well. They are close to the headwaters of the New River, and the water literally flows right through their front yard. There are also Christmas tree farms everywhere. Ashe County, NC calls itself the Christmas tree capital of the world.

While in theory, it should be warmer in North Carolina than in New Jersey, this is almost never the case at their house since the elevation is about 3,000’ or so. They get significant snows just like we do in the northeast without the benefit of armies of road crews clearing the stuff around the clock. This particular Christmas was another story. It was in the mid 60s for most of the time we were there. In fact, it was so warm that my father in law rarely fired up the great wood cook-stove in the kitchen that keeps the house so warm and cozy. It was also warm enough that the kale in their magnificent garden was still growing, even at the end of December. Seemingly every day, my mother in law would take my daughter Silvia out to the garden to gather a massive bowl of Kale to turn into this or that, and maybe pull a few last carrots, or whatever else still was left in the garden.

Garlic

One of the dishes my mother in law made was a simple kale salad with this beautiful, organic, just harvested, baby kale. I don’t know what it is about greens that have just been plucked from the ground, but they tase so amazing, like they are somehow quivering with life. It really was a magnificent salad. Silvia nearly polished off an entire batch of the stuff herself one night, placing the blame for nobody getting enough salad on me for supposedly eating it all, then running out for the evening to go see a movie with my father in law. Little did everyone suspect that my four year old daughter was the culprit!

The best simple kale salad

This simple kale salad has become a year round staple in our house. Both of my daughters request it, help make it, and devour it almost weekly. So much so, that you seriously have to make sure they don’t eat it all before you get to it. The dressing is simple, light, and vibrant, and you can use it on other salads too. Just maybe don’t massage your romaine lettuce. If you want to have your kids cook this with you, have them help separate the leaves from the stems, and also help massage the kale with the dressing. I love it when my girls really get their hands into the food we are making. This salad won’s make too much of a mess when they dive in with two hands.

Simple Kale Salad

On kale…

You can use any kind of kale you like, but I prefer it with lacinato kale. The texture fits the preparation very well. Baby kale works nicely as well, and you don’t have to massage it much. If you use curly kale, make sure you really mush it well, and it doesn’t hurt to let it stand for ten minutes before you serve it. Also, make sure you zest the lemon before you juice it, unless you enjoy being annoyed, then definitely juice it first. If you want to pair this simple kale salad with something, how about a grilled pizza? And, a pro tip for any greens, if you find your greens have a lot of grit or dirt on them, separate the leaves and fill your sink with water to wash them. Swish all the greens around with your hands and let the dirt settle to the bottom of the sink before you take the greens out.

kale being washed in the sink

Fill the sink with water at least 4″ deep to wash dirty greens

 

Simple Kale Salad
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INGREDIENTS

  • 1 bunch lacinato kale, (also known as dino kale)
  • 1 small clove garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • zest of half a lemon
  • Juice of one lemon. If it’s a huge lemon, use half of it for the juice
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
  • Pepper to taste

METHOD

  1. Using your hands, separate the kale leaves from the ribs. You can usually just rip it all off in one quick motion. Roughly chop the kale into 1 inch wide strips and wash and dry the kale. Put the kale in a large serving bowl.
  2. Finely mince the garlic, and dump on top of the kale along with the salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil.
  3. Using your clean hands, squeeze and mix the kale for a minute or two. The leaves will become more tender, and the volume will seem to reduce. There might be some extra liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Don’t worry about it.
  4. Add the Pecorino Romano and the pepper, usually about 1/2 tsp. Mix well again and serve.
7.8.1.2
11

https://thedinnerwinner.com/simple-kale-salad/

Nutrition

Calories

565 cal

Fat

54 g

Carbs

6 g

Protein

18 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

 

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6 Dinner

Grilled Bok Choy Recipe

Grilled Bok Choy

Today was the first real hot day of the summer. Sticky, sweaty, and energy sapping. It scraped the upper 90s for a while which usually saps any motivation I have for firing up the stove. The grill is another matter altogether though. Somehow, I don’t mind the searing heat of the grill as long as I can leave it outside, and maybe throw back a refreshing beverage while doing it. Enter, this simple grilled bok choy recipe.

I came across a grilled bok choy recipe by Andrea Bemis the other day that looked fantastic, so I decided to make it for dinner. This particular recipe called for leaving the bok choy whole when grilling, which sounds nice in theory. In reality, bok choy grows in very sandy soil, like leeks do, and it’s almost impossible to get all of the grit out without separating them into individual leaves and giving them a bath in the sink for a while. (If you know of a way to do it, tell me how in the comments.) Neglect to rinse the bok choy well, and you’ll be chewing on sand all meal. Also, if you’re wondering, yes, you eat the white part on bok choy. There is no need to trim that part.

I still had no desire to turn the stove on, so I decided to make use of my perforated grill pan. It’s kind of like a cookie sheet with holes in it to let the heat pass through, but it keeps stuff from falling through the grates into the grill. It’s useful for all sorts of vegetable cookery and I highly recommend picking one up. I basically just used the grill pan like a giant sauté pan, turning the bok choy every couple of minutes or so until it seemed done. Top it with a delicious sauce, and you are all set.

