tofu salad

that's tofu salad as in egg salad. i have yet to purchase a tofu salad that i love. i don't try premade ones very often because 1. they are most often drenched in fake mayo and - real or fake - i really dislike mayo* and 2. celery? meh.

so i decided to make my own tofu salad that would solve these problems and oh my goodness did i ever succeed! seriously, this turned out better than i hoped. i love it. i ate it open faced on toast with a salad for dinner, then had it again for lunch. the longer you can let it sit the more the flavors will come out and the more deliciousness will come out but you can also eat it immediately after you finish stirring it all together (as i did) and it's quite a treat then as well.

i solved the mayo problem by using tahini sauce instead. i like the crunch that celery gives but wanted to get it from something that i enjoy....something like chopped cabbage! throw in a bunch of other stuff and you have tofu salad that is similar to egg salad only not gross. win!

tofu salad
ingredients:
1 lb. firm tofu
1 cup chopped green olives
1/4 red onion, chopped
chopped cabbage, roughly 1/4 of a small head
1/2 cup tahini sauce (roughly 1/4 cup tahini thinned with water)
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black salt**
salt and pepper to taste

crumble the tofu into a bowl and add the olives, onion and cabbage. mix together the tahini and water and then whisk in all of the other ingredients. pour over the tofu mixture and mix well. taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

*perhaps it stems from a time of enjoying mayo sandwiches as a child? it makes me shudder just thinking about it now.

**there a few different kinds of black salt out there. the one you want here is indian black salt and you'll know it's the right kind cause it smells like eggs. if you can't find it this will still be yummy without, just increase the other flavors. i have a gigantic bag of the stuff and if i could share with you i certainly would. if you do use it, i went a little on the light side cause i didn't want an overwhelming egg-y flavor, more of a subtle backdrop, but if you do you'll want to increase it by quite a bit.

-d