Recipe: Sauteed Tofu, Mushrooms, & Greens Over Tagliatelle

I came up with this recipe on the spot last night. I love having pasta with wilted dark, leafy greens. It's a nice change from the standard marinara and ragu sauces.

1lb Tofu
1 1/2 c Red Chard
1 1/2 c Spinach - shredded
1 c Mushrooms - sliced
1med. Onion - julienne
1/2 lb Tagliatelle
1/2 c Soup Stock or White Wine (or mix both)
2-3 cloves Garlic - chopped
2 Tbsp Parsley (fresh or dry)
1 Tbsp Basil (fresh or dry)
2 tsp Hungarian Paprika
1-2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Coriander Seed - ground
1/4 lb Fresh Parmesean Cheese - grated
Olive Oil, Black Pepper, Salt

Cook the pasta according to your own tastes.

Blanch the tofu. Save the water for cooking the pasta in. If you don't spread out the tofu while it cools, the pieces will meld together into big lumps. It's not the end of the world, but best to avoid it.

Heat a medium frying pan. Add 3 Tbsp olive oil. When oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, coriander, pepper flakes, and paprika along with a bit of salt. Stir frequently.

When the onions are clear, add the mushrooms. Stir to coat the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms have started to cook, add the soup stock. If you are using dry parsley or basil, add it now. Simmer while stirring occasionally. If you want more of a sauce at the end, add more liquid and maybe some butter or olive oil.

Add the tofu and stir it in so that it gets coated with sauce. Simmer for a while.

About 3 or 4 minutes before you want to plate the food, add the greens and fold them in with everything else in the pan so that they wilt. If you are using fresh basil or parsley, add them now. When the greens have wilted, add parmesean, salt and pepper to taste.

Plate the pasta and top it with the Tofu & Greens. Alternately, toss all the ingredients together and then plate.

Serve with Parmesean, Salt, and Fresh Ground Pepper.

When I made this for myself, I had lowfat vanilla yogurt with diced bananas for dessert.

Serves 2