Baked Tofu with Caramelized Onion Tahini Sauce & Pine Nuts

About this recipe.
First. This dish is an absolute favourite of mine. It's one of the most interesting ways I've come across for turning tofu into something special. If you are lucky enough to stumble on this recipe, don't pass it up if you want to add something really great to your plant based repertoire. I make this for myself for meal prep and it's honestly incredible, especially when you add the right things to enjoy along side. Ok a bit about the dish....

This baked tofu recipe is my attempt to veganize a fish dish called " Siniyet Samak bil Tahineh" from one of my favourite cookbooks, "Falastin" by Sami Tamimi. Instead of using white fish baked in Tahini Sauce, I use blocks of firm tofu, cut into pieces and then tossed with lemon zest and pieces of nori (seaweed). The tofu gets browned in a pan with olive oil, then layered into a baking dish with the tahini sauce and a sprinkle of pine nuts. It bakes in the oven for about 10 minutes. 

Food of Palestine
I bought this Palestinian cookbook and started cooking from it (not a vegan book but much of it naturally vegan), in December 2023, after the October 7th attacks then preceding genocide of Palestinians. My heart broke open in a way that changed the trajectory of how I show up in the world. How could I continue on as normal creating as if I wasn't seeing what is there for us all to see....there are moments where nothing makes sense when you are watching the live stream atrocities on your telephone screen. I bought a Palestinian cookbook because I wanted to give space to the history, culture and these beautiful people in my own life, and share. I've spent a lot of time bearing witness, trying to educate myself, reading about the history, having conversations. The lens through which I show up in my creative space has shifted, and it will continue to shift as I find my footing and continue learning as an imperfect human rooted in love, compassion, and the deep desire for liberation of all oppressed peoples. Cooking for me is a way to move through grief. When I am preparing flavours from this cookbook I sit with a sense of profound gratitude that even if I can't change the world or what is happening, I am at least awakened to the truths of it. We can sit in silence and pretend it doesn't matter because it isn't happening to us, or proclaim loudly that we do not support these injustices, which are literally connected to everything, and are closer to your doorstep than you might think. 

​Making the Vegan "Fish" using Tofu & Nori (Seaweed)
The addition of nori is a simple great way to create plant based fish dishes. I've used it wraped around tofu with lemon before battering and deep frying for vegan fish and chips. In this recipe, I marinate the pieces of tofu with lemon juice and torn up pieces of nori. The nori softness and sticks to the sides. Then when you go to brown the tofu before transferring to the baking dish, you dredge the tofu into the flour, trying to stick as much of the nori to each piece as you can. This isn't hard any at the bottom of the bowl I just lay over top before dredging into the flour. Then when you panfry the pieces they not only look awesome with the dark pieces of nori peaking through the browned flour crust, it tastes great too. 

When you are digging into the final dish, it adds that touch of sea flavour, and I also find the texture reminds me of what you encounter when eating seafood. Almost like fish skin but not in a gross way...i don't know how else to describe it! What I do know is that this Tofu recipe is DELICIOUS. Tahini and caramelized onions mixed together make an incredibly rich and flavourful sauce.

The photos below.
1. The tofu after sitting in lemon juice/nori mixture then into the flour to dredge all sides.
2. The tofu in a 9 x 13 pan after browning on each side, before pouring over the tahini sauce and baking the dish. 

3. Making the tahini sauce by mixing tahini with caramelized onions, jalapeno peppers, water, lemon juice and garlic.
4. After baking the dish.

5. garnished with chopped parsley & sumac

Side Dishes to Accompany Tahini Baked Tofu
The things you serve with this are what seriously take this whole situation to the next level. All the bites work together to create what for me is a magical dining experience. The food is humble, but just so so good. 

• Salad - ​I like it with tabbouleh, a chopped farmers salad, or something similar with fresh bright flavours.
• Pita Bread
• Hummus 
• Olives