Tofu Piccata Recipe

Pan seared crispy tofu in a butter lemon caper sauce, served over mashed potatoes for a comfy, plant-based essential dish.

I like a plant-based dinner that’s fancy and comfortable, with out the meat. This tofu piccata is the type of meal you can serve at a cocktail party and nobody will miss the meat.

The important thing on this tofu piccata is boiling the tofu earlier than searing it in a pan, and utilizing each olive oil and butter to create the lemon caper sauce.

Why I like this Tofu Piccata

Usually, piccata is made with hen that’s breaded and pan-fried, then served with a lemon butter sauce and garnished with capers and parsley.

This sauce alongside is drinkable, particularly over the pan fried tofu and creamy mashed potatoes. I make my very own mashed potatoes to go alongside this tofu piccata, and I believe it’s value the additional effort. When you discover ways to make mashed potatoes, you understand that aren’t that troublesome to make– merely peel, rice and blend with salt, warmed butter and milk.

Ingredient Notes

• Additional-Agency Tofu: You’ll want a agency sufficient tofu to carry as much as boiling and pan-frying. I desire extra-firm tofu or sprouted tofu, if you will discover it. I seize extra-firm tofu at Dealer Joe’s and Aldi’s, however you will discover it at most grocery shops within the produce aisle.
• Lemon: Contemporary lemon juice makes the sauce! It’s a should to make use of recent lemon juice, not bottled lemon juice.
• Vegetable Broth: I strongly imagine that good vegetable broth makes or breaks soup and suggest tasting your broth to verify it’s a very good model that you simply like. I take advantage of this vegetable base more often than not. Some are higher than others. I believe that Walmart’s natural vegetable broth is an efficient, inexpensive model, and I additionally actually like Entire Meals 365 vegetable broth. I’m not a fan of Dealer Joe’s vegetable broth.
• Butter: You need to use common or plant-based butter for this; I’ve examined it with each common butter and Earth Steadiness and each work, you’ll simply want much less salt should you use the salted plant-based butter.
• Potatoes: I desire Yukon Gold potatoes for the very best mashed potatoes for my part, however russet or different potatoes will work.
• Milk: I desire entire milk if not making this tofu piccata plant-based, however if you wish to preserve it dairy-free then I like to recommend a impartial unsweetened milk like soy or oat.
• Capers: The capers make the piccata sauce! Don’t skip it. Even should you don’t suppose you want capers, they’re a should on this sauce together with the recent parsley.
• Poultry Seasoning: This offers the tofu such a pleasant meaty taste and no, it doesn’t comprise and hen! For those who don’t have poultry seasoning, then substitute ½ teaspoon dried sage, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, and ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary.

The way to Make this Tofu Piccata

Step 1: Boil the Tofu

Take away the tofu from the packaging and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Convey a pot of salted water to a boil and add the tofu. Prepare dinner for 3 minutes, then drain, taking care to not rip the tofu. Pat dry and put aside.

Step 2: Boil the Potatoes

Add the potatoes to a big pot and canopy with chilly water and salt. Convey to a boil and prepare dinner till tender. I take a look at their doneness by inserting a small paring knife into one of many potato cubes. If it comes out simply, it’s executed.

Step 3: Dredge the Tofu

Place the flour, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and add the boiled tofu. Cowl the tofu within the flour, ensuring to cowl all sides, then shake to take away extra flour.

Step 4: Pan Fry the Tofu

In a big skillet, warmth 2 tablespoons every of the butter and olive oil. Add the floured tofu and prepare dinner for 2-3 minutes per facet, till golden brown.

Step 5: Rice the Potatoes

Whereas the tofu is cooking, place the cooked potatoes right into a ricer and press via, placing into the identical pot that you simply simply used to prepare dinner the potatoes. You need to use a potato masher should you’d like, however I discover {that a} ricer is vital for producing completely creamy potatoes.

Step 6: Make the Piccata Sauce

Take away the tofu from the skillet and add the remaining butter and olive oil to the skillet together with the broth, lemon juice and capers. Simmer over medium warmth, stirring often, till the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.

Whereas the sauce is cooking, warmth the butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium warmth till the butter has melted and the milk is heat. Place the milk and butter combination within the riced potato pot and stir till creamy. Add within the salt and style, including extra salt/butter as desired to style.

