At a glance
the name of this recipe, “Tofu Pizzaiola” (page 286), gives you the impression
it’s going to be some sort of tofu pizza. But in reality, the word pizzaiola describes a sauce made with
tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. These are definitely ingredients found in pizza
sauce, so my initial impression probably wasn’t too far off. This recipe calls
for canned diced tomatoes, and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. I prefer to use
the oil-free sun-dried tomatoes that come in a resealable pouch. They are soft
like raisins, already cut in julienne strips, and contain no oil at all. Added
capers and olives provide a bright burst of flavor and round out this rich and delicious
sauce.
The second
part of this recipe consists of preparing the tofu. The instructions say to
brown the tofu in heated oil in a large skillet. While it is very easy to dry-fry
tofu in a good quality nonstick skillet, using no oil at all, you won’t get as
much browning as you do when cooking in oil. I have no problem with that, and
is typically how I would have worked around this. But recently I’ve added an
air fryer to my kitchen collection, and it was easy to “fry” the tofu strips in
this handy appliance, achieving both crispy and browned tofu strips, without
using oil.
The pizzaiola
is served over the prepared tofu, and I was more than pleased with the flavors
and textures. I only wish I’d doubled the recipe, it was that good, and the small
portion of leftovers even better. There is something about flavorful tomato
based sauces that improve overnight, and this was certainly the case here.
Keeping it
“McDougall Friendly” check list:
- Use oil-free sun-dried
tomatoes instead to those packed in oil. Alternately, you can try rinsing
the excess oil off the oil-packed variety before adding to the sauce.
- Omit the oil when browning the tofu. Use a high quality nonstick skillet and “dry-fry” instead, or, if you have an air fryer, try “frying” the strips using this method.