It's about time I contributed something to this list, so I thought
I'd share this recipe for all the Provençal and Mediterranean food
lovers out there. I just finished making a batch, and it's, ohhhh,
wonderful! Great for dolloping over steamed veggies, or slathering on
bread for sandwiches, or tossing w/ pasta. It's loosely adapted from
the Millennium cookbook, which I remember folks talking about last year
sometime. The food in this all-vegan cookbook is gorgeous, but a bit
fancy for most of my cooking needs. This aioli, though, and the
oil-free tarragon-dijon and caesar salad dressings are more than worth
mixing up every week or so. I made a simplified version of the aioli,
omitting all the herbs called for and niggling with the amounts of lemon
juice and nutritional yeast just a bit (noted below). If you'd like to
add the herbs back in, just add smidgeons of oregano, parsely, tarragon,
and dill to taste.
Tofu Aioli
one 12.3 oz. box of silken tofu (I used Mori-Nu low fat)
1/4 c. roasted garlic (I just put a couple of heads of unpeeled cloves
in a Pam-sprayed skillet w/ a glug of white wine, salt & pepper, then
put a lid on and let them braise over low heat til soft, then squeezed
them out of their peels . . . one could use broth or water instead of wine)
2 T. light miso
juice of 2 lemons
2 T. capers
4 t. nutritional yeast (I really love nutritional yeast, so I increased
this to 4 T. for a richer flavor, and I must say, I recommend it!)
1 t. salt, or to taste (optional, since the miso and capers are salty)
2 T. water
Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth and creamy.
If it's too thick, add just enough water to get the mixture moving
through the blades. It's not supposed to be runny, but more like
mayonnaise. This makes roughly 1 1/2 to 2 cups. Let it stand
(refrigerated) for a couple of hours to let the flavors blend. You can
easily double this recipe. Use as a dip for raw vegetables or spread it
on crusty bread or (the best!!!) dollop it on roasted baby red bliss
potatoes. mmm!
optional: soak a good-sized pinch of saffron threads in 2 T. boiling
water for a few minutes and add along with everything else. (i'm a
saffron freak, but/and i highly recommend this!)
Jane