Step 7: Assemble

Divide the mashed potatoes into bowls and prime with the tofu and sauce, garnishing with further parsley.

Chef Suggestions for Success

In so lots of my recipes I name for urgent your tofu first, however not right here. A fast simmer in boiling, salted water helps to agency the proteins on the floor of the tofu and push out further water.

This makes for a drier, sturdier tofu which suggests it browns higher and gained’t crumble when pan fried. Boiling the tofu additionally helps to mellow out the pure soybean taste, eradicating any beany taste.

Be sure that to pan fry the tofu on either side till golden and barely crispy on the surface. Including within the poultry seasoning provides such a pleasant taste to this tofu piccata, giving it a meaty style that’s similar to hen.

Extra Tofu Recipes

For those who do that tofu piccata recipe, make sure that to come back again to depart a remark and a ranking. Seeing you make my recipes makes my day and your suggestions helps different followers!

Pan seared crispy tofu in a butter lemon caper sauce, served over mashed potatoes for a comfy, plant-based essential dish.

Servings: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Prepare dinner Time: 25 minutes minutes

For the Tofu Piccata

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided , dairy-free butter for vegan model
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 16 ounce package deal further agency tofu, sliced into 1/2″ inch thick slices
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup recent lemon juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1/8 cup recent parsley, chopped

Mashed Potatoes

• 1 pound Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and minimize into 1-inch cubes
• 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
• water
• ¾ cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for serving

For the Tofu Piccata

• Drain tofu. Convey a medium pot of salted water to a boil, then add the tofu slices. Prepare dinner for 3 minutes, then drain, pat dry and put aside.

• Put the flour, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper right into a shallow bowl. Place the tofu into the flour, coating all sides and tapping off any extra. Place on a plate and put aside.

• Warmth 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pair of tablespoons butter in a big skillet over medium-high warmth. Add the tofu, in batches, and prepare dinner, turning as soon as, till golden brown on either side, about 2 minutes. Put aside however don’t drain the oil/butter from the skillet.

• Into the pan, add within the remaining tablespoon of each butter and olive oil together with the lemon juice, broth and capers. Return to range and produce to simmer, scraping up brown bits from the pan for further taste. Prepare dinner for a minimum of 5 minutes; the sauce will thicken barely because it cooks. Add the tofu pack into the skillet and stir within the parsley.

• To serve, place tofu on prime of the mashed potatoes and pour sauce to coat. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

For the Mashed Potatoes

• Place the potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt in a big pot and canopy with chilly water. Convey the pot to a boil and prepare dinner for 10-Quarter-hour or till the greens are tender and cooked via. I take a look at this by taking my paring knife into one of many potatoes, if it slips simply into the knife, they’re tender.) Drain properly in a colander or sieve.

•  In a small saucepan over medium warmth, warmth the 4 tablespoons of butter and ¾ cup milk till heat and melted, however not boiled. Put aside.  

• Add a small quantity of potatoes in a ricer and in batcher, rice the potatoes into the identical pot you used to prepare dinner the potatoes. Add within the heat milk and butter combination into the potatoes, stirring with a wood spoon till creamy.

• Stir within the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt (and pepper, if desired) Style, including extra salt/pepper as desired. For creamier potatoes, add in one other few tablespoons of melted butter or milk, however I like this barely firmer potatoes to carry as much as the piccata sauce.

For timing, I boil the tofu and potatoes on the similar time. Then, whereas the tofu is searing, I make the milk and butter combination. Whereas I’m making my piccata sauce, I rice the potatoes after which stir within the butter/milk combination to the potatoes proper earlier than serving. 
For those who don’t have poultry seasoning, sub in ½ teaspoon dried sage, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme and ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary

Serving: 4servingsEnergy: 512kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 14gFats: 34gSaturated Fats: 15gPolyunsaturated Fats: 3gMonounsaturated Fats: 14gTrans Fats: 1gLdl cholesterol: 58mgSodium: 965mgPotassium: 770mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 774IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 122mgIron: 3mg

Course: dinner, Foremost Course

Delicacies: Italian Impressed, Plant-Primarily based

Writer: Alexandra Caspero