Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Tofu Frittata with Potato and Hot Peppers



We used to eat a lot of egg frittatas in the old days. I guess you could say it was an Italian thing. When I didn’t know what to make for dinner I would turn to a frittata variation. I tried many times to get the texture right with tofu but wasn’t happy with the result until very recently. I guess that is what perseverance (and a lot of mistakes) can do.

You can put anything you want into a frittata. The only rule to remember is that you need to cook the vegetables first so that they release their liquid before you add the tofu mixture. If you skip this step you will need to cook it much longer to evaporate all the water, and the tofu texture on the bottom (where the liquid is) will be “wrong”.

I had read in the past (specifically in Anticancer) that turmeric should be cooked in little oil and with black pepper so that the human body was best able to absorb it. However, this is one of those facts that didn’t stick with me until I read this article. Now I understand that the black pepper contains and ingredient (piperine) that allows the curcumin to be better absorbed. I still haven’t seen anything that explains why it needs to be cooked in a little oil. But I am going to guess that it is fat-soluble and that is the reason.

Tofu Frittata with Potato and Hot Peppers
Serves 4 with a big veggie side dish

Ingredients:

1 potato, scrubbed and pierced with a paring knife to vent steam
pan spray for your skillet (or olive oil in a pump style mister)
½ teaspoon of turmeric
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
½ red onion, finely diced
¼ teaspoon of dried thyme
½ tablespoon of hot crushed peppers (wet hots)
12.3 ounce package of low fat silken tofu
2 tablespoons of flour (you can use wheat, almond or garbanzo bean)
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
¼ teaspoon of dried thyme
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Put the potato in the microwave and cook until it is tender. This took 4 minutes in my microwave. Cut the potato into bite size pieces.

Meanwhile spray the skillet you are going to cook the frittata in with oil. Add the turmeric, black pepper, oregano and onions and cook until the onions have softened. Add the potato and hot crushed pepper to the skillet and toss to coat.

While the potato is getting crusty, put the tofu, flour and cornstarch into the food processor and combine. You may need to scrape the sides of the processor once to get all the ingredients to incorporate completely.

Put the tofu mixture on top of the potato mixture and cover the skillet. Sprinkle the top with salt, pepper and thyme. Cook on medium for 15 minutes (or until the tofu in the center is set).

This is good equally good hot or cold.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 102.14
Calories From Fat (8%) - 7.69

Total Fat - 0.86g
Saturated Fat - 0.15g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 195.51mg
Potassium - 271.75mg
Total Carbohydrates - 16.83g
Fiber - 1.87g
Sugar - 0.8g
Protein - 7.15g

Comments:

It took me a while to get the texture right on the tofu frittata. My early attempts were too firm or not firm enough. I think the texture of this version is very close to the traditional egg version.

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