Dillicious Yellow Tofu Scramble and Mini Arepas

Rob has leaked that tonight’s dinner will not only feature frozen bananas (for dessert, I presume), but also sweet potatoes and beans. I am very intrigued… I’ll have to wait until tonight to see what he has in store. ;0

Rob is the king of fresh, hot lunches. His specialty on the weekend and while on staycations. Helping me focus more on studying, he is cooking up more of my meals these days.

When he makes this dillicious tofu scramble, there is no way I can turn it down. Paired with freshly made arepas, we have a winning combo.

Yes, this tofu scramble has dill, along with zip from onion, garlic and tamari. The cheesiness comes from nutritional yeast and egginess from black salt. But, really, it isn’t trying to imitate scrambled eggs, although that is how we came up with the idea to add in chopped broccoli stems.

We discovered arepas while in Colombia. A corn-based pancake, it was typically made with cheese and stuffed with some sort of meat. While hiking to The Lost City, our chef extraordinare made some arepas sin queso (without cheese) for me one morning. They used a more elaborate, although simplistic method, for making the wider and flatter Colombian arepas with a tortilla press. Here, we have adopted a Venezuelan-style arepa as it is thicker and baked.

Yes, there is a secret ingredient in here. After love, of course (which is why I themed this post with V-Day, HA!). Another Rob’s Repeater Recipe, arepas are super simple to make once you have located masarepa flour. You need pre-cooked finely ground corn meal. We used PAN (found just steps away from Welcome Food Mart but I have seen it elsewhere, too, like No Frills and Walmart), which comes in both yellow and white varieties. Both colours are ok. To make arepas, corn flour is mixed with salt and water. You let it rest, then form into flattened balls. Pan-fry it in a non-stick skillet to create a brown crust (yes, it tasted better if you use a bit of oil) and then bake it to cook it all the way through. No kidding, these were better than what we had in Colombia. Soft like a corny mashed potato inside with a delicious crispy crust on the outside. One problem, though: the leftovers are not as good cold.

Rob made mini arepas as a side to the tofu scramble, but feel free to make them slightly larger and fill them with the scramble (it just isn’t as pretty).

Rob cooks. I photograph and eat. Oh, and study. I could get used to this.

This is my submission to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Graziana.

Dillicious Yellow Tofu Scramble
Adapted from Radiant Health, Inner Wealth (original recipe here)

1 lb tofu, firm or soft, crumbled
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp black salt (or regular salt), add more salt to taste
2 tsp dried granulated onion
2 tsp dried granulated garlic
2 tsp dried dill
1 tbsp low-sodium tamari or soy sauce (I find this a bit salty, but Rob doesn’t, so add to taste)
3 tbsp nutritional yeast powder
1 broccoli stalk/stem, peeled and thinly sliced (also good with sauteed mushrooms)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Crumble tofu over a bowl in the sink, squeezing out as much water as possible. The bowl is to help catch any pieces of tofu that slip away. Catch them all and place in a medium bowl and set aside until needed.

2. In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and turmeric. Stir to combine.

3. Add the black salt, granulated onion, granulated garlic, dill, tamari/soy sauce, nutritional yeast and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Stir well and allow to toast slightly. Add the tofu and chopped broccoli and stir well.

4. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the tofu is browned, slightly crusty and warmed through, around 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately. Add hot sauce, to taste.

Serves 4.

Venezuelan-Style Mini Arepas
Adapted from Viva Vegan

1 cup masa harina (you need the one specifically for arepas (aka masarepa), we use PAN)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup boiling hot water

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until smooth. It should feel like thick mashed potatoes. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. Shape into small balls (1″ diameter) and then flatten slightly.

3. In a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, heat a bit of oil. Toast until brown on the edges, around 8 minutes on each side. Flip and brown other side.

4. Once browned, place on a silpat-lined baking sheet and bake for 5-15 minutes, flipping half-way through (we just leave them in until the tofu is ready!). Arepas are best eaten shortly after they are made.

Serves 4.