Chile-Garlic Tofu (or Paneer) Wellington (or Not)

Huh, more tofu. I seem to be on a tofu binge. I'm also a bit on a Wellington binge, which simply means I'm wrapping things up in pre-made puff pastry and baking them. I had imagined making this with paneer, but of course there's no paneer in this town, so I shrugged and picked up the tofu. It's probably a better choice for me anyway.

I made an Indian-inspired dinner and served this (and a couple more recipes coming up) and I have to admit that I really should have just served the filling as a dish by itself. There is no reason why that would not be a perfectly reasonable, lower work, and lower price option. Not that this wasn't lovely, with the contrast of the spicy, creamy filling and the crisp pastry, but it didn't really play well with the other dishes. It probably makes a lot more sense to serve this with a nice supportive green salad that would let the Wellington be the star of the show.

4 to 8 servings
40 minutes prep time for the filling
45 minutes to bake
allow a total of 2 hours with cooling times included

Fill Your Mis-en-place Bowls:
4 - 6 pods green cardamom
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon finely grated or minced fresh ginger
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, finely grated or minced
3 tablespoon almond OR cashew butter
1 - 3 tablespoons chile-garlic sauce

Crush the cardamom pods lightly and remove and discard the papery green hulls. Grind the seeds with the caraway and salt, then put them in a very small bowl with the remaining dry spices; give them a little stir.

Peel and grate or mince the ginger and garlic, and put them in another very small bowl. Add the nut butter and chile-garlic sauce.

Cook the Chile-Garlic Tofu or Paneer:
2 medium onions
350 grams (12 ounces) very firm tofu OR paneer
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

Cut the top from the onions and peel them. Leave the stem end on and use it as a handle. Grate the onions on a fine grater down to the stem ends, which should then be discarded. Cut the tofu or paneer into cubes.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu or paneer, and cook until lightly browned, turning to cook on all sides. The tofu won't brown all that much, but see what you can do.

Add the bowl of dry spices, and mix in well. Let cook for another minute or two, until the spices are fragrant. Add the onions and mix in well. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes until the onions are smell fairly cooked. Add the bowl of wet seasoning and mix in well. Let cook for another minute or two, mixing carefully throughout. Add the tomato sauce and mix in well.

Let the mixture simmer for a further 5 or 6 minutes until thick enough to hold its shape. Stir regularly.

To Make the Wellington:
450 grams (1 pound) frozen puff pastry, thawed

Let the filling cool for 15 or 20 minutes before starting. The puff pastry is likely to require 2 hours to thaw, so I do hope you have done it already.

Put a sheet of parchment paper onto a large baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Unroll the puff pastry and lay it out over the prepared baking tray; the longer sides of the rectangle of pastry running along the longer sides of the baking tray. Pile the filling onto it in a neatish rectangle in the middle, allowing enough room around every side to fold them up and pinch sealed. Once that is done, cut some holes for the steam to escape.

Bake for 45 minutes at 375°F until nicely browned. Let cool on a rack for 15 minutes at least before cutting and serving.




Last year at this time I made Nacho Macaroni & Cheese. 

Posted in: Ontario Food