The great thing about this column is that it gives me the ability not only to write for you, but also to prod myself on a regular basis and ask: what do I want to eat? When I write for you, I consider what might be in season, whether you might fancy a soup or stew, and when the weather might change. But this recipe, well, this one is personal. This is what I will put on my table. It’s big and brave in flavour, but cosy to eat. Equal parts warming and comforting to fresh and crunchy. Crucially, it’s quick, too, which, in keeping with the season, is very merry-making.
Burnt lime and black pepper tofu
You’ll need a 28cm nonstick frying pan to make this. Serve with jasmine rice (cook the rice first, because it will stay warm for an hour after cooking). Mushroom stir-fry sauce is available in most large supermarkets.
Prep 15 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 4
For the tofu
840g extra-firm tofu, drained
5 tbsp cornflour
Rapeseed oil
2 limes, halved
1 large brown onion, peeled and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
8 spring onions, trimmed, halved and shredded lengthways
3 tbsp mushroom stir-fry sauce – I like Lee Kum Kee’s
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
For the salad
½ red onion, finely sliced
200g little gem lettuce, bases cut off and leaves separated
350g cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ tsp fine sea salt
Press the tofu with kitchen paper to remove any excess water, then cut it into 2½cm cubes and put in a large bowl. Add the cornflour, mix with a wooden spoon to coat, then put to one side.
Put half a tablespoon of oil in a wide, nonstick frying pan on a medium heat and, once hot, lay in the lime halves cut-side down and leave to fry for three minutes, until blackened. Keeping the pan on the heat, transfer the lime halves to a large plate, add three more tablespoons of oil to the pan and add enough of the tofu cubes to cover the base in a single layer. Fry for a few minutes on each side, moving them around with tongs, until golden brown – this should take about six minutes in all – then transfer to the lime plate and repeat with the remaining tofu; you might need to add another half-tablespoon of oil to fry the second batch.
Once all the tofu is browned and on the plate, add three more tablespoons of oil to the hot pan and fry the onion, stirring, for about 10 minutes, until soft and browning. Add the garlic and shredded spring onions, cook, stirring, for two minutes, until the spring onions are soft, then stir in the mushroom stir-fry sauce, soy sauce, sugar and pepper.
Return the tofu cubes to the pan, squeeze over the juice from one of the burnt lime halves (about a tablespoon), stir to combine, then leave to bubble for a few minutes, until the sauce forms a thick glaze over the tofu. Take the pan off the heat.
Put all the salad ingredients in a bowl, add two tablespoons of oil and a tablespoon of burnt lime juice (ie using up another burnt lime half), then toss with (clean) hands. Tip out on to a large platter, then nestle the tofu cubes among the salad leaves. Cut the remaining two burnt lime halves into smaller wedges, to squeeze over at the table, and serve with a bowl of jasmine rice on the side.
