Soba, Cucumber and Mango Make Friends with Some Tasty Tofu

Tofu and soba – they go together like "rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong"  

Today's was the post that nearly wasn't. I was planning to do a soba noodle salad but the details of it were yet to come together, particularly what to serve with it. I thought about salmon and trout and scallops. All good options, but things I cook all the time. I wanted to do something a little different. Because I have a baby in tow, I've fallen into a routine of cooking and photographing for the blog a day ahead of time, and I've usually researched and shopped for the recipe at least a couple of days in advance. Not so yesterday. Yesterday, the idea of what to make and how to round out the recipe popped into my head while on a stroll with my little guy, who was refusing to take his morning nap. I thought the fresh (read: frigid) air would help. It did. He conked out, and I end up getting a coffee and hitting the mall. Somewhere between Baby Gap and Old Navy the idea of marinated tofu came to mind. It was the perfect accompaniment. Then I was wondering how to freshen up the soba noodles, and decided on mango and cucumber. Cilantro would be nice. Maybe edamame. Definitely ginger. On the way home, I stopped to pick up what I needed, but Rory was awake and in no mood to spend one more minute out, and certainly not content to hang out at the grocery store. I dashed around managing to remember about half of my mental list. When I got home, I realized I bought the wrong tofu, medium instead of firm. Okay, not a disaster, but I wasn't sure if it would work. 

Then this happened...

Splat! Tofu hits the deck. I can laugh about it now.

And I cursed just a tiny bit. Super-important cooking tip here: actually seal the resealable plastic bag, especially if you plan to turn it upside down. (Also, why are messes such a magnet for cats and babies?) I thought about scrapping the lot. But that seemed a little overly dramatic. While that tofu ended up in the garbage, thankfully, I had just enough left to make this:

Marinated & Baked Tofu

And after that rambling preamble, here's what I have to say about it. It was tasty. Even though I didn't have the right tofu, it held together. I couldn't marinate it for long enough because I was on a tight let's-get-this-thing-done-before-the-baby-wakes-up schedule (nap number two), but it was enough to impart flavour. So I share this recipe with the caveat that I didn't do it perfectly. This recipe is decidedly not triple tested. So what you see here is a little pale, not as imbued with marinade or as golden as it should be. Yours will be better. As for soba or buckwheat noodles, well that was the easy part. They cook quickly and have lots of nutty flavour. Had I remembered my whole list, I would have probably added some cilantro and maybe edamame, but maybe not. Maybe simpler is better. I played with the dressing until it was a good balance of salty, sour and sweet. I find different tamari/soy sauces and miso pastes have different salt levels, so you may need to adjust based on your brand. If you don't have mirin, which is sweet, you can add a touch more sweetness, maybe a bit more vinegar. A quick tip, the tamari/soy sauce in the dressing will darken the mango and cucumber and dull their bright flavours, so this is an eat-right-away versus do-ahead; although the dressing, of course, is made ahead in order to marinate the tofu.

So please accept today's harried and humble offering. I can attest that it makes for a very good, long-overdue lunch eaten standing up by the kitchen sink, but I imagine it will also hold up to somewhat more noble circumstances should you deem it worthy.

Soba Noodle, Cucumber & Mango Salad with Marinated Tofu 

Prep Time: 10 min. | Total Time: 50 min., plus marinade time | Serves: 4

Dressing
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp tamari or light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp mirin 
1 tbsp agave syrup or 3/4 tbsp honey
2 tsp miso paste
2 tsp grated ginger 
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, divided
1tsp seeded and finely chopped red finger chili

Tofu
1 pkg firm or extra firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes

Salad
1 mango, peeled and julienned
1/2 English cucumber, julienned 
1 pkg/200 g soba noodles 
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Whisk together ingredients for the dressing, using half the green onions and half the chili, setting aside remaining for later use. Place half the dressing in resealable plastic bag with tofu cubes, seal and place in the refrigerator. Allow to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Reserve remaining dressing, refrigerating until needed.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place tofu in a sieve and drain excess marinade. Place tofu on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for approx. 40 to 45 min. until golden, turning every 10 to 15 min.

Meanwhile, cook soba noodles in salted boiling water for approx. 5 min. until al dente. Drain and place in a bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking process and cool. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add mango, cucumber, reserved green onion and chili and sesame seeds. Toss with reserved dressing. Serve soba salad with tofu, on the side or on top.

Play Dates Go Gourmet

A rustic puff pastry tart with butternut squash, shallots and triple cream cheese

As a new mom (my son, Rory, is eight months old), I've endured my fair share of cold cups of coffee and scavenged lunches (yesterday it was a bit of leftover pea puree and half a piece of toast). So when I get together with a couple of my mom friends for a play date, I like to make sure we eat well – they (and I) deserve it. Plus, these ladies are former colleagues from the magazine I used to work on, Inspired, so they know their food.

It was my turn to host last week and inspiration came by way of Nigel Slater's book Appetite, which is really a non-recipe book. He offers up base recipes with lots of adaptations to make them your own. I liked the look of an onion tart that used store-bought puff pastry as the base (this is a cooking shortcut I'm totally okay with), and I improvised with the toppings, using roasted butternut squash and shallots and a triple cream cheese called Brillat Savarin by Didier Lincet that we'd picked up at our local cheese shop in Kensington Market. This tart is a really flexible food idea that can take on any seasonal ingredients: I didn't want to waste the second block of puff pastry, so for dinner that night, I sautéed mushrooms, garlic and red onions with some thyme and rosemary, which was also great. When it comes to cheeses, you can use any cheese that takes your fancy – goat's cheese, fresh mozzarella, brie or even grated or sliced cheddar. Here's the general recipe:

Butternut Squash, Shallot & Cheese Tart
Peel, remove pulp and seeds and thinly slice one butternut squash and roast on a baking sheet in a 350ºF oven (I lightly coated mine with some olive oil and seasoned with a pinch each of salt, pepper and paprika) for about 20-30 min., until lightly caramelized. At the same time, roast two large sliced shallots (also lightly coated in oil and seasoned). If your squash is sliced thinly enough, they should be ready around the same time, but keep an eye on the shallots as they cook fairly quickly. This step can be done ahead (I got the veg all ready the day before).

Lightly flour your kitchen counter (or other rolling surface) and roll thawed puff pastry into a square or rectangle until it's quite thin (Slater says no thicker than a 10-pence coin, which is similar in thickness to five cents). Transfer your rolled pastry to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and use a fork to lightly prick the pastry, leaving a small border around the edge that will puff up and hold the fillings in. Layer squash and shallots on to the pastry, dot with chunks of cheese and sprinkle with fresh thyme and freshly ground pepper and brush the border with melted butter. Bake at 400ºF for about 15-20 min. until the pastry is golden and puffed and the cheese is melted and browning. 

Serving Tip: If you're not going to serve the tart right away, transfer to a cooling rack so it will keep its crispness. I left mine on the baking sheet for about half an hour while we fed, corralled and generally juggled babies, and the bottom was slightly soggy.