Rainbow Plate with Grilled Tofu

This vibrant Rainbow Plate is another inspiration for how beautifully balanced food can look. It is a blend of fresh veggie goodness, fruits for the little sweetness and good vitamins, healthy seeds, and a crunchy, tasty protein source. A colorful combination that contains almost every part of the nutrition rainbow. Topped with a crispy grilled tofu filet that even a non-vegan will love. Most of us have heard the term “eat the rainbow,” which means that fruits and veggies are a crucial part of a healthy diet—the more colors we have on our plates, the better for our health. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that pretty food tastes better!

Reach for the rainbow!

Here are some benefits of the different colors of the veggie and fruit rainbow:

Red (Lycopene) can help to reduce breast and prostate cancer risk and to protect heart, brain, eye, and bone health.

Orange (Beta-carotene) can help to fight cancer, reduce inflammation, support the immune system, and boost vision.

Yellow (Vitamin C and flavonoids) can help to inhibit tumor cell growth, detoxify harmful substances, boost immune system, reduce inflammation, and protect heart health. 

Green (Folate, calcium, indoles, lutein) can help to build healthy cells and protect heart health, strengthen bones and muscles, support eye health, reduce cell division.

Blue and purple (Anthocyanins and resveratrol) are believed to delay cellular aging and support heart and brain health.

White and brown (Allicin – onion and garlic) believed to have anti-tumor properties.

This recipe is for four servings. It is also the perfect prepare-ahead dish. All you need to do is prepare everything and store it in separate food containers in the fridge. The tofu can be fried ahead and quickly warmed up in a hot pan or the oven.

There are many ways to press tofu to get as much water out as possible. I find this to be a practical way, no kitchen towels needed here.

Seasoning marinade and cornmeal breading for the tofu filets. The earlier you prepare the marinade the better. The flavors will have more time to develop.

Carving the tofu into filets. The two blocks of tofu make for filets. After carving the edges, slice from the side all the way through to get two even filets of each block.

Do not throw away the excess cuttings. They make a delicious creamy salad dressing. You can also season and fry them as tasty crispy bites.

Make sure there is seasoning on every side of the filet.

Carefully press the filets on the breading and don’t forget the sides.

Soon to be crispy outside juicy and yummy inside!

Looking good already!

Lay the filets on kitchen towel to absorb a good amount of the frying oil. If needed turn around after a while. Instead of kitchen towels, you can also place a cookie rack on a plate and place the filets on the rack.

The rest of the excess cuttings make delicious crispy bites. Toss them around in the rest of the seasoning, bread, and fry them until they are brown and crispy. The bites can also be prepared in an air fryer.

Yield: 4

Rainbow Plate with Grilled Tofu

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This vibrant rainbow salad is another inspiration of how a beautiful and healthy plate can look like. It is a blend of fresh veggie goodness, fruits for the little sweetness and good vitamins, seeds, and a crispy, tasty protein source. A colorful combination that contains almost every part of the nutrition rainbow. Topped with a crispy grilled tofu filet that even a non-vegan will love. Most of us have heard the term “eat the rainbow,” which means that fruits and veggies are a crucial part of a healthy diet—the more colors we have on our plates, the better for our health.

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

•  2 packs of tofu extra firm
• 1 pack of organic herb salad mix or mixed greens (such as kale, spinach, lettuce, arugula)
• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 cups of cherry tomatoes
• 2 large carrots
• 4 scallions
•  1 apple
• 4 Pineapple slices (fresh or canned, if you use a canned product, get unsweetened)

For the tofu seasoning and the sweet potato

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1.5  tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1.5 tsp roasted garlic seasoning:
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp of sweet mustard
• 1 tsp of umami seasoning
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup bottled or filtered water

For the tofu breading:

• 1 cup of yellow cornmeal

For the dressing:

• Half of the leftover tofu pieces
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 cup of water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Drain the tofu using a tofu press (or see pictures how to press tofu without a tofu press). Let the tofu sit for around an hour to drain as much liquid as possible.

While the tofu is in the press, prepare the marinade:
Chop the garlic and mix it in a large deep plate with all the other ingredients. Use another large plate for the cornmeal and set both plates aside.

Prepare the salad dressing:

Mix all ingredients in a blender and blend 30 seconds to 1 minute and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.

Wash the sweet potato and the apple. Wash and cut the pineapple (if you use a fresh one), wash the carrots, tomatoes, and scallions.

Cut the sweet potato in slices and rub some of the seasoning mix you just prepared for the tofu on the sweet potato slices and lay them on a baking sheet with baking paper. Bake until golden brown. Check on them regularly, and if they are to dry, rub a little bit of olive oil on them using a rubber brush or the back of a spoon.

While the potatoes are baking grate or cut the carrots, cut the scallions, and the tomatoes. Slice the apple and the pineapple (if you use a fresh one). Sprinkle some lemon juice on everything (except the tomatoes) to prevent browning and set aside.

Take the pressed tofu pieces and carve the edges to make them look like a filet. Then, slice from the side all the way through to get two even filets of each tofu.

Lay the pieces in the seasoning and season from all sides.

Then press the tofu filets carefully into the cornmeal and bread from all sides.

Heat a large pan with oil on medium heat l and fry the tofu filets until golden brown and crispy. Lay a large plate with kitchen paper and let the filets rest for a short while.

Arrange all veggies, salad, baked potato, apple, and pineapple slices on the plates. Arrange the filet on top and garnish with salad dressing and the seeds.

Notes

Tip 1: Use the excess tofu cuttings for salad dressing or make delicious tofu nuggets with them (see pictures).

Tip 2: The dark stripes on the plate are Balsamic cream, which is concentrated Aceto di Balsamico di Modena (an Italian specialty) with a very unique, sweet, and smokey taste. The salad tastes fantastic without it. I would still highly recommend having a bottle in your pantry, as it upgrades every Mediterranean style salad dish, even salads with fruits.