Tofu Parmigiana
Jessie Price, EatingWell

 

Tofu Parmigiana

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Before I started working at EatingWell, I generally thought of tofu as an ingredient for Asian recipes. That changed when I met our Test Kitchen manager, Stacy Fraser. At a tender age, Stacy decided she wanted to become vegetarian. Then when she went off to college she took it a step further and became vegan. Anyway, she eats meat now, but she still has a real fondness for vegetarian recipes and has a flair for preparing tofu creatively.

One of the first recipes I tried was Stacy's Italian-inspired concoction that she served with polenta: Tofu with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce. I was impressed. And this recipe for Tofu Parmigiana is even more delicious. One of our tasters, who's a big meat eater and not so into tofu, kept coming back for seconds every time we made it. He said he would even make it at home. Our art director, who doesn't really cook, tried the recipe at home and said it turned out perfectly. Try it for yourself. You'll start to love the stuff too. Cheers!

Tofu Parmigiana

Instead of having a greasy, battered coating, the tofu "steaks" in our revamped Parmigiana are breaded and lightly pan-fried in just a small amount of oil then topped with part-skim mozzarella, fresh basil and your favorite marinara sauce. This Italian classic will please even those who are tofu-phobic.

Makes 4 servings.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 14-ounce package firm or extra-firm water-packed tofu, rinsed

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 small onion, chopped

8 ounces white mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce, preferably low-sodium

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Combine breadcrumbs and Italian seasoning in a shallow dish. Cut tofu lengthwise into 4 steaks and pat dry. Sprinkle both sides of the tofu with garlic powder and salt and then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until they release their juices and begin to brown, 4 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the tofu steaks and cook until browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn over and sprinkle with Parmesan. Spoon the mushroom mixture over the tofu, pour marinara over the mushrooms and scatter mozzarella on top. Cover and cook until the sauce is hot and the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 262 calories; 16 g fat (5 g sat, 7 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrate; 16 g protein; 3 g fiber; 597 mg sodium; 444 mg potassium

Nutrition Bonus: Calcium (40 percent daily value), Selenium (15 percent dv).

1 Carbohydrate Servings

Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 1/2 medium fat meat, 2 fat

Vegetarian Main Course, American

 

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Tofu Parmigiana

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