Salad w/ Tofu Steak, Guacamole, & Tomatillo Salsa
This incredibly delicious salad looks as good as it tastes. It combines tofu steak with tomatillo salsa, guacamole, sautéed garden vegetables, and shredded lettuce for a bit of freshness to brighten up the day. I firmly believe that salads don't have to be boring. That they can be just as satisfying as any other meal! So, here's to changing what a conventional boring "salad" looks like with a little bit of creativity and garden fresh fruits and vegetables.
Equipment
- Paper Towels
- Skillet
- Stovetop
Ingredients
Tomatillo Salsa
- 1 lbs. tomatillos
- 2 banana peppers diced
- 1/4 medium red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Guacamole
- 3 avocados
- 3 limes juiced
- 3 cloves garlic
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- 1 ½ large tomatoes quartered
- 1/4 red onion halved
Salad
- 1/3 c. tomatillo salsa
- 1 banana pepper diced
- 1 red jalapeño diced
- 2 tbsp. high heat oil
- 7 oz. extra firm tofu (~1/2 container)
- 1/3 c. shredded lettuce
- dash salt
- dash pepper
Instructions
Prepare Salsa
- Making the Roasted Tomatillo Salsa takes about a half hour. It requires an air fryer, food processor, and about a pound of tomatillos. Although any salsa of choice works in its stead.
- In this recipe, I also added Guacamole. You can buy this in stores, but I much prefer to make it homemade! It's incredibly simple only takes a matter of minutes to prepare.
Cook Peppers
- Preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Meanwhile, dice the banana peppers and jalapeño.
- When the skillet has preheated, add the banana peppers and jalapeño. Sauté for for 3-5 minutes, or until the peppers have softened and have a light char.
- Remove the peppers, but leave the remainder of the oil in the pan to fry the tofu.
Fry Tofu
- Drain the tofu and wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
- When the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet, still on medium-high heat.
- Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
- Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Assemble Salad
- Chop lettuce, halve cherry tomatoes, and dice banana peppers.
- Lay down a bed of lettuce and tofu. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Top with salsa and peppers.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
- For a more in-depth article on preparing tofu, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Fried Tofu. High heat oil and a precise cooking temperature are important to keep the tofu from drying out or burning.