Cooking - Dinner- Cuban Pan-Seared Tofu with Onions & Mojo

Hi Friends - Any recipe that starts with either of the words "Cuban" and/or "Pan-Fried Onions" onions has me at hello!

Now 'pan fried' might not sound healthy I guess, or so it does/did to me, but done correctly very little oil is needed as the moisture in the vegetable or tofu is used along with the oil to create something wonderful.

Onions are one of my favorites to work with, with sweet vidalia and reds being at the top of my list. Tofu though can be confusing as there are so many varieties and many of us had had little exposure to working with the product. To keep things simple, this recipe uses just "extra-firm" tofu.  To prepare it, just drain the water from the container it comes in 12, 16 or 18 oz packages (Look in the store in either the veggie section - or near dairy of all things) and cut into one inch slices and pat dry with a towel or clean dish cloth.

This recipe has about three parts to it and it's important to do each part on it's own (a very French thing to do...) and then combine everything at the end. This type of cooking takes timing and practice, but I think you will be more than happy with the results as will your dinner companions!

Making the "Mojo" -

In a small sauce pan, and on  low heat, combine 4 cloves of crushed garlic (use the side of a large knife and just crush it on a chopping board), 3 tbl of squeezed lime juice (about three limes),  1 1/5 tbl spoons of salt, 2 tbl spoons of pepper, 1 tbl of sugar/ truvia (I LOVE cooking with Truvia - half the calories of sugar - all natural - and tastes the same), 2 tbl of freshly cut parsley and 2 tbl  of regular olive oil.

• Let it comes to a slight simmer for 2 to 3 mins and take off the fire and set aside

Prep for the Onions

1 large Onion sliced and placed into a pan with 1 tbl canola oil for about 5 mins; stiring constantly until translucent and a bit brown. Reduce heat and continue for another 5 mins  then take off heat and allow to cool for 3 mins.... and add the Mojo mixture to it and stir togther.

• Taste the mixture and you'll see how good it will taste with the tofu

Pan-sear the Tofu:

The trick here is to coat one side of the tofu (coat the side that will be placed down first- other side gets coated in the pan)  with a rough salt and pepper "Tofu spice"* mixture and other spices of your choice so the tofu almost has a barrier between it and the oil. 

1. Liberally coat one side of the patted dry 1 inch tofu slices
2. Place a shallow layer og canola oil in a saute pan
3. Heat until hot/ ripple appear in pan (don't let it smoke)
4. Turn off heat and lay the tofu in the pan, spice side down
5. Turn back on the heat, spice the other side, and cook until the bottom is golden brown
6. Turn off the heat and carefully flip the tofu slices over - Watch for splattering as the oil will burn you
7. Turn the heat back on and cook other wise until golden brown

If done properly, the majority of the oil should be left in the bottom of the pan

*Tofu spice mixture:

2 tbl course salt
2 tbl peppercorns (black or mixed)
1 tsp coriander seeds (crushed)
1 tsb caraway seeds (crushed)
1 tsb fennel seeds (crushed)
1 tsb cumin seeds (crushed)
1 tsb celery seed (crushed)