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Sesame-Crusted Tofu with Quick Microwave Curried Carrot Soup

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Curried Carrot Soup with Sesame Crusted Tofu - Alice DeLuca 2012 digimarc
Curried Carrot Soup with Sesame Crusted Tofu in a blue Heathware bowl

The inspiration for this dish from www.gfzing.com was a trip to the Garden Grille in Providence, Rhode Island.  They make truly delish vegetarian food, much of which they will also prepare gluten free.  This is recipe is NOT one of theirs, it is just inspired by their cooking.  I did not have a chance to try their sesame-crusted tofu, unfortunately.

The soup here is done in the microwave oven, for quick, efficient dinner preparation.

It is easily adapted for vegetarians and vegans – just omit the fish sauce and adjust the salt.

For the Soup:

5 ounces peeled Spanish onion, diced

1/2 ounce (2 cloves) garlic, peeled and diced

1 TB olive oil

3 ounces red bell pepper, diced

3 carrots (about 6 ounces), peeled and chunked

3/4 cup rich coconut milk

1 cup water

2-3 teaspoons gluten free fish sauce (omit for vegetarians)

2 teaspoons gluten free Thai Red Curry paste

1 TB currant jelly

salt to taste (1/4-1/2 teaspoon)

To Fry the Tofu:

1 package of extra-firm tofu, drained and slice the short way in to four slices, then cut the other way to make 8 squares about 3/4 inch thick.

1 teaspoon homemade curry powder (see recipe on this site)

2 TB black sesame seeds

2 TB peanut oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

To make the soup:

In a 1 1/2-2 quart microwavable casserole dish (such as Corningware), place the chopped onions, chopped garlic and 1 TB of oil. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing the cover (to avoid steam burns).

To the cooked onions and garlic in the casserole dish add the rest of the soup ingredients from the red bell pepper through the currant jelly.  Cover and microwave until the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.  Allow to rest a few minutes before you remove the cover, to avoid steam burns.

Use a stick or immersion blender to puree the soup. Season with just a little bit of salt to taste. Adjust the sweetness. Set aside.

For the Tofu:

Mix the curry powder and sesame seeds and pat the mixture on to one side of each of the squares of tofu.  Heat the oil and sesame oil in a large, heavy frying pan.  When hot, add the tofu squares, seed side up. Fry over medium heat, undisturbed for 4 minutes.  Salt the tofu squares.  Use a spatula to turn the tofu squares and fry the other side undisturbed for 3 minutes. Salt the other side.  The frying will crisp the tofu, rendering it golden brown.

Remove the fried tofu from the pan.

To Serve:

Reheat the soup briefly and serve 2 squares of fried tofu, seed side up, on each serving of the hot soup.

Curried Carrot Soup with Sesame Crusted Tofu in a Heathware bowl - Alice DeLuca 2012 digimarc
Curried Carrot Soup with Sesame Crusted Tofu in a white Heathware bowl

Serve with lime wedges, and a salad made from chopped arugula, fresh mint, orange juice, olive oil, gluten-free mustard, salt and pepper.

 

 

Salmon with Curry Dry Rub and Dressed Vegetables

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This outstanding gluten free recipe is revised from one which appeared in Bon Appetit magazine nearly a decade ago.  There are 3 components:  the rice, the vegetables and dressing, and the salmon.

Prepare the Rice first:

Fry 1 Tablespoon homemade ghee or butter, then add:

  • 1 cup rinsed basmati or long grain rice

Stir fry for a minute or so, so that all the grains of rice are coated with the ghee or butter

Add:

  • 1 cup water
  • 2/3 cup coconut milk
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and cook until the rice is done. Season with pepper.  Set aside, covered, to stay warm.

Prepare the vegetables :

Fry the following aromatics in 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil for one minute:

  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1 clove garlic, minced

Add sliced vegetables and stir fry for just a couple of minutes, then set aside:

  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • Sliced shitake mushrooms, stems removed
  • 1 bunch of bok choy, sliced
  • Other options include carrots, scallions, celery, spinach, baby spinach, watercress, zucchini, bean sprouts with the ends removed etc.

Set the vegetables aside.

