This Tofu recipe is inspired from the Grit and my friend Rebekka who first introduced me to this meal. Tofu and Broccoli!  I have been eating it regularly ever since the first time I tried it!  Delicious, healthy, and simple.  The focus of this meal is on the tofu and while broccoli naturally goes well with it, it’s just as easy to modify the recipe to include any other vegetable you desire. We often make this tofu with other vegetables including asparagus, kale, and mushrooms.

The key ingredient to making this tofu amazing is nutritional yeast.  It is often used in vegan dishes as a cheese substitute as well as a nutritional boost. It has a nutty flavor and comes in flake form. I really enjoy the flavor it adds and love finding new ways to use it; there are a lot of great vegan recipes that I can’t wait to try. Not only is it great to taste, it is also packed with the B-complex vitamins and it’s a complete protein — an easy way to get some extra nutrients while adding a hardy and unique taste to your meal. Nutritional yeast can be purchased at your local natural food store in the bulk section.

Ingredients: 1 block of tofu, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, vegetable of choice.

• Cut and prepare the vegetables, you will cook them at the same time as the tofu.  You can choose to cook them anyway you prefer. Because we eat this meal so often we like to switch it up each time but generally we like to steam our broccoli, fry our asparagus, or steam & fry our kale with mushrooms.

• Use one block of firm tofu, drain and soak up as much excess water as possible.  I usually just press it with Viva Paper Towels a few times.  Cut block to ½ inch squares.  In a large frying pan, pour a small amount (about a tablespoon) of oil, turn heat on med-high and toss tofu in.  Flip your tofu cubes in the pan to help spread the oil around.  Allow pieces to sit on one side for a bit, turn/flip every minute or so until your cubes are golden and somewhat crispy.  Splash in some soy sauce; this will contribute to a salty flavor as well as a darker color.  I never measure. The amount used will depend on how salty you like it — but don’t over do it! Fry it up for another minute or so, eliminate heat and any extra moisture that might exist in the pan.  Toss in nutritional yeast. I don’t measure this either, though it probably comes out to about ¼ cup. It should act like a breading; too much nutritional yeast and or too much moisture will result in a gummy texture, so add to the tofu gradually.  Spoon over the NY flakes and stir it up. You want it to be coated with nutritional yeast, not swimming in it.   Serve fresh with vegetables and eat this simple meal often!