I came up with this vegan Thanksgiving dish on a late Fall bike ride in Indianapolis. The air was crisp, the leaves were fiery red and russet brown, and my legs were getting into a pounding high gear rhythm on the winding bike trail. My thoughts turned to how I might shake up Thanksgiving with something besides our decades old mandarin orange tofu and wild rice, ornbcread stuffing, green bean succotash, or vegetarian gravy with and without tofu bit giblets. Suddenly, an image of this tofu strata appeared to me. And then I mentally revised it. And revised it again.
Freeze-thawing the tofu is essential for this recipe, as it creates a spongy texture that pulls in the marinade. I used the America’s Test Kitchen recipe for a gluten-free crust, substituting vegan butter for the standard moo butter.
This is my latest iteration, which if I may say so myself, works pretty darn well. It can be made vegan and gluten-free or ovo-lacto vegetarian and gluten-full, depending on your druthers. My vegan, gluten-free version was a hit with my family, which means that I might have to put it into menu rotation. Occasionally.
INGREDIENTS
- Marinated Tofu
- 28 ounces (two blocks) of firm or extra firm tofu
- 1 cup vegan chicken-style broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon canola oil
- Scarborough Fair Mashed Potatoes
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 cup celery, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Vegan gluten-free pie crust dough, enough for 1½ pies, refrigerated
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Freeze tofu overnight. Completely thaw and press out as much water as possible with a tofu press. One can thaw the tofu in a microwave oven for 10 minutes at 50% power. Slice each block of tofu horizontally in half.
- Whisk together vegan broth, soy sauce, and canola oil. Marinate the tofu in the broth mixture for 10-20 minutes until most broth has been absorbed.
- Bake the tofu for about 10 minutes, just until the outside is dry but the inside is still moist.
- Peel, roughly chop, and steam the potatoes for 10 minutes or until they are soft enough to be mashed. Drain thoroughly.
