There is always that inexplicable force that pulls me towards the spice aisle in every market I visit. If there is one thing that will make me deviate from that grocery list, then it will be a spice I haven’t tried before. I’m a hoarder of the next new spice, don’t judge me.
My husband is pescatarian (I’m not) so we eat plenty seafood, vegan/ vegetarian meals. When the cravings for beef and chicken calls upon, I INDULGE. I must admit, didn’t want to let the tofu blocks that had been sitting in the back go to waste; thus the birth of yet another culinary adventure.
Caribbean Tofuballs with garlic parsley fettuccine noodles
INGREDIENTS
- 3 blocks of extra firm tofu
- 1 whole egg
- 1 cup parsley (finely chopped)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp Caribbean fish seasoning (its vegan)
- 1 cup tomato paste
- 1 14oz can diced tomatoes (unsalted)
- 1/2 cup Mild Fresh herbs blend
- 5-6 cups water
- 2-3 Tbsp Olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
For the tofu balls
- Slice tofu blocks in half ( lengthwise ) and dry on kitchen towels with weights for about 30 minutes (More is better; you really need to get rid of the water. I left it throughout the morning). Then pulse in food processor into a fine crumble.
- Transfer into a bowl; add in parsley, garlic, Caribbean seasoning , egg and mix well until everything is well blended. Season with salt and pepper.
- Roll into about an inch round pieces, place on a cookie sheet and bake on 350 for about 45 minutes. Flip about half way through to cook evenly.
For the Pasta Sauce
- Combine tomato paste and canned tomato with water in a large saucepan, bring to boil and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until thickens. Add in olive oil and cook for ~ 5-10minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in fresh spice blend, and cook for another 15 minutes. ( You can add water if it too thick). Season to taste with salt/pepper. Throw in tofu balls, stir and let simmer on medium heat for ~15-20 minutes
- Feel free to stir in freshly cooked pasta, garnish with some chopped parsley and serve. I cooked some garlic parsley fettuccine to go with this.
Notes
This can be served with rice, fried plantains, coco yams and more. Make sure your sauce to pasta ratio is reasonable. The yield for this dish was about 4 servings and I made 2 servings of Pasta, so I obviously saved leftovers.
Do not be alarmed if your tofu balls have cracks when baking, as long as they don’t fall apart. To avoid this you can use some bread crumbs and more and an additional egg to help bind things up.
Tofu is VERY bland, SEASON like you’ve never seasoned before! Cooking in the pasta sauce also helps with seasoning so don’t go too crazy on salt
The pictures are gorgeous! Bookmarking this for all my vegan friends who are like, oh but cooking with tofu sucks.
I got something for them ?
thanks Dana! I am not vegan but my husband is pescaterian so we cook plenty of vegan meals too. Tofu is sooooo bland?…..so I never go light on seasoning, that’s the key!