scrambled tofu

WITH BLACK BEANS AND SPINACH

Delicious and hearty, this is a brunch dish where I don’t notice the absence of eggs. The pickled chipotles add a lovely smoky punch of flavour, but replace with 2 tablespoons tomato sauce (ketchup) if you prefer.

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SERVES: 4

PREPARATION: 10 minutes

COOKING: 15 minutes

400 g (14 oz) firm tofu, drained

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 white onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 small orange or red capsicum (pepper), cut into strips

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 squeeze lemon juice

1 x 400 g (14 oz) tinned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 small handful of baby English spinach

1 tablespoon chopped chipotle in adobo (drained)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro)

chilli sauce, to taste (optional)

Dry the tofu with paper towels and break into bite-sized pieces. Set aside on paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion over a medium heat until soft. Add the garlic, capsicum, cumin and turmeric and cook, stirring, until the capsicum is soft, about 2 minutes. Add a splash of water if the pan becomes dry.

Add the remaining oil and the tofu and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Gently turn over the tofu pieces as they cook but not too often as they need time to caramelise. When the tofu is golden, squeeze over the lemon juice and scrape up the crusty bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the beans, spinach and chipotles and sprinkle over the nutritional yeast. Toss the ingredients together and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the beans are warmed through and the nutritional yeast melted. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the coriander and a splash of chilli sauce (if using).