The Cascade Kitchen is a student-run food column that brings you budget-friendly recipes and cooking tips. Check back weekly for something new to try in the kitchen, or if you want to see your own recipe featured next, get started by reaching out to culture@ufvcascade.ca.
Restaurants like Cactus Club and Browns Social House offer a delightful appetizer of tasty lettuce wraps with tofu and other deliciousness inside. This is not a recipe to compete with those dishes, but it is a recipe that emulates the hand-held salad idea that I adore so much.Â
This recipe is based off of Priya Krishna’s Tofu-Basil Endive Leaves from her cookbook Indian-ish. Other than endives, every ingredient is pretty basic — plus it’s vegan. I had never eaten (or even heard of) an endive before trying this recipe. In case you haven’t, it’s a tiny head of pale leaves all wrapped tightly together. Most major grocery stores carry them. They’re on the bitter end of the lettuce spectrum and are much more fun than plain romaine.Â
Serves: 4-6
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
Half of a yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
7 oz. firm tofu (half of a standard block), crumbled
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup cilantro, thick stems removed, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 endive
Garnish with chopped peanuts, fresh lime juice, and/or hot sauce
Method:
1)Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized frying pan. Add in the onion and garlic and cook for several minutes, until the onion begins to soften.
2)Add the tofu and cherry tomatoes as well. Cook until everything is hot and the tomatoes are blistered.
3)Remove the frying pan from heat and stir in the cilantro, salt, and pepper.
4)Peel off all the endive leaves and wash thoroughly. There will be around 12 leaves, give or take.
5)Scoop the tofu mixture into the endive leaves to create a boat. Sprinkle your chosen garnishes on top and enjoy!
