CHRISTMAS TOFU ROAST WITH CORNBREAD CRUMBLE

Our vegan twist on a Portuguese classic: marinated tofu with creamy spinach and crunchy cornbread crumble. A festive centerpiece to remember.

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A festive plate with tofu roast topped with cornbread crumble, served with golden roasted potatoes and pomegranate seeds.

Our vegan twist on a Portuguese classic: marinated tofu with creamy spinach and crunchy cornbread crumble. A festive centerpiece to remember.

Hello everyone! It's Rita here. How is everyone doing? I'm writing this post from a shale house in the mountains where we are currently working at for the next few days. Picture this: the fire is burning and cracking, we've got some Ben Howard playing in the background, surrounded by lots of cozy blankets and drinking tea pretty much by the buckets. We shot this recipe last week, back at home, but ended up only finding the time to finish editing the photos and preparing everything else right now, in between photoshoots and projects. Even though this means we're a bit more stressed than usual, it feel so right to be preparing this Christmas post in this scenery.

Our international readers might not get the origin of this recipe. This is a remake of a typical portuguese dish made primarily with salted, dried codfish. It's very common to see this dish on the menu for dinner on Christmas's Eve. We decided to veganize it, just as we've done with another codfish dish from Portugal – the {Veggie Hash}. This means our fellow portuguese readers can surely surprise their family members with a delicious vegan version of a typical meal, and our international readers can try something completely new altogether! When this was nothing but an idea yet, we were unsure whether it would turn out right. But after a few test runs and tweaks, we were sure this recipe is a hit. The marinade is an absolute flavour bomb that'll go from mellow to sharp in a split second! And the amazing combination of firm, creamy, crumbly, crunchy textures is something we don't come across very often. I'm sure we'll find ourselves coming back to this recipe all year round, and I hope you will to.

We now have a full Christmas menu thanks to this recipe, which has joined our two other festive treats from last year: the {Christmas Snack Tray} and the {Citrusy Sweet Potato Pie}. Do check them out in case you haven't yet, as they're pretty delicious too! And now on a final note: we weren't as active on the blog during this past year as we hoped we could have been. But we've got very exciting news to share not too long from now, and you'll start seeing much more from us in the near future! Merry Christmas everyone. We hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. :) xo

Thick slices of tofu coated with green marinade, ready for baking.

Fresh spinach, arame seaweed, garlic cloves and chopped shallots with olive oil on a plate.

Sautéed spinach and arame seaweed mixture glistening in a pan.

Thick slices of cornbread laid out, ready to be crumbled.

Cornbread crumble inside a food processor, already pulsed with fresh herbs, seasonings and sunflower seeds.

Animated gif with the step-by-step cooking process of the tofu roast.

A full tray of tofu roast covered in colorful cornbread crumble with pomegranate seeds.

Detailed view of golden tofu roast with cornbread crumble, herbs and pomegranate.

Golden roasted baby potatoes with garlic cloves in a white baking dish.

Roasted baby potatoes with fresh parsley and roasted garlic, glistening with olive oil.

Christmas dinner table with tofu roast, roasted potatoes and festive lights.

A serving of tofu roast and potatoes on a white plate.

A square of tofu roast and a few roasted potatoes on a white plate with a fork.

A piece of tofu roast topped with crumble served with roasted potatoes and pea shoots.

Close-up side view of tofu roast slice with golden crust, cornbread crumble and pomegranate seeds.

Christmas Tofu Roast with Cornbread Crumble

TOFU

1 kg block of tofu
80 ml cold pressed olive oil
60 ml lemon juice
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
60 ml white miso paste
2 tbsp kelp powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp sea salt

SAUTÉED SPINACH & ARAME SEAWEED

3 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, crushed and without central germ
300 g spinach leaves
20 g arame seaweed
sea salt (generous pinch)
black pepper to taste

CORNBREAD CRUMBLE

200 g cornbread, sliced and toasted
50 g sunflower seeds
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
8 sprigs of parsley
8 sprigs of coriander
1 tsp olive oil
black pepper to taste
zest of ½ lemon

Serve with

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Instructions

Start by gathering, preparing and measuring all of the ingredients. This will improve your dynamic in the kitchen.

TOFU

Pre-heat your oven to 190ºC (375ºF).
Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl and mix well with a fork or whisk.
Gently but firmly pat dry the block of tofu with paper towls or a clean kitchen cloth and cut it into 1 cm slices.
Pat dry the individual slices once more.
Place the tofu slices in a large tray and pour the marinade. Massage the marinade thoroughly on all sides of the tofu and make sure there’s plenty of sauce beneath, around and over them.
Let the tofu rest in the marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes (and up to 12 hours), flipping the slices every once in a while, to make sure to tofu absorbs all flavours evenly.
Once they’re properly marinated, transfer the tofu slices into a clean tray. Reserve the remaining marinade in an airtight jar. as it will be needed later on.
Place the tray in the oven for 20 minutes.
Briefly remove tray from the oven, flip the tofu slices and brush them with a little bit of the marinade sauce. Reserve the remaining sauce once more.
Place the tray in the oven for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and reserve.

SAUTÉED SPINACH & ARAME SEAWEED

Wash the seaweed in a colander under running water.
Transfer it to a bowl, cover with water and soak for 15 minutes.
In a large pan over medium heat, combine olive oil, sliced shallots and smashed garlic and sautée for a few minutes, until the shallots become translucent.
Reduce the heat to a minimum and gradually add the spinach leaves, allowing them to wilt before adding the next batch.
After all the spinach has wilted, add the soaked arame seaweed and turn up the heat to medium–high.
Season with sea salt and black pepper and sautée for 3–4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and reserve.

CORNBREAD CRUMBLE

Start by placing the parsley and coriander in your food processor and pulse until the sprigs are finely chopped.
Add the toasted cornbread slices and pulse again, until it’s reduced to a coarse crumble and fully mixed with the herbs.
Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until everything is combined.

ASSEMBLE & COOK TOFU

Brush the surface of an oven tray with a generous amount of the marinade sauce.
Place the pre-cooked tofu slices neatly arranged side by side and brush them generously with the sauce.
Divide the spinach and seaweed mixture into 8 portions and layer it on each individual slice.
Top it up with the cornbread crumble and place the tray in the oven on broil mode at 200ºC (395ºF), for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and scatter some pomegranate seeds on top.