More salad dressing recipes that use tofu

In my previous salad dressing post, I shared recipes for Creamy Italian and Dill and Lime salad dressings. Today recipes are for Sundried Tomato, