I am fully aware that much printed content ends up skimmed at best, if it even makes it that far.   So, I’m going to give the narrative a break.  No colorful backstory, no wild adventure, no overseas travel, no dinner party reminiscence. This is just a really good salad, and I’ve even bolded important make aheads and tips to give you a bigger break from wading through all my usual verbosity.

 

However, I will say that, despite the many steps below, this actually comes together pretty quickly, especially if you’ve got a moment here or there in the few days leading up to serving it. Got 5 minutes of downtime in the kitchen?  Make the dressing.  20 mins to kill before bed?  Prep the tofu. Same with baking the tofu, chopping the vegetables, or making the croutons.  Everything except for the avocados in this recipe can be dealt with in advance. Which is pretty remarkable for a salad.

 

Shazam!

 

14-16 oz of firm or extra firm tofu, ripped into bite size pieces (as prepared in Note below)

 

2 Tbsp. Jane’s famous salmon rub (from last month’s issue, see Note below)

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. olive oil

 

One English cucumber, chopped into bite-size cubes

One large handful of Kalamata or green olives (or both!), pitted and chopped in half

One handful capers, drained

One 8 oz block of feta cheese, chopped or ripped into bite-size pieces

2 avocados, chopped in to bite-size chunks

One romaine heart, quartered lengthwise and chopped

3 Green onions, chopped into half inch pieces

 

For the Dressing:

One garlic clove, finely chopped or grated

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2.5 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. white sugar

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

¼ c. red wine vinegar

Juice of one lemon

¾ c. olive oil

Pepper to taste

 

Your choice of bread, cut into cubes, about 2 cupfuls

Olive oil

Salt to taste

 

Chopped fresh herbs in a combination you prefer, such as dill, mint, cilantro, chives, basil, and/or parsley.

 

Preheat oven to 400 and chop the veg, feta, and bread while it heats up. You can make (part of) this step ahead a day by combining the cucumbers, olives, capers and feta in one container, and putting the chopped romaine and green onions in another container and storing in the fridge.  Wait to do the avocados if making ahead; that’s definitely a task you want to do pretty close to salad assembly.  Or just leave them out, especially on either side of their 8 minute window of ripeness.

 

In a small bowl, combine all the tofu marinade ingredients and whisk together.  Toss the marinade with the prepared tofu and pop that in the oven for around 20 mins until the edges are crispy and browned.  (This can be done a few days ahead, just let cool and put in a covered container in the fridge.)

 

While the tofu is cooking, prep dressing by putting all the ingredients in a mason jar and shaking it around for awhile until emulsified. Set aside. (This can also be done ahead and will store for a week or two in the refrigerator.  When you’re ready to use, just run it under some tap water to bring the oil solids to room temperature and shake again.)

 

While the tofu is cooling down a bit, make the croutons.   Preheat a cast iron or other skillet to medium/medium high and add the oil.  When the oil is hot, add the chopped bread and give them a toss with salt.   You gotta stir this constantly and keep an eye on them to keep them from burning, so pay attention, stir and flip them like you mean it, and by all means turn down the heat if things get wacky. (Guess what?  You can also make these ahead by up to three days.  Store them on the counter.)

 

Toss everything, including ¾ of the herbs, together in a big bowl and top with any remaining herbs.   Serve right away.

 

You’ll want to use the firmest tofu you can find, and definitely don’t use silken tofu for this recipe.  It’s too mushy.

 

Wrap the tofu in paper towels, put on plate under a weighted cast iron skillet for 20-30 mins to press the water out of the tofu; this improves the texture immensely. Dry the tofu, then rip into bite-sized cubes and place in gallon zip top bag.   Freeze overnight, then thaw, and they’ll be ready to go.

 

It’s just half brown sugar and half Montreal steak seasoning.

 

You could save some time and just go buy a deli quart container made by the folks at Morton’s on Hillview.  They are delicious.