tofu benedict
Am I going to seem like a creepy obsessed super fan 😁 if I start talking about 💀 The Walking Dead 💀 again?? Well, if I do, it’s because I am! And I got no shame in my game. So last Sunday night, when I was watching 📺 the mid-season 6 premiere of the show, I got a little emotional over the “W” man scene in the episode. It was really the first time in the show where we got an emotional connection to a supporting role villain 👿 through a main character’s storyline. And just when we wanted to hate this villain the most, he risked his own life to save the life of one of the good guys (who he had just minutes before taken captive). And in case we thought there were selfish motivations behind his actions, moments later, after he is shot several times in the gut, instead of falling to his death, he selflessly makes one final heroic move to grab a walker 💀 and allow his prisoner to make a run to safety 👼. Given the overall intensity of this episode, I got a little emotional during this scene (and pretty much every other one, to be honest 😩) and was beyond excited, maybe even relieved, when the actor who plays the “W” man, Benedict Samuels, appeared on The Talking Dead. 🙌
Ok, now I know what you’re thinking… And I promise you this isn’t just some creepy tribute to Benedict Samuels… The creepy tribute was last week, remember? When I made pizza in honor of Glenn. But this time around, there’s really no deeper meaning to this recipe… I just heard the name Benedict and starting thinking about Eggs Benedict and got a craving. The funny thing about it is that whenever I used to order Eggs Benedict, I would always take off the Canadian bacon that comes on it and I’ve never really been a fan of poached eggs. It was all about the bread and that sauce… That rich, creamy, slightly salty and tangy sauce slathered all over a crispy, pillowy English muffin. So the next morning, I hightailed it over to the grocery store to pick up some English muffins and make myself my own version of a Benedict. Instead of using raw eggs for the hollandaise sauce, I used some avocado and olive oil to achieve that same rich creamy texture. Add some lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and you’ve got that salty tang. A heaping tablespoonful on top of some perfectly grilled tender tofu, a slice of fresh tomato, and some peppery arugula all on top of a soft, but crunchy English muffin… Might just be my new favorite breakfast! 🙌
And it goes soooooo so well with a side of crispy home fries. You can find a recipe for those here.
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 mins. | 10 mins. | 15 mins. |
Ingredients:
- 2 English Muffins
- 1 14 oz. package firm tofu
- 1 avocado
- Juice of one large lemon
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for grilling
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small tomato, cut into 4 thick slices
- Handful of arugula
- A sprig of fresh thyme, optional
Directions:
- Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium heat.
- Using a tofu press (or other method, see below), drain tofu of excess water. Once drained, butterfly tofu, and cut each tofu filet in half. Pat each side of each piece with a paper towel, then brush each side with olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Grill tofu for approximately ten minutes (5 minutes on each side, flipping only once during cook time) until nice grill marks are achieved.
- Cut English muffins in half and toast until tops are golden brown and crispy.
- Place ½ an avocado, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Remove English muffins from the toaster oven and top each with a spoonful of the remaining ½ of the avocado. Mash with a fork. Top each with arugula, a slice of tomato, a piece of tofu, a heaping tablespoonful of the avocado hollandaise and a garnish of fresh thyme, if desired.
- Serve and enjoy!
My improvised "tofu press." I couldn't bear the thought of wasting an entire tree worth of paper towels to dry the tofu, not to mention the wet, sloppy mess you have on your hands when you use the paper towel method. So, I improvised with what I had... All the excess water from the tofu drained right onto the large plate and the clean-up was as simple as throwing the three plates into the dishwasher. If you don't have any melons, use whatever weighty item you can find in your kitchen (a bunch of bananas, some large potatoes, a couple of cookbooks...).
