Sweet and Salty Tofu Salad

Laura Hemmington

This is a salad with a little something to satisfy everyone – even the salad doubters. It can be easily adapted with any combination of your preferred hot and cold ingredients, and your choice of seasoning for the tofu. Samphire/sea bean makes a perfect addition to this meal if you can get hold of some in season; the tiny salt water explosions in each mouthful are a delight!

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Ingredients

4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
2 ripe plums or peaches
1 red onion
1 bunch fresh basil
1 orange or yellow pepper
1 lime
1 2/3 cups green beans
1/3 cup black olives
1.5 lb. bag small-variety white or gold potatoes
2 tsp sumac
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp peanut butter
1 pack firm tofu
4 cloves garlic
minced
1 fresh chili
sliced
1 tsp oil (coconut oil works well)
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
Drain the tofu, wrap it in kitchen paper to soak up any residual water and slice it into small chunks (no smaller than 1cm).
In a baking dish, mix the minced garlic, chopped chili, turmeric, paprika, soy sauce, red wine vinegar and a squeeze of the lime juice. Cover and set aside. Add the tofu and mix, carefully, until all the pieces are covered with the marinade.
Line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper or foil and slice each potato in half. Arrange the potatoes on the tray, skin-side down. Squeeze over some of the lime juice (this helps the dry seasoning to stick) and then sprinkle on 1tsp each of the sumac and oregano.
Line a second tray with parchment paper or foil and slice two of the tomatoes into eight segments each. Slice one of the plums or peaches into eight segments. Arrange these, skin-side down, on the tray.
Place both trays in the oven, the potatoes on a higher shelf, and cook for 20-25 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, cut the remaining tomatoes and plum/peach into bite-size pieces, thinly slice the onion and pepper, and chop up the olives and basil. I like to include the basil stalks too, they’re full of flavor. Combine all of these in a salad bowl with a squeeze of lime and some black pepper.
Cut the green beans into 1 inch pieces and steam or boil for about 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water, drain, and add them to the salad bowl.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and turn each one over. Squeeze over the rest of the lime and a further 1tsp each of the sumac, chili flakes and oregano. Return to the oven for 20 minutes.
Add the oil to the tofu and put this in the oven, too. Cook for 15 minutes, give it all a stir and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. It will be ready when all of the marinade has cooked off and the tofu is slightly crispy.
Remove all of the oven-cooked components and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
To assemble, carefully combine all of the ingredients and then pile them into individual serving dishes, topping with a nice spoonful of peanut butter!