Mmm taco-y goodness but in a healthy whole foods sort of way. I didn’t even think to add nutritional yeast to this but that would have been fantastic too.
The story behind this was I had about 3/4 block of firm tofu in the freezer, for like the last 5 months, that’s how much I eat tofu. Our other champ in this meal was the squash we’ve had sitting on our windowsill since October. I’m serious. I love that about squash, a really nice and long shelf life.
So 5 months for the tofu and 3 months for the squash and this meal was flippin’ great! Jeremy was a HUGE fan and I can’t say he’s that into tofu, but he kept coming out of his office to ask me if I’d tried mine yet (I was still taking photos – lol). That kind of reaction always makes me happy.
I prepped the tofu the day before in hopes it would thoroughly absorb the flavors. Result…a fabulously spiced mix, not at all the boring and bland tofu you may be used to.
Here’s our cute creamy acorn squash from the PSU farmer’s market and the last of our squashes bought from that visit.
This is the tofu post crumbling and seasoning. Kind of looks like Mediterranean feta.
Baked Acorn Squash with Tofu Taco Filling
Ingredients
- 3/4 block of firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- juice from 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- 3 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons bragg liquid aminos
- cayenne to taste
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, large diced
- 1 red pepper, stem/seeds removed, medium chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 acorn squash, halved - seeds removed (roast those seeds - holes poked for steaming
- 1 avocado, pitted/sliced
Instructions
- Crumble the tofu with your hands into a medium sized bowl or place it in a bag, crumble it, and then place it in a medium sized bowl. It should sort of resemble ground taco meat.
- Add olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, bragg liquid aminos, and cayenne to crumbled tofu and mix well. Cover with saran wrap and place in refrigerator overnight or for a couple hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add enough water to cover a 13x9 pan 1/4-1/2" and place your squash halves in the pan skin side up.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, until very soft. Remove from oven and let them cool down.
- In a deep sauce pan or large saute pan, preheat pan on medium heat with olive oil, once heated add onion and saute for a minute, then add red pepper, tomatoes, and tofu mixture. Stir occasionally and saute for 5-8 minutes until warm.
- Place squash in a bowl, skin down, and fill with 1 cup of tofu taco mixture, top with slices of avocado and serve.
- optional, before you add the tofu mixture to squash, rub a drizzle of olive oil and dash of salt - then add the tofu mixture.
Even though I don’t use tofu a lot at home I will order it, if it’s available when we go out to eat. Also, this squash worked great as a sub for rice or pasta. The tofu filling would also be good in lettuce wraps or topped on a salad with a salsa dressing.
How are you with tofu? Love it – hate it? Are you willing to give things a 2nd and a 3rd try until you like them? I like tofu in moderation. I’m always willing to try things I’m not to keen about as many times until I like them. Wakame would be at the bottom of the list, it’s a seaweed, with papaya and capers at the tip top of the list. I really don’t dig papaya but I keep trying it and hope one day I’ll love it. (It is good blended with bananas for a ‘raw’ pudding though) 🙂