Spicy Tofu Salad

I think every vegan cook, at some point in their experimenting, comes up with their version of a tofu “eggless” egg salad. I’ve made a few, some with more or less additional flavors,  and one that was fairly true to the egg salad flavor & texture.

This time, I went a different way, based on a combination of wanting a stronger flavor, and having ingredients to use up. Thus was born the Spicy Tofu Salad ~

1 lb sprouted extra firm tofu, crumbled

2 Tablespoons minced red onion

1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

6 Tablespoons coleslaw dressing (ingredients below)

1/2 teaspoon each salt & pepper

Crumble the tofu into a medium-sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

This was a quick recipe, in part because I already had the coleslaw dressing made from a recipe a couple of days earlier. I have used Vegenaise in this, but I really liked the zip from the coleslaw dressing this time, and it’s less processed than the Vegenaise.

To make the dressing, blend together about 1/2 cup cashews, 2 or 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and about 1/3 cup water.  The amounts of the apple cider vinegar and water can be adjusted to taste and to make the desired consistency – this is just a starting point to work from.

I had some of the tofu salad initially on lettuce leaves, then I started eating it right from the dish :-).  And the best part of this whole recipe? When I ate some of it alone, it had a flavor and consistency remarkably like cottage cheese! I would LOVE to have a vegan cottage cheese recipe, so I will be experimenting  to make this more like that…… results to come!