Use a white wine that you’d want to drink after opening. And for those of you looking to speed things up, you don’t need to slice the green beans, but it was a good call, the sauce gets into all the nooks and crevices.

• 1 pound green beans, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70g golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/3 cup / 80 ml white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• scant 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup / 120 ml crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1/4 cup / 3/4 oz / 20g sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/3 cup / one handful of finely chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook the green beans in a pot of well-salted boiling water for about a minute, just long enough that they lose their raw edge. Drain and dunk in ice-cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside.

In a small bowl cover the raisins with scalding hot water for five minutes, drain and set aside.

Heat your largest skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, garlic, onion, and bay leaves. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onions and garlic start to brown just a bit. Add the wine and cook until it has mostly evaporated. Carefully remove the bay leaves. Stir in the paprika, cumin, coriander, curry powder, salt, crushed red pepper flakes. Stir in the tofu and raisins and cook until heated through, a minute or so. Add the butter and green beans and stir until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the crème fraiche, then most of the almonds and most of the cilantro. Taste and add more salt and some pepper if you like. Serve topped with any remaining almonds and cilantro.

Serves 4 to 6.

Inspired by a recipe in Anna Getty’s Anna Getty’s Easy Green Organic, to be published by Chronicle Books, 2010.

Prep time: 30 min - Cook time: 15 min

Source: www.101cookbooks.com

I added some fresh Chard to this recipe at the end to give it some color. You could get creative on adding seasonal vegetables to this recipe as it’s very good base for peppers, spinach or whatever you have on hand.

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Here we use a spicy peanut sauce to jazz up an otherwise simple combination of tofu and vegetables. Complete the meal with a platter of red and green bell pepper strips, sliced cucumbers, and carrot sticks.

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If you use powered garlic use a simple dehydrated garlic that has been ground. It has a harsher flavor than most fresh garlic you’ll encounter, and the fragrance it puts off is different as well. Feel free to toss in a few fresh cloves (chopped) in its place if you prefer. In that scenario add the fresh garlic just before the chard.

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The curry has a bit of a kick to it - so if you’re cooking for a spice -sensitive crowd, scale back a bit - and season to taste at the end.  You can either steam or roast the potatoes (oven at 375F) - both are slightly different approaches. You can also substitute the potatoes with yam or sweet potatoes. You can substitute tempeh for the tofu as well.

• 1 1/2 pounds small waxy potatoes no bigger than a small lime, halved
• 2 teaspoons fine -grain sea salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• scant 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 3/4 cup water
• splash of cream or a dollop of creme fraiche
• 8 oz tofu, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• a small handful of cilantro, loosely chopped

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a large pot. Place the potatoes in a steamer , sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and cook until tender throughout - about 20-30 minutes, depending on how large your potato pieces are. If roasting, line pan with a little olive oil and light brush oil on top for a nice golden brown.

In the meantime, in a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil, add the onion and cook over LOW heat until they are soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the cumin seeds, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper, wait about thirty seconds, then stir in the tomatoes, water, and the other teaspoon of salt. Remove from heat, stir in the cream and blend with a hand blender - (or leave it unpureed if you like!). Note: you might need to transfer it to a bowl to puree, then return it to the skillet.

Once the curry is back in the pan, add the tofu and bring barely to a simmer. Let the tofu cook for 5 minutes or so, then add the potatoes when they are finished steaming. Transfer to a large family-style bowl, and sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

Serves 4 - 6.

CALORIES 146 (54% from fat); FAT 9.52 (sat 2.72g, mono 4.66g, poly 1.64g); IRON 1.42mg; CHOLESTEROL 6.94mg; CALCIUM 132mg; CARBOHYDRATE 11.6g; SODIUM 15.2mg; PROTEIN 6.12; FIBER 2.2g

Source:  www.101cookbooks.com

• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3-4 large juicy oranges)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup (grade B)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 small garlic gloves, crushed
• 10 ounces of tofu
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lime
• a handful of cilantro

Put the orange juice in a small bowl. Squeeze the grated ginger over the bowl to extract the juices, then discard the pulp. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and maple syrup, ground coriander, and garlic. Mix together and set aside.

Cut the tofu into thin-ish, bite-sized pieces, pat dry with a paper towel.

Put the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the tofu and fry for 5 minutes or until golden brown on the underneath. Turn and cook the other side for another 5 minutes, or until golden. Pour the orange juice mixture into the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced to a lovely thick glaze. Turn the tofu once more during this time and spoon the sauce over the tofu from time to time.

Serve the tofu drizzled with any remaining sauce and squeeze of lime, with the cilantro scattered on top. Serve by itself or over brown rice with some.

Serves 2-4

CALORIES 144 (26% from fat); FAT 9.89 (sat 1.56g, mono 5.83g, poly 2.03g); IRON 1.35mg; CHOLESTEROL 0mg; CALCIUM 1.52mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10.1g; SODIUM 9.65mg; PROTEIN 6.35g; FIBER 0.76g

Source: www.101cookbooks.com