Baked Tofu with Swiss Chard in Miso Sesame Peanut Sauce

Baked tofu and sautéd swiss chard in rich Asian-inspired miso-sesame-peanut sauce. Simultaneously light and filling – makes the perfect easy dinner!

Yields: Serves 1 hungry person; 2 not as hungry people

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425.

Remove tofu from packaging. I like to empty the contents into a strainer because there’s so much water that comes with it.

Take a plate and cover it with a clean dish towel or a few squares of paper towel. Place the block of tofu on top of the towel and place 2 plates on top of the tofu. This will drain the excess moisture and make the texture better. Leave the tofu like this for 5-10 minutes.

While the tofu is being compressed, you can prepare the sauce. Combine 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp tahini, 4 tbsp ground flaxseed, and water in a blender. Leave the ingredients unblended in the blender for later.

Turn the block of tofu on its side and slice it down the middle. Turn it back to it’s original position and proceed to cut the block into strips (about 1.5” each - I usually make 3 cuts resulting in 8 strips total).

Coat a baking sheet with a thin layer of toasted sesame oil (about 2 tbsp). Place the tofu slices on the baking sheet. Move the slices around in the oil so that all of the slices are coated in oil. Arrange the strips in a neat row and place in the oven. Optional: I like to spray the strips a few times with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. This just makes the tofu slightly more salty and savory. If you don’t have the sprayable version of Bragg’s, don’t worry about it.

Leave these in the oven for 40 minutes or until the corners of the strips are nice and crunchy. Optional: you can flip them over after 25 minutes if you want the texture to be equally crunchy on all sides. I’m usually too lazy to do this though!

Wash the swiss chard, removing the stems as you wash each individual leaf. Rip the leafs into bite-sized shreds, and towel off the water.

When the tofu is close to done (after about 30-35 minutes), blend the sauce mixture on the highest setting until smooth.

Heat 1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil over medium in a wide skillet. Add the swiss chard, and sauté until wilted. Now, add the sauce and stir in thoroughly. When the tofu is done, you can take that and add it to the swiss chard and sauce. Make sure the tofu is completely coated in the sauce as well as the swiss chard.

Serve and enjoy!