Gazpacho Salad with Silken Tofu

This is a salad version of a traditional gazpacho cold soup, with all the usual veg - tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, chilli & celery. Salting the tomatoes & cucumber draws out some of their juices that then forms part of the dressing. We've added maftoul, but couscous, quinoa etc will all work well.⠀

Serves 2 
preparation time - 30min

Ingredients

• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• ½ cucumber, chopped into 2cm angled pieces⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 75g maftoul ( Couscous, quinoa etc will also work well.)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 1 tsp bouillon powder⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled & thinly sliced⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 1 stick celery, trimmed & finely sliced ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 2 spring onions, trimmed & thinly sliced⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 1 red pepper, deseeded & thinly sliced⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 25g sriracha⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 1 avocado, chopped into chunky pieces⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 1 lemon⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 300g pack Clearspring Organic Japanese Tofu - Silken & Smooth
• 20g basil, roughly torn⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 50g watercress⠀⠀⠀

Method

1. Mix the tomatoes & cucumber in a large bowl with ¼ tsp of salt. Set aside.
2. Put the maftoul & bouillon in a medium saucepan. Add twice the volume of boiled water to maftoul. Bring to a low boil & cook for 14-15 mins.
3. Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan. Fry the garlic for 30 secs-1min, until it turns a light golden colour. Take care it doesn’t burn. Scoop onto a plate.
4. In a small bowl, mix the sriracha with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season to taste. Add a pinch of chilli flakes if you like.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
5. Chop avocado into chunky pieces. Squeeze over a little lemon juice to stop it discolouring (approx. 1 tsp). Drain the tofu. Chop into 1-2cm chunks.
6. Stir the watercress into the cooked maftoul to wilt it slightly. Add a drizzle of olive oil & season. By now the tomatoes & cucumber should have released a little of their moisture, which makes the base for your salad dressing. Toss in the pepper, celery, spring onion, avocado, tofu, ¾ of the basil & the sriracha dressing. Season.
7. Pile up 2 serving bowls with the maftoul & tomato salad, sprinkling over the garlic & remaining basil to finish.

Recipe & Image by Riverford

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Website & Blog: Riverford.co.uk