Baked Tofu & Vegetable Casserole

Submitted by criscodisco Uploaded by Jiran

I'm not much of one for vegetarian food. I love veggies, but I like them to be my steak chaser. Regardless, tomorrow is the birthday of a friend at work, and I want to take him something in tonight, but he's a vegetarian. So here's what I've come up with and, I hope it's good enough to satisfy you vegetarians out there, or those with a vegetarian at their table. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 lb cabbage, cored and cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices (4 cups)
• 1 lb kale, stems and center ribs removed and leaves coarsely chopped (12 cups)
• 1/2 lb carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 6 mushroom caps, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
• 7 oz firm tofu
• 1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
• 2 teaspoons dried basil, crumbled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• Olive oil
• salt

Directions

First, get all your veggies together,

and chop accordingly:

Pour about 2 tablespoons into a medium saucepan, or large (14-16 inch) skillet, in my case the saucepan. Heat it over medium-high heat, until hot but not smoking.

Add your onions, and saute until starting to brown, and soft:

Turn your heat down to medium, and add 1/2 cup water, about 1/2 tsp salt, your soy sauce, and all your veggies except for the garlic.

That will make for a very full skillet, but as the veggies steam, they'll go down tons in volume. Cover and cook, over medium to medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, once it's decreased enough to do so.

If you did them in a saucepan, they'll be a good amount of liquid left in the bottom. You can dump most of this out. Skip this step if you cooked it in a skillet. Throw everything in a casserole.

Now, in a food processor, blender, or with a potato masher, mix together your tofu, bread crumbs, cheese, 1/3 cup olive oil, the garlic and all your spices. Pulse until it's consistently mixed.

Spread this mixture over the top of your veggies, and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until the top is all crunchy.

Now, if you're wondering what Tofu is, for those who have not had it, here's what you're looking for in the store:

It seems like it should be refrigerated, but it doesn't need to be, so don't look for it there. It has a consistency like a mix between jello and cheese. In essence, it's cheese made from soy milk. In essence. Enjoy!