Tofu au Vin

This meatless take of the French classic Coq au Vin slowly simmers tofu with pearl onions, mushroom, red wine and vegetable broth. The veggie version cuts hours off the cooking time so you’ll be sitting down to dinner just a half hour after you’ve started cooking. This recipe comes to us from Donna of Apron Strings.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups red wine*
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 14 ounce package extra firm tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 4 tablespoons corn starch, divided
• 12 ounces mushrooms, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, diced as a garnish

*3 cups vegetable broth mixed with 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar can be substituted for the red wine.

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Add in bay leaves, wine, broth and soy sauce to the pan. Reduce heat so that liquid is slowly simmering. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until carrots and onions are soft and liquid has reduced by half.

Once sauce is reduced season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch into 1/2 cup of water and mix until combined. Stir in the cornstarch mixture to the pan to thicken the sauce.

Toss tofu cubes in the remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch and a little salt and pepper until they are all evenly coated.

Heat the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté coated tofu cubes, turning them occasionally with a spatula, for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until they are crispy browned on all the sides. Remove and set aside in a serving bowl.

Add mushrooms to pan and sauté them 5-7 minutes, or until mushrooms are browned and softened.

Add red wine sauce and mushrooms to tofu in the serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy!