garam masala tofu scramble

the elegance of omelettes and chocolate cherry cupcakes aside - this is really the sort of food I love. sophisticated hippie food. this is another recipe by heidi swanson of 101cookbooks (how long d'you think before our blog becomes an official shrine to heidi swanson and nigel slater, naomi? we might be only 2 posts away).

after a long, kind of stressful day, it was so good to sit down to dinner with my brother, and dig into this. the spices, fennel and onion give you a big warm hug, and the the textures of the finely sliced onion and fennel against the slight chewiness of the cranberries, in combination with the crunch that the nuts give is just... it's wonderful.

Garam Masala Tofu Scramble

ever so slightly adapted from Heidi Swanson's recipe (I used almonds instead of pistachios)

to make it, heat up some oil in a frying pan, and add about a tablespoon of good garam masala (I like the mixture from Het Blauwe Huis, which you can get at most Dutch health food shops). leave the spices to heat up for a few seconds, to let them start releasing their flavor, and then add a sliced red onion and half a bulb of fennel, shaved (or cut very finely). depending on how much time you've got, you can just let the onions get soft and then get on with the rest of the dish, or you can leave them on a low heat for quite a while, getting all dark and chutney-ey. add 250 gr. of dried cranberries, chopped up, and leave them to heat up for about 30 seconds. then add 250 gr. of crumbled up, firm organic tofu (I can really recommend the japanese style tofu from Taifun, also to be found at most Dutch health food shops). stir to combine and let all the flavours get to know each other. turn off the heat, and add a handful of chopped cilantro, and a handful of chopped up nuts (I used almonds because I had some in the cupboard, the original recipe stipulates pistachios). eat with some rice, preferably in good company, such as your brother :)

another version with the same flavour-combinations: if you leave out the tofu (and maybe the nuts), leave the onions to get nice and dark, and chop the cranberries very finely, this dish could make a very good side-dish to some chicken, I think.

- anne