Make the dressing for the vegetables:

  • 6 Tablespoons rice vinegar or homemade cider vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2-4 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Set the dressing aside.

Prepare the serving plates: You will need 4-6 dinner plates ready to go.

Prepare the fish:

Choose very fresh salmon fillets, with the evenest possible thickness for uniform cooking.  Instructions assume that there is a “skin” side, but if there is no skin side just proceed anyway.

Make a dry rub of  one teaspoon of each of the following spices:

  • gluten free chili powder
  • gluten free curry powder (make your own – that’s the best way)
  • gluten free ground cumin
  • gluten free ground coriander
  • gluten free mustard powder (difficult to find – if you can’t find gluten free, leave this out)
  • salt
  • sugar

Sprinkle each of 4-6 6-ounce salmon fillets (the flesh side of the fish, not the skin side) with a teaspoon or more of the spice mixture.  If you want to do something ahead, you could set the spiced fish aside, wrapped, in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours at this point, but we don’t bother – we proceed immediately with the cooking:

Heat a Tablespoon of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  For 6 fillets, you might need 2 pans. When hot, add the salmon filets, skin side down, and fry for 3-4 minutes.  Flip the fish, spice side down now, and finish the cooking – another 3-4 minutes on this side. The fish should flake easily when done.

To Serve:

On each plate, arrange a serving of rice, a serving of vegetables, and a piece of salmon.  Drizzle the vegetables with a little of the dressing (a tablespoon or so).

Can be served with a rose wine, a dry red wine such as Tohu Pinot Noir from New Zealand, or a New England Hard Cider.  The dish is surprisingly well paired with a dry pinot noir, just for the record.

 

Curried Cream of Root Vegetable Soup – gluten free

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This tasty soup has plenty of flavor and lots of fiber.  It will fill you up on a cold, rainy day!

In a large soup pot, melt

1 Tablespoon Ghee or butter

Add these ingredients in order as you prepare them, stirring when you add a new item:

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 leek, slit the long way, cleaned and sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chunked

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 parsnip, peeled, cored and chunked

2 large carrots, peeled and chunked

1 sweet potato or yam, peeled and sliced

Stir fry until the onions are golden, then add:

2 Tablespoons of homemade curry powder (Rebecca Reilly’s recipe is good)

Stir fry until fragrant, then add:

1 quart of gluten free vegetable stock (for vegetarians) or gluten free chicken stock

1 Tablespoon guava or currant jelly

Simmer for 20 minutes until carrots and parsnip are cooked through.

Using an immersion blender, and taking great care to follow the instructions so you don’t get burned by hot soup, thoroughly blend the soup, adding up to one cup of hot water if needed.  You may add heavy cream to reduce the intensity of the flavors or make the soup in to a richer creation, but it is also ready to eat as it is.

To make this soup for a vegan, use vegetable oil instead of ghee/butter, use vegetable stock, and do not add any cream.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

Curried Tofu meatballs

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These gluten free “meatballs” from Gf-Zing! have the texture of gnocchi.  The cream-based curry sauce is delicious with sweet potato fries.

Mix the following with your hands:

1 block (1 pound) firm tofu

1 egg

1 cup minced scallion (both the white and green)

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons potato starch (katakuriko)

6-8 tablespoons sweet brown rice flour – this is like mochiko or sweet rice flour (also called glutinous rice flour even though it does not contain gluten) – it is made from sweet brown rice

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon curry powder (make your own using Rebecca Reilly’s recipe from Gluten Free Baking)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all these ingredients and as you mix you will notice that the liquid is taken up by the flours.  Add sweet brown rice flour as needed to reach a consistency where “meatballs” can be formed.  Make walnut sized balls.

Fry the balls in 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat until they are golden. Remove the balls to a plate.  To the oil remaining in the pan, add

2 tablespoons curry powder and fry briefly.  Add

1 1/2 cups of New England hard cider (this is like white wine – it is not sweet).

Reduce the wine to 1/3 cup.  Add the tofu balls back to the pan and add

1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk

2 cups gluten free chicken stock

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  The sauce will thicken as the balls absorb the stock.  Check from time to time and stir.

When cooked, serve with sweet potato fries.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!.