Tofu Crunch Salad

Delicious tofu salad

This is a recipe that should be a standby for any vegetarian or vegan - and one that is certain to liked by non-vegans too. It's kind of like a vegan egg or chicken salad, and is awesome as a dip, in a sandwich, or on its own.

I threw this together after a very long day, when the last thing I wanted to do was take a lot of time to prepare a meal. Usually, that means I either open a can of beans and throw a few things in a salad, or have the stand-by Mexican burrito. But, I remembered seeing this dish on Finding Vegan, and figured it couldn't be that time consuming. Just about 20 minutes later, I was enjoying a delicious, healthy dinner that was far more exciting than your average salad.

Recipe inspired by Tofu Crunch Salad from Kathy on Healthy Happy Life.

Ingredients:

• 1 package extra firm tofu
• 2-3 large pieces of celery
• 1/2-3/4 medium-sized Gala apple
• 1/8 cup chopped parsley 
• Optional add ins: lightly steamed asparagus or peas, halved red grapes, golden raisins, or sunflower seeds.

For the dressing/mayo:

• 3.5 Tbsp Vegenaise (vegan mayo)
• 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tbsp agave syrup
• ~1 Tbsp garlic & dill seasoning powder (see notes below; can sub dried dill instead)
• Shake of mustard powder
• Shake of celery seed
• Salt & pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Drain the water out of the tofu using a paper towel. As Kathy notes, the more water you drain out, the more flavor the tofu can soak in- that's good advice, so I'm passing it along here! Cut the tofu into bite-sized chunks after draining. I cooked my tofu in a pan with a little olive oil until lightly browned, though the original recipe calls for steaming; either way works! 
2. Mix together the dressing ingredients.
3. Chop up the desired amount of celery, apple, and parsley.
4. Add all ingredients together in a bowl and toss to coat. 

Notes: The dressing is so delicious in this salad, and the apple and celery add such a nice crunch! I also really like the asparagus in it, but I only added it in because I had some from the night before; it is also good with peas (especially if you are having it in a wrap), and I'm sure grapes would go really well in here also. For the dressing,  I didn't really measure the items out, other than the vegan mayo, and just kind of went by taste. I have this great garlic & dill dip seasoning that worked really well as a spice to add to this mix, though Kathy had some other seasoning suggestions. I just edited things to work for my palate, but I think it came out really well! Definitely light, flavorful, a tiny bit sweet & tangy, and just really good.

This is my new stand-by tofu salad. Try it!