Garlic & Pepper Tofu over Lime Greens

Hello, this is Kristin, whenever you see blue that's me! 
The recipe that I am sharing today I stumbled upon the other day completely by mistake- but sometimes you create your best dishes that way! At first it was a play on 'steak and mushrooms', then I figured, 'oh I can just add my greens to the mushrooms, I can separate later if I need to.' add some random ingredients and Wham! A totally amazing and healthy dish you'll want to enjoy night after night! 


Garlic & Pepper Tofu over Lime Greens
Serves 1-2
What you will need:

• 5 oz Garlic & Pepper Steak Tofu cut to your preference and pressed
• 3 Tbsp Extra Light Olive Oil or preferred cooking oil
• 2 Tbsp Earth Balance original 
• 4-5 Button Mushrooms
• 1 c Broccilini (about a hand full if you have a large bunch) chopped into 1inch strips 
• 1 c Fresh or Frozen Green Beans chopped into 1 inch strips
• 1 cup Cooked Jasmine Rice 
• 2 Lime
• 2 Cloves of Garlic minced
• Pinch of Basil seasoning
• Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large skillet on low heat warm 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp Earth Balance, garlic, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. You want to let the garlic infuse into the oil/butter to give you a real richness, plus it smells amazing. At this time you can start pressing your tofu and preparing your rice. 

After 5 minutes and the garlic is tender (please be sure not to cook it on too high of heat as the garlic will burn) add the mushrooms and let them satay for about 3-5 minutes getting tender before putting in the broccolini and green beans. After the greens are wilted a bit add a pinch more salt, pepper and basil. Let cook down and develop flavor for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, cooking on medium to low heat. During the last few minutes of cooking juice half a lime onto greens.

While the greens are cooking your tofu should be finished pressing. At this time warm a smaller skillet on medium heat and add 1Tbsp olive oil. Add the tofu to the skillet and sear on both sides. The olive oil will ensure a nice crisp to the tofu giving it texture. 

When the rice is complete add 1 juice of one lime and pepper to taste, being sure to mix throughout. You may use any extra lime to garnish. 

Everything should be done around the same time, so it's easy to just plate and Mangia!

Tips, Tricks, Substitutes and Options:

 If you are unable to find the Garlic & Pepper Tofu Steak in your local grocery store use either your own favorite rub or seasoning on your regular Firm Tofu, mine being McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning (not to worry it is vegan) OR and other option is to create your own rub of garlic and black pepper. Both very easy and wont take but minutes!

For my butter spread I used Earth Balance original. It is a great way to add richness to any dish without using actual butter. However, if you cannot find a vegan butter you can use the same amount of olive oil to cook your greens.  

Good green beans are hard to come by and there is no way you want to taint your dish with the canned kind. If green beans are out of season head on over to your local Trader Joe's and look for Trader Joe's Frozen French Green Beans. They are so crisp and taste like they came fresh!


For the non-veg if you are looking to substitute the tofu I would go with Chicken on this one. The dish has a refreshing flavor to it and I think that the chicken would go best. A mild fish could go just as well, such as Tilapia, or even Salmon. Also if you have time marinate your chicken for at least 30 minutes in Olive oil, basil, 2-3 lime, 3 cloves minced garlic and about 1 tsp or salt and 1 tsp of pepper. (Please let me know how it turns out! I can cook it I just don't eat it hah!)

Limes- believe it or not, especially if you are not a frequent user of lime, there are many times where your lime will not juice. Some times you just get a bad lime- but no fear because in this dish you can at least use it as a garnish! I wanted to share this information with you because when there is ever a recipe that calls for lime be sure to grab a couple more, just incase! 

Rice- Don't have the time (or patience) to cook rice from scratch? No worries neither do I most of the time! My go-to rice is Trader Joe's Organic Jasmine Rice. You will find it in the frozen foods section and it takes only three minutes in the microwave! Oh it's a lifesaver I tell ya!

I hope these substitutes and tricks have helped you, if there are any questions please comment, email, facebook or anything to let me know what you'd like to hear. Thank you and enjoy!