Do you dread Thanksgiving every year? If you are a vegetarian or a vegan, this is the holiday where you are forced to watch the rest of your family consume delicious dish after dish of things that you can¡¯t eat¡ªthere¡¯s the mashed potatoes, the meat pie, and of course, the turkey! It is hard to enjoy a meal when you are forced to miss out on the main course.
However, there is a vegetarian alternative that is becoming more and more acceptable to use on all kinds of different occasions: tofu. Many people are even beginning to use tofu to prepare their Thanksgiving dinner. If you are a vegetarian or a vegan, give the following thanksgiving tofu recipe a try so that you can enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner along with everyone else!
Tofu Turkey
The recipe for a thanksgiving tofu turkey yields ten servings. There are several ingredients you will need in order to prepare your thanksgiving tofu turkey. You will need: 5 (16 ounce) packages extra firm tofu, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 red onion, finely diced, 1 1/3 cups diced celery, 1 cup chopped mushrooms, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1/8 cup dried sage, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, 1/4 cup tamari, 3 cups prepared herb stuffing, 1/2 cup sesame oil, 1/4 cup tamari, 2 tablespoons miso paste, 5 tablespoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon honey mustard, 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, and 3 sprigs fresh rosemary.
The first thing you will need to do when preparing to cook your thanksgiving tofu turkey is to line a medium sized, round colander with a cheese cloth or a clean dish towel. Next, place the crumbled tofu in the colander and cover the tofu with another cheese cloth. Place the colander over the top of a bowl to catch the liquid and set a heavy weight on top of tofu. Refrigerate the colander, tofu and weight for 2 to 3 hours. To make the stuffing, saut¨¦ onion, celery and mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil in a large frying pan until tender. Add the garlic, sage, thyme, salt and pepper, rosemary and 1/4 cup of the tamari, cooking these ingredients for five minutes and stirring well. Add prepared herb stuffing, mix well, and remove from heat.
Now, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix 1/2 cup sesame oil, 1/4 cup tamari, miso, orange juice, mustard and orange zest in a small bowl and blend well. Remove the weight from the tofu and hollow it out so that there is one inch of tofu still lining the colander, placing the scooped out tofu in a separate bowl. Using a small amount of miso seasoning, brush the tofu lining. Spoon the stuffing into the tofu shell, and set the remaining tofu firmly on top of the stuffing. Place the stuffed tofu onto the prepared cookie sheet, putting the leftover tofu side (the flat side) down. To form a more oval shape, lightly press on the sides of the turkey. Brush the tofu turkey with 1/2 of the oil-tamari, and place the sprigs of rosemary on top of the tofu. Use foil to cover the thanksgiving tofu turkey.
After one hour, remove "turkey" from the oven, remove the foil, and baste the thanksgiving tofu turkey with the remaining tamari-oil sauce (reserving 4 tablespoons of sauce). Put the turkey back in the oven and bake until the tofu turkey is golden brown (about another hour). Serve the thanksgiving tofu turkey hot a serving platter. Bon app¨¦tit!
