water, vegetable, or chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped dill or 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
8 ounces egg noodles
1. Let the sour cream come to room temperature.
2. Dice the tofu into ½-inch cubes. Set a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and brush lightly with oil. Add the tofu and cook until golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn to brown the other sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then remove to a dish.
3. Add the oil and butter to the pan. When it foams, add the onion and mushrooms, squeezing the lemon over the mushrooms so that they keep their color. Cook until the mushrooms are browned and the onions are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the tofu and gently mix together.
4. Sprinkle over the flour and paprika, then season with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Turn the mixture to incorporate the flour, and add the wine, let it bubble up, then reduce until syrupy. Add the water, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Check once or twice to make sure there’s enough liquid to make a little sauce. If not, add more water or stock as needed. Taste for salt. Cook the egg noodles until al dente, then drain and place on a warmed platter.
5. Rewarm the sauce, if necessary, then turn off the heat, add the fresh herb and stir in the sour cream. Pour over the egg noodles and serve.
MushroomTortellini with Light Tarragon Cream Sauce
MAKES 32 TORTELLINI
“You mean that’s tofu in there?” asked one of my guests when biting into these succulent little pastas. The filling, given as a separate recipe below, is so delicious I’m lucky if it ever makes it into the wrappers. There’s no reason you couldn’t toss the filling with strands of wholewheat pasta or thin Chinese egg noodles along with the cream sauce or a rich mushroom broth. Another variant is to use steamed napa cabbage leaves as a wrap instead, making pale green bundles of succulent mushrooms and tofu
.
The Filling
Seared Mushrooms with Tiny Cubes of Tofu
•
32 wonton wrappers
2 cups half-and-half or a mixture of half-and-half and cream
2 shallots, finely diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons mushroom soy sauce, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups napa cabbage, sliced into narrow ribbons
1. Prepare the filling and spread it on a plate and refrigerate until completely cool.
2. Place a wonton wrapper on the counter, put 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center, brush the edges with water, then fold, corner to corner, to make a triangle. Press the edges to make sure they’re sealed. Take the two ends of the triangle and fold them so that one end rests on the other end. Seal with another drop of water. Set them on a sheet pan dusted with rice flour or on nonstick pastry paper.
3. Simmer the half-and-half in a wide skillet with the remaining ingredients for 5 minutes. Season with a few pinches of salt and black pepper. Meanwhile, simmer the tortellini in salted, simmering water for 2 minutes, or until tender, then remove with a strainer and set them in the sauce. Shuffle the pan back and forth so that the sauce washes over the pasta. Continue to cook a little longer if the sauce is still on the thin side. Place on heated plates, pour the sauce and cabbage over each plate, then serve, adding a little ground pepper to each plate.
Seared Mushrooms with Tiny Cubes of Tofu
MAKES 2 CUPS
1 carton soft or firm tofu, drained and diced into ¼-inch cubes
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons mushroom soy sauce
½ teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound brown Italian mushrooms, chopped in small pieces
4 large shallots or 1 small onion, finely diced
1. Simmer the tofu for 2 minutes in salted water, then set on paper toweling to dry while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Combine the sugar, water, mushroom soy
2 tablespoons chopped dill or 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
8 ounces egg noodles
1. Let the sour cream come to room temperature.
2. Dice the tofu into ½-inch cubes. Set a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and brush lightly with oil. Add the tofu and cook until golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn to brown the other sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then remove to a dish.
3. Add the oil and butter to the pan. When it foams, add the onion and mushrooms, squeezing the lemon over the mushrooms so that they keep their color. Cook until the mushrooms are browned and the onions are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the tofu and gently mix together.
4. Sprinkle over the flour and paprika, then season with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Turn the mixture to incorporate the flour, and add the wine, let it bubble up, then reduce until syrupy. Add the water, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Check once or twice to make sure there’s enough liquid to make a little sauce. If not, add more water or stock as needed. Taste for salt. Cook the egg noodles until al dente, then drain and place on a warmed platter.
5. Rewarm the sauce, if necessary, then turn off the heat, add the fresh herb and stir in the sour cream. Pour over the egg noodles and serve.
MushroomTortellini with Light Tarragon Cream Sauce
MAKES 32 TORTELLINI
“You mean that’s tofu in there?” asked one of my guests when biting into these succulent little pastas. The filling, given as a separate recipe below, is so delicious I’m lucky if it ever makes it into the wrappers. There’s no reason you couldn’t toss the filling with strands of wholewheat pasta or thin Chinese egg noodles along with the cream sauce or a rich mushroom broth. Another variant is to use steamed napa cabbage leaves as a wrap instead, making pale green bundles of succulent mushrooms and tofu
.
The Filling
Seared Mushrooms with Tiny Cubes of Tofu
•
32 wonton wrappers
2 cups half-and-half or a mixture of half-and-half and cream
2 shallots, finely diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons mushroom soy sauce, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups napa cabbage, sliced into narrow ribbons
1. Prepare the filling and spread it on a plate and refrigerate until completely cool.
2. Place a wonton wrapper on the counter, put 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center, brush the edges with water, then fold, corner to corner, to make a triangle. Press the edges to make sure they’re sealed. Take the two ends of the triangle and fold them so that one end rests on the other end. Seal with another drop of water. Set them on a sheet pan dusted with rice flour or on nonstick pastry paper.
3. Simmer the half-and-half in a wide skillet with the remaining ingredients for 5 minutes. Season with a few pinches of salt and black pepper. Meanwhile, simmer the tortellini in salted, simmering water for 2 minutes, or until tender, then remove with a strainer and set them in the sauce. Shuffle the pan back and forth so that the sauce washes over the pasta. Continue to cook a little longer if the sauce is still on the thin side. Place on heated plates, pour the sauce and cabbage over each plate, then serve, adding a little ground pepper to each plate.
Seared Mushrooms with Tiny Cubes of Tofu
MAKES 2 CUPS
1 carton soft or firm tofu, drained and diced into ¼-inch cubes
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons mushroom soy sauce
½ teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound brown Italian mushrooms, chopped in small pieces
4 large shallots or 1 small onion, finely diced
1. Simmer the tofu for 2 minutes in salted water, then set on paper toweling to dry while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Combine the sugar, water, mushroom soy
Similar Books