Simplest Grilled Tofu and Grilled Bok Choy

To round out the meal, make the simplest grilled tofu, and some rice and you are all set. Serve with a little bit of soy sauce if needed, and your favorite Asian hot sauce of the moment, sriracha, gochujang, or whatever you are into, and maybe a Kirin or Sapporo, and you’re all set. 

 

Grilled Bok Choy

Serves 4 - 6

15 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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INGREDIENTS

  • 6 Heads bok choy, about 2.5 lbs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp ginger
  • 3.5 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2.5 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1.5 tsp toasted sesame seeds

METHOD

  1. First, preheat the grill to medium. You’ll want to place your grill pan on the grates for preheating as well.
  2. Fill the sink at least 4” deep with cold water. Trim the ends of the bok choy off and separate into leaves. As you separate them, toss them into the sink. Gently toss all of the bok choy around in the sink for a minute or two to rinse the sand off, then let them sit still for a minute to make sure the sand sinks to the bottom of the sink. Transfer the bok choy to a large kitchen towel and pat dry.
  3. In a small bowl, mix ginger, soy, vinegar, honey, and sesame oil until well mixed. Taste the sauce and adjust as you see fit. If you want to make this gluten free, use tamari instead of soy sauce.
  4. Transfer the bok choy to a rimmed baking sheet or large bowl, and toss with the olive oil. When the grill is hot, put the bok choy on the grill pan and spread evenly and close the cover. My grill pan is pretty large, about the size of a baking sheet. If yours is smaller, you might have to cook the greens in batches.
  5. Cook for 4 minutes or so before tossing with tongs. You should be getting little charred pieces of greens here and there. If you don’t see any, either turn up the heat to medium high, if you have a gas grill, or just let them cook a little longer before turning. Cook for 4 additional minutes after turning, then remove to a serving bowl.
  6. Toss the greens with sesame seeds. Drizzle the grilled bok choy with the sauce and enjoy!
7.8.1.2
8

https://thedinnerwinner.com/grilled-bok-choy-recipe/

Nutrition

Calories

506 cal

Fat

33 g

Carbs

45 g

Protein

14 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

0 Dairy-Free

Simplest Grilled Tofu

Simplest Grilled Tofu

I came to tofu late in life. When I was growing up, I can’t recall a block of tofu ever making it into my house, let alone crossing my lips. I was a carb loving meat eater who like most children that grew up in the 80s and 90s, ate a lot of microwaved broccoli with cheez whiz. Fast forward 20 years, and I have a vegetarian wife and three vegetarian kids. I have found all sorts of ways to cook broccoli that don’t involve a microwave or cheez whiz, and a bunch of ways to cook tofu that take it way past tolerable into delicious territory. This simplest grilled tofu recipe is something you can crank out in a few minutes without a recipe once you make it a couple of times.

If you have been avoiding tofu because you would rather just eat chicken, fear not. I have made this for decidedly carnivore friends, and they all love it. The tofu gets really flavorful and firm when you use this method. I promise it’s not like eating a flavorless sponge or anything.

This is one of those ways, and it is so painfully simple, you’ll feel like you won’t want to tell your friends how you did it because they will think you some kind of kitchen cheat or corner cutter. Don’t even worry about that for a second. Making great dishes with just a couple of ingredients brings out the flavors of your ingredients.

This dish is really a building block to either include in other dishes, or to serve alongside a couple of things to round out a meal. You could try this awesome grilled bok choy. My girls love it with some broccoli and rice on the side.

To make this gluten free:

You don’t have to change much to make this dish gluten free. Fist, use a gluten free brand of tofu. Next, substitute tamari for the soy sauce and you are all set.

Serves 2 slices

Simplest Grilled (or broiled) Tofu
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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lbs extra firm tofu
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tsp sesame oil

METHOD

  1. Cut the tofu into six pieces each block, cutting the short way across the blocks. Don’t make them too thin or they may fall apart when you flip them on the grill. Lay out a paper towel or a dish towel and place as many tofu pieces as will fit onto the towel. Cover with another towel and press down to remove as much moisture as possible. Repeat for all of the tofu
  2. on a large rimmed baking sheet, mix the soy sauce and sesame oil with a fork until well mixed
  3. Place the tofu in the soy mixture. Flip the tofu over to coat all sides.
  4. Preheat your grill to medium high heat. If you are going to broil instead of grill, preheat your broiler to high. If the tofu has absorbed most of the liquid on the baking sheet, there is no need to even transfer the tofu to another sheet to broil.
  5. While the grill heats, flip the tofu a couple more times to absorb as much of the marinade as possible
  6. Spray the grill with some canola, or other neutral oil. If you don’t have an oil sprayer, you can put some oil in a small dish and fold a paper towel. Then soak the towel in the oil. Using tongs, gently rub the paper towel on the grill grates.
  7. Cook the tofu for 4 minutes per side. Flip carefully using tongs or a spatula. Pro tip: I've found that sliding the tofu a tiny bit to the side with tongs before you pick it up helps keep it from sticking to the grill.
  8. Remove to a serving dish and enjoy

Tags

Diet
vegetarian
vegan
lacto vegetarian
ovo vegetarian
pescetarian
Allergy
dairy free
egg free
peanut free
seafood free
treenut free
mustard free

7.8.1.2
7

https://thedinnerwinner.com/simplest-grilled-or-broiled-tofu/

Nutrition

Calories

560 cal

Fat

34 g

Carbs

5 g

Protein

57 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

18 Breakfast

Tomato, Egg, and Feta Shakshuka

Tomato Shakshuka with Feta and Egg

I first had this dish, or at least a version of it at Bustan in NYC. It was savory, delicious, and amazing in every way. After eating it, I discovered this entire corner of the culinary kingdom that I knew nothing about. Tomato, egg and feta shakshuka is middle eastern comfort food, and you can find it anywhere around the Mediterranean, from Israel to North Africa.

Often I crave something truly satisfying, delicious and savory, but don’t want to spend hours toiling in the kitchen. This dish is absolutely the thing to make. I have made it for skeptical company who thought I was feeding them some sort of strange frittita, or for house guests who had never heard of this apex of savory eggy goodness. Everyone devours it. The dish does take a bit of time, but very little involvement. You can make it in one pan, and serve it out of the same pan. It can be breakfast, lunch, or dinwner, and you can make it anywhere from rocket hot to totally mild, as I do for my kids, and the dish does not suffer.  Serve it with warm pita bread or a crusty baguette to make it a meal.

EQUIPMENT

A 12” ovenproof skillet, not non-stick. I use a calphalon skillet. Cast iron is great too.

This recipe is adapted from Melissa Clark and The NY Times.

Tomato, Egg, and Feta Shakshuka

Serves 4 to 6

15 minPrep Time

45 minCook Time

1 hrTotal Time

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INGREDIENTS

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika (pimenton) (optional if you like it mild)
  • ½ teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika, or to taste
  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
  • ¾ teaspoon salt, more as needed
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
  • 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • 6 large eggs
  • Chopped cilantro, for serving
  • Harissa, for serving

METHOD

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook gently until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes; stir in cumin, paprika and pimenton, and cook 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbled feta.
  3. Make six little indententations in the tomato mixture for the eggs so they stay put.
  4. Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set, 8 to 11 minutes. If the yolks seem set how you like them, but the whites are still runny, pull the pan from the oven and cover with a pot lid for a minute or so. The residual heat will set the whites. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with harissa.

Tags

Diet
vegetarian
pescetarian
Allergy
gluten free
soy free
wheat free
peanut free
seafood free
treenut free
sesame free
mustard free

7.8.1.2
5

https://thedinnerwinner.com/tomato-egg-and-feta-shakshuka/

Nutrition

Calories

1102 cal

Fat

73 g

Carbs

14 g

Protein

51 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

0 Dairy-Free

Grilled Asparagus with Garlic

Quick … you have 15 minutes, some asparagus, garlic, and lemon and you need some veggies … what do you do? Make this dish! This recipe is hands down, one of the fastest, easiest, and most delicious things you can do with the king of spring, asparagus. You can use this preparation to add into dozens of other recipes as well, making this not only a standalone side dish, but a building block of lots of other great food. A great option is this couscous with grilled asparagus. The whole thing will take 30 minutes, including grilling the asparagus.

Asparagus pro tip: Thin, thick, it doesn’t really matter, just make sure that the asparagus ends were submerged in water when you bought them. The thin stalks cook much faster, so adjust cooking times accordingly. Personally, if you are going to be chopping them to use in another dish, I think the fat stalks stand up better.

If you don’t have a grill, or just don’t feel like using it, you can easily do this in the broiler. Just make transfer everything to a large, rimmed baking sheet. Preheat the broiler on high, cook for 2-3 minutes, then shake the pan and roll the asparagus over and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

 

Grilled Asparagus with Garlic
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INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large bunch of asparagus, 1 to 1.5 lbs
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

METHOD

  1. Preheat the grill to medium. (You can also do this in the broiler. See the introduction above for the method).
  2. Snap the stiff, fibrous ends off of the asparagus stalks. Wash the asparagus.
  3. Transfer the asparagus to a flat bottomed baking dish long enough to let everything lay flat. The asparagus does not have to be in one layer.
  4. Mush the garlic through a garlic press directly onto the asparagus in the dish. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
  5. When the grill is ready, lie the asparagus in one layer on the grill. Cook for about two minutes and try and roll everything to the other side. You’ll probably have a piece or two fall through the grate. No worries, really. After about 4 minutes total cooking time, put the asparagus on a serving plate and you’re all done. If you have really thin stalks, the entire cooking time can be cut in half.
7.8.1.2
3

https://thedinnerwinner.com/grilled-asparagus-with-garlic/

Nutrition

Calories

458 cal

Fat

41 g

Carbs

20 g

Protein

10 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info