Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Scrambled Tofu Rancheros


A vegan riff on Huevos Rancheros, this was a pretty satisfying meal. It’s a bit of a fancier take on a Mexican meal without being overly difficult or time consuming. If you’re a talented enough multitasker, you can have all three components going at once and finish fairly quickly.

The tostada-like crispy tortilla adds a nice textural component and doesn’t get soggy like a fresh tortilla would. If you’d rather skip it you could use a bed of tortilla chips instead but it wouldn’t be quite the same.

The ranchero sauce is hearty but fairly mild; you can spice it up with some red pepper flakes or ground cayenne if you want to, or just use a spicier salsa.


Scrambled Tofu Rancheros on a Crispy Baked Tortilla

 

Scrambled Tofu Rancheros


Scrambled Tofu with mushrooms:

1 Tbsp oil
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 14 oz package firm or extra firm tofu, crumbled
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp mustard powder
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

Ranchero Sauce:

1 Tbsp oil
½ cup diced onions
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup salsa (mild or spicy according to your taste)
½ cup canned hominy
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp curry powder
½ tsp oregano
1 tsp veggie broth powder
¼ tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Crispy tortillas:

4 6-8 inch tortillas (flour or corn)
approx. 1 Tbsp lime or lemon juice
a few dashes of garlic salt

Directions:

Mushroom Scrambled Tofu
First, make the scrambled tofu: sauté the garlic in the oil until fragrant and very lightly browned. Add the mushrooms. Keep cooking until the mushrooms release their liquid, the liquid evaporates, and the mushrooms begin to brown. Pull about half the mushrooms out of the pan and set aside to add to the sauce.
Add the tofu to the pan with the remaining mushrooms. Add spices and remaining scramble ingredients. Saute until the tofu is fairly dry and somewhat browned.

Ranchero Sauce
Meanwhile, make the ranchero sauce: In a separate pan, saute the onions in the oil until transparent. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, then the beans and the rest of the sauce ingredients, including the reserved sautéed mushrooms. Let the sauce simmer until it’s thick and everything else is ready, at least 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

To make the crispy tortillas: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray two cookie sheets with cooking spray. Place 4 tortillas on the cookie sheets with as little overlap as possible. Brush the tops lightly with lime or lemon juice then sprinkle evenly with garlic salt. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crispy (watch out for burning!).
Sauce on crispy tortilla




To assemble: Take a crispy tortilla and spoon sauce around the edge in a thick ring. Pile scrambled tofu in the middle. Top with guacamole or vegan sour cream if you wish, and serve immediately.

 

Tofu in the middle

 

 

Variations:

The sauce can be simplified down to just salsa if you wish, or fancied up further with extra sauteed veggies (bell pepper might be nice) and/or a vegan ground meat substitute.

The scrambled tofu and ranchero sauce could be assembled breakfast burrito style as well.