Spicy Broiled Tofu

I am so lucky to work with some incredibly intelligent, creative, and caring people in my day job. One of these people, Bridget, is truly a one-of-a-kind, unique individual. She is the most enthusiastic and energetic person I've ever met. When she turned 60 last year, Bridget decided to focus on being more healthy and was determined to begin liking vegetables.

She asked me to be her "vegetable cooking coach" and we had some fun afternoons in her kitchen making recipes from this blog. Bridget was a model student and now includes vegetables daily in her diet, I'm so proud of her for making such a big change in her lifestyle.

During her well-being journey, Bridget went to a holistic doctor and told him about our vegetable cooking lessons. He told her to tell me (he'd never met me) that he had a strong intuition that I should avoid tofu for awhile. I'm not terribly superstitious, but I love this kind of mystical, esoteric stuff. So I haven't eaten much tofu in the past few months, just in case he was on to something. I hope the danger period has passed now though, because I was craving some tofu and made this awesome recipe last night.

This is my new favorite way to cook tofu. It takes only 12 minutes and turns out chewy, flavorful, and delicious. I used a pre-mixed spice rub which includes garlic, salt, ancho, paprika, oregano, pepper, lemon peel, cayenne, and chipotle. You can make your own spice mix or even just use a grill seasoning blend. Rub the sliced tofu with spices, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and broil for 6 minutes on each side.

The tofu is awesome as a snack just like this, either warm from the oven or even at room temperature or chilled. It would also be great on a sandwich or salad. But since it was spicy and I had some fresh tomatoes that were begging to be made into fresh salsa, I went with tacos. This was just charred corn tortillas, fresh guacamole, salty feta cheese, spicy broiled tofu, cabbage, and fresh pico de gallo. It was phenomenal!

Spicy Broiled Tofu, adapted from Peas and Thank You

1 lb super firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch slices (if you don't have super firm, you may need to press extra moisture out of the tofu by putting it on a plate and topping with a heavy pan for 30 minutes or so)

3-4 Tbsp of your favorite spice mixture (make your own or use a store-bought blend)

1 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven's broiler.

Rub both sides of each tofu slice with your spices. Place tofu on sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Broil 6 minutes, flip and broil another 6 minutes.

Enjoy as is, or add to sandwiches, salads, or tacos.

ONE YEAR AGO: Pesto Tofu Kebabs

TWO YEARS AGO: BLTs with Corn and Zucchini Salad