I have been meaning to share the magic of crispy waffle iron tofu for a while, but somehow kind of forgot. Yesterday when talking to my (not quite) mother in law she mentioned the bean waffles I made a while ago and suddenly I had a very real need to go home and bust out the waffle iron and make some tofu. And some of you may be thinking that this sounds weird, but its not. Waffle irons are not just for waffles, you can cook just about anything in them. I compare then to a George Foreman grill (remember those) or even a griddler. . Works the same way, just makes everything waffles shaped.
As for the rest of this open face toast situation, it just makes so much sense. Crispy cumin lime tofu, avocado, mashed up squash.... A heap of things that are so freaking good. I actually made the sandwich for the mr and was a little bit worried he was not going to like it, but worry I need not. He got down with it too. You could even ditch the bread and eat waffled tofu slathered in the squash and tofu alone, or maybe swap out bread for greens (that's what I did) Whatever you do, it will be good and your tofu will be so nice and crispy (without having to deep fry) that you may never cook tofu anther way again.
The stuff. Tofu, some roasted squash (any squash or sweet potato works), and half an avocado. Going to need a lime, some cumin and a pinch of chili powder, salt and pepper and little olive oil. And some type of bread that is good for toasting.
The cumin and chili powder go into a bowl with lime juice, a little oil ans a pinch of salt ans pepper. Give it a good whisk and set aside.
And now tend to the tofu. You want to get as much water removed from the tofu as you can. I do this by pressing the sliced pieces between a clean tea towel a bunch of times until the tofu is as dry I can get it without falling apart.
While you are doing this, preheat your waffle iron.
Once the tofu is a dried as you can get it, dredge each piece of tofu, front and back, through the cumin lime mixture.
And place it on your preheated, lightly oiled waffle iron.
Close iron and let the tofu iron itself cripsy.
And in about 7-10 minutes, you got yourself some super fantastic crispy, oh so tasty tofu.
Now to put it all together. Bread is toasted and topped with mashed up squash.
Next goes the tofu then top that with the avocado. Finish with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt.
And sriracha if you like it..
Not deep fried, but super crispy tofu! And squash! and avocado! and toast!
It's amazing.
-C
Cumin Lime Waffle Iron Tofu with Squash and Avocado on toast
Make 2 pieces of toast
For the tofu
- 1/2 a block of extra firm tofu cut about an inch thick slices
- Juice of half a lime
- 1 heaping teaspoon cumin
- pinch of chili powder
- salt and pepper
- 3 teaspoons oil plus more to brush onto iron
And for the rest of the sandwich
- a piece 4-5 inch piece of baguette or 2 slices of thick bread (use gluten free bread if you want)
- About a 1/3 cup of cooked or roasted squash or sweet potato
- sriracha (if you are into it)
- 1/2 an avocado
- the other half of lime
In a shallow bowl, mix together the juice of 1/2 the lime,the cumin and chill powder, a pinch of salt and pepper and 3 teaspoons of oil. Set aside
Preheat waffle iron to either the on setting or if it has variable setting, high.
Take your tofu and remove as much of the liquid as you can by pressing it between two clean kitchen towels. When you get as much of the liquid out as you can, take the tofu and place into the cumin mixture and coat both sides. Ready the iron by brushing each side with a little more oil just to make sure it doesn't stick and place the tofu on the iron, close it up, and let it do it's thing for about 8-10 minutes. (check after 6-7 to see whats what and if is as crispy crunchy as you like, remove. If you think it could use another minute or two, well close it back up and keep ironing it.
And when the tofu is done, it's time tot make compile it all together.
Toast you bread you are going to use. Once toasted mash a good amount of squash onto toast. Place tofu on top of that and thinly sliced avocado on top of that. Finish with a sprinkle of salt, a squeeze of lime juice and if you are feeling a bit more spicy, a few drizzle drops of sriracha.
Eat right away. Do not share...they can make their own.
