My husband, the Carnivore, turns 32 today, and of course, he's going to ask for his normal birthday meal - Chicken Parm. Now, he loves this stuff like white loves rice, so of course I'm going to make it for him.
Typically what we do is swing from the carnivore end of the spectrum in winter to the vegan end in summer. Spring and Fall are transitions. It keeps no one extremely happy all the time, and everyone very happy some of the time.
And it keeps me on my toes.
Honestly, after a winter of 'flexitaring' over to the meat side of the pond, I'm just kind of 'done' with meat - and I'm allergic to dairy - so I've developed this variation of his favorite meal for myself.
Tofu Parmesan is surprisingly easy to make, if you have a few basic ingredients preassembled. This vegan version omits the traditional egg dip in favor of Italian dressing, which adds a lot of flavor to the meat itself. You’ll want to ensure that the dressing is vegan.
The addition of seasoned breadcrumbs enhances the dish, so that every bite is packed with taste. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled and frozen. Simply freeze the dish after it has been assembled and before it has been baked the second time. To reheat, place - frozen - in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes or until heated through.
1 14 oz package extra firm tofu, drained well
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp tumeric
1/4 c bottled Italian Dressing
1/2 c commercial vegan parmesan, hemp nuts, or almond parmesan
1/3 c Seasoned Bread Crumbs or Better Batter Gluten Free Flour
2 Tbsp oregano
1/2 t salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 jar commercial spaghetti sauce
8 oz vegan mozzarella cheese or 1 recipe dairy free mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Slice extra firm tofu into ‘patties’ - each 14 oz block of tofu should yield 4 patties.
Mix garlic powder, salt, pepper, and tumeric and sprinkle evenly over all sides of tofu patties.
Stack patties on top of one another and place into a freezer bag. Freeze at least 24 hours or up to 3 days. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Very gently squeeze any remaining moisture from patties with a paper towel.
Brush Tofu Patties with Italian Dressing. Allow to marinate an hour.
In a medium bowl, combine vegan parmesan substitute, hemp nuts or almond parm; bread crumbs or flour, oregano, salt and pepper.
Shake excess dressing off of tofu patties and dip into ‘cheese’/bread crumb mixture, turning and pressing to coat well. Lay onto a rimmed, greased cookie sheet and allow to sit for 10 minutes, to allow coating to set. Spray with cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake breaded patties at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Place baked patties in a 2 quart casserole dish. Top patties with a generous amount of spaghetti sauce. Evenly divide the vegan mozzarella cheese or Non Dairy Shreddable Cheese between the patties.
(You may freeze extra servings at this point.)
Turn oven to 425 degrees. Place patties in oven and bake until cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes. Serve with gf spaghetti (we like Tinkyada) and sauce.
