Ocado is promoting vegan January, and I saw a recipe on their website that inspired me to make this for supper. I tweaked the recipe to make it more nutritious by adding sprouted flaxseed and using tofu with almonds and sesame seeds. It was really quick, easy and delicious, just what I needed after putting my two children to bed!
Serves 2
1 cup of wholegrain brown, red and black rice
200g of smoked tofu with almonds and sesame seeds cut into pieces
200g fresh spinach
4 tbsp of olive oil
1 red onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
2 carrots, grated
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
400ml of coconut milk
2tbsp of sprouted flaxseed
1 tbsp soy or tamari sauce
1/2 tsp sugar or honey or 1/4 tsp agave
Simmer the rice in 2 cups of boiling water for 25 minutes. Meanwhile make the Katsu sauce by gently sautéing the red onion, bay leaves and garlic in half the olive oil for 2 minutes. Then add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the curry power, garam masala, coconut milk, and sugar/honey/agave, stir and simmer for 15 minutes. While this is cooking, fry the tofu in the remaining oil for 1 minute on each side and set aside. Then wilt the spinach in the same pan as you cooked the tofu. Discard the bay leaves from the sauce, add 2 tbsp of sprouted flaxseed, and use a hand blender to blend the sauce.
Flaxseed contains omega-3 fatty acid which have been associated with a number of health benefits such as lowering blood sugar, protection against some types of cancer and low levels are thought to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. There is some evidence that a germinating seed also termed ‘sprouted’ has more antioxidants than a seed which is yet to germinate.
Nuts have been shown in large studies to be associated with a lower risk of dying and reducing the risk of stroke by half. So using tofu with added almonds, is an easy way to include nuts and texture in this dish.