RECIPE: Za’atar-Flavored Tofu

Middle East meets Far East in this innovative tofu dish.

Arabic/Japanese fusion cooking? As for marinating tofu in  za’atar, we’ve got an unusual za’atar pesto recipe that fuses the Middle Easts’ favorite herb with Italian cuisine, so why not? The recipe was adapted from the Tofu for Two blog, using a modified version of  our muhamarrah sauce recipe.

Za’atar-Flavored Tofu

Ingredients:

1 lb. –  500 grams tofu, thinly sliced and pressed to expell excess water.

For the marinade:

3 teaspoons za’atar

1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice

1-1/2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon harissa or other hot sauce

1 big clove garlic, mashed

For the roasted red pepper/yogurt sauce:

2 whole roasted red peppers (preferably packed in oil), coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, mashed with 1/2 tsp salt

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2  cup plain yogurt

• Mix the marinade ingredients.
• Cut the tofu in strips. Layer the tofu and marinade in a container. Close the lid of the container and shake to ensure the tofu is well saturated with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight.
• Remove tofu from marinade. Fry in a little oil until golden.
• Mix roasted pepper sauce with the yogurt.
• Serve the tofu over brown rice or couscous, with muhamarra/yogurt sauce.

More Middle-Eastern delights from Green Prophet’s kitchen:

Baba ganoush

Kibbeh

Za’atar-topped pita bread

Image, via Tofu for Two

Miriam also writes a food blog.