Roasted Vegetables with Tofu Medley
My motto is that healthy eating does not have to be hard - it’s actually very simple. The easiest recipes are ones that have the freshest ingredients - because that is what makes food taste soogood! I like to go easy on the sauces - I am a big believer that food should taste great on it’s own. That’s why I rarely touch store bought sauces- other than tamari soy sauce, and that’s once in a while. All my marinades and sauces are home made - they are free of preservatives. I use good quality olive oil, organic lemons, organic herbs, kosher salt, smoked paprika (big difference between smoked and regular, buy smoked!), organic turmeric and other spices. I also cook a lot of with organic chicken broth - which I used for this recipe. If you are a die hard vegetarian, you can swap chicken stock for vegetarian broth. I use this cooking method because the the vegetables can steam a bit while covered with foil and cooking in broth, and this is great because you can roast them much faster after.
Here’s my recipe for roasted vegetable medley made, which I made with baked tofu, chicken broth, lemon, and herbs. I added a bit of salt, garlic powder and bay leaves for extra taste. I also recommend buying a high quality olive oil. My favorite brand is Lucini - you can get it at Publix in Florida. It’s at a higher price point, but it’s worth it. I buy Lucini evooo with lemon and also with basil. It’s absolutely delicious and you can definitely tell the difference between quality olive oil and regular olive oil.
Please make sure to wash and peel all your ingredients first, especially the mushrooms and the celery. I did not peel the potatoes because I was lazy, but I do think that peeled vegetables are easy to digest, especially if you have any kind of digestive discomfort.
Here’s what you will need to make this dish:
6-8 organic baby dutch potatoes cut in quarters (not peeled)
2 organic sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced in cubes
1/4 of an organic onion - sliced lengthwise
5 organic celery stalks (or whatever you have left), washed thoroughly and cut in 4 pieces
3 organic carrots - peeled and cut diagonally in 4 pieces
1 pound of cremini mushrooms, cut in halves (got these at the Vizcaya Farmer’s Market!)
4-5 small cherrie tomatoes, cut in half (also organic)
1 whole lemon - juiced (organic)
salt, pepper, 2 bay leaves, paprika, oregano, parsley
Extra firm tofu, drained
1/3 cup of chicken stock (Organic Trader Joe’s Chicken Stock)
Here’s what you do: prep all the vegetables, put them to the side and preheat the oven to 425F:
Place a sheet of foil onto the glass casserole dish and spray it all over with coconut oil.
Line the dish with slices of onions, baby dutch potatoes, sweet potato, carrots and celery.
Add cremini mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.
Mix in evoo, kosher salt, pepper, paprka, garlic powder, oregano and parsley herbs. Mix everything with a spoon or a spatula- making sure that vegetables are mixed well
Squeeze one whole lemon and pour 1/3 cup of broth. Mix all of that again.
Cover with a sheet of foil on top, and place the glass casserole in the oven for 50 minutes at 425F. Roast it covered with foil for the first 25 minutes, remove the foil for the remainder of the time. Roast it on the first rack in the oven.
For the tofu - here’s the recipe via love & lemons!
I baked the tofu on the second rack of the oven for about 15 min, while the vegetables were baking on the first rack.
Once the vegetables and tofu are done, take both out of the oven. Add the tofu into the vegetable medley dish, making sure it is covered by the liquid. It’s the only way the tofu will not taste like tofu- when it absorbs the juices from the vegetables and the broth. I love tofu plain, but most people don’t. I find this is a great way to have healthy plant protein and have it taste great a swell!
Serve it with a side of salad and enjoy!