Exclusive

Max La Manna’s Crispy Tofu and Olive Rice

Name: Max La Manna’s Crispy Tofu and Olive Rice
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min

In this exclusive recipe for The Happy Foodie, Max La Manna coats crispy tofu in a sweet tomato glaze and serves it with olives, brown rice and a fresh minty yoghurt.

Introduction

There are so many ways to cook tofu, it’s a vegan powerhouse ingredient. I love tossing it in cornflour to get that delicious crispy exterior to complement its soft chewy centre. For the tofu in this recipe, I make a little sticky tomato glaze that I toss the tofu in right before I eat it- this means it has that amazing sticky crunch that you see on crispy chicken wings.

You can add different fillings, like roasted aubergine, roasted red peppers, and different nuts and herbs- it’s so versatile. I use mint sauce in the yoghurt, but if you want to marble it with some harissa paste that would be delicious, or add lemon and keep it simple and fresh! I sometimes put this rice and sticky tofu in a wrap with the mint yoghurt and loads of shredded lettuce and have a kind of burrito-style lunch of champions.

Ingredients

	For the minty yoghurt:
120g	vegan yogurt
1 tbsp	mint sauce
	For the rice:
2 x 200g pouch	brown rice
4 tbsp	black olives, roughly chopped
1 tbsp	dried oregano
200g	cherry tomatoes, halved
75g	sultanas
1	lemon
2 tbsp	olive oil
Small handful of	mint and parsley, roughly chopped
	For the tofu:
2 tbsp	cornflour
1 tsp	smoked paprika
2 tbsp	olive oil
1 pack	tofu, cut into 2cm cubes
½ tbsp	tomato paste
1 tbsp	agave nectar
	To serve:
50g	pine nuts, toasted

Method

Mix the ingredients for the minty yoghurt together, season and set aside.

Warm the rice pouches according to package instructions and tip into a large bowl. Add the olives, dried oregano, cherry tomatoes, sultanas and lemon zest and juice. Add 2 tbsp of the olive oil, along with most of the mint and parsley, season well and toss together.

Mix the cornflour and smoked paprika together with some salt. Toss the tofu cubes into the flour mix and coat well. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the tofu cubes. Toss until crisp and golden on all sides.

Mix the tomato paste and agave nectar together in a small pan with a tbsp of water. Put over a medium heat and whisk to make a glaze. Tip the crispy tofu into a bowl, then drizzle with the glaze and toss well.

Spoon the rice mix into bowls, drizzle with the minty yoghurt, top with the tofu and scatter with the pine nuts and remaining herbs to serve.

Exclusive

This recipe is exclusive to The Happy Foodie

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