Charred carrots & tofu with harissa

October 5, 2024

   

The second phase of our impromptu Ottolenghi afternoon was this double tofu ensemble, combining a silken tofu and tahini-based cream with some charred up firm tofu and carrots. We made a few simplifications from the original recipe, holding back on the spring onion garnish, but otherwise stuck pretty close to Yotam's directions. This packed a pretty decent punch - our supermarket harissa had a good kick, and you really needed the creamy silken tofu underlayer to balance things out. It was great in combination with the fresher greens and rhubarb dishes and the leftovers kept me going for a few lunches. Not a show-stopper, but a very solid contributor.

Charred carrots & tofu with harissa

(slightly adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi in The Guardian)

100g silken tofu

2 tablespoons tahini

salt

50g harissa

1 teaspoon golden syrup

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons tamari

5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

20g fresh ginger, grated

1.5 tablespoons olive oil

300g firm tofu, cut into thin rectangles

250g baby carrots, trimmed

Blend the silken tofu, tahini and salt together and set aside

Combine the harissa, syrup, vinegar, tamari, garlic, ginger and oil in a biggish saucepan and saute over medium heat for five minutes, until fragrant.

Meanwhile put a frying pan over high heat (we used our cast iron one) and fry the tofu in batches, with just a spray of oil. You want it to char up, so leave it on each side for a couple of minutes. Once it's all cooked up, pop the tofu in the saucepan with your harissa mix, along with 100ml of water and stir together gently.

In the same frying pan, char up your baby carrots until they've blackened in a few spots and softened through - the time it takes will depend on how thick they are, ours probably only took 5 or 6 minutes with a couple of turns. When they're done stir them into your saucepan as well.

 

Serve it up by layering the silken tofu cream down first and then gently arranging the saucy tofu and carrots on top.