Spicy tofu peanut stew

A few weeks ago I took my other half away for a long weekend in North Wales. We stayed at an amazing retreat called Trigonos, which serves incredibly imaginative and tasty vegetarian and vegan food. On the first night we stayed there we were served a really good tofu tomato and peanut stew. As I didn't write down the ingredients I could taste at the time and my other half has swanned off to Indonesia, I had to try to guess what was in it. I am pretty pleased with the outcome, and will happily attempt it again.

The peanut butter really thickens up the sauce and gives it a very luxurious texture. I used 100% peanut butter with no added oil/sugar/salt as I find the normal sugary peanut butters too sweet. I did however add sugar to the recipe to sweeten the tomatoes, so you can use whatever peanut butter you have in your cupboard. If you have decent quality tinned tomatoes or sugary peanut butter you could completely miss out the sugar.

Spicy tofu peanut stew

Serves 2
Olive oil
Half a block of tofu (I used Cauldron firm tofu), chopped into 2cm pieces
1/4 aubergine, chopped into 2cm pieces
 1 large handful kale
2 chestnut mushrooms
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chunky peanut butter (I used no Meridian no added sugar/salt)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 vegetable stock cube
40ml soya milk (or alternative)
1tsp sugar (optional, depending on your peanut butter and quality of chopped tomatoes)
1tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
a few dashes of soy sauce

1. Heat a splash of olive oil in a saucepan over a medium/high heat and add the tofu
2. Cook for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tofu has begun to brown
3. Add a few splashes of soy sauce to add colour to the tofu
4. Add the aubergines and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, stock cube, peanut butter, sugar, paprika and chilli flakes
6. Turn the heat down to low/medium and cover the pan
7. After 5 minutes, add the kale and soya milk, and taste to check seasoning and adjust if necessary
8. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until the kale is cooked with a little bite
9. Serve with rice or bulghar wheat (as above)

Quorn kale stir fry with tahini dressing

This post is more about the tahini dressing really. When I make stir frys, I usually use the usual flavours (garlic, chilli, ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce) but that can get a little boring. I have been experimenting with Szechuan peppercorns recently, which are great to add a different type of heat in meals. But that is for another time...

I think this dressing would be great on salads too if you fry the onion and garlic beforehand. If you don't have tahini, you could use natural peanut butter (preferably no sugar or salt) and make this into more of a satay sauce. Not much of a looker I know, but very tasty.  

Quorn kale stir fry with tahini dressing

Serves 2
1 medium red onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1 tbsp groundnut oil (i.e. peanut oil, or olive oil)
150g Quorn (or your alternative)
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium green bell pepper
50g kale
Fresh or frozen coriander
1 tbsp tahini (or peanut butter)
1 lime, freshly squeezed
Chilli flakes, to taste
Soy sauce
Splash hot water
1/2 tsp honey

1. Heat half the oil in a fry pan over a medium heat and cook the onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Set aside in a bowl. Squeeze the lime juice over the onion and garlic and keep the squeezed lime.
2. Heat the rest of the oil and add the Quorn (or alternative). Cook for 10 minutes, or until the Quorn has cooked through and browned a little. Throw the squeezed lime into the pan. This will cook the lime and relese more juices, ensuring the Quorn does not dry out too much, and add lots of flavout.
3. Add the peppers and kale to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add the tahini, coriander, lime juice, chilli, soy sauce and honey to the bowl containing the onion and garlic. Add a splash of water to loosen the tahini and mix well. Check seasoning and add more soy sauce or sugar if needed.
5. Once the peppers and kale are cooked but still with a crunch, tip over the tahini dressing to coat the stir fry and heat through. Serve immediately. 

I found this filling enough without any sides but rice or noodles would be lovely. If you added more water to the tahini dressing, or just made more, than it could coat the sides too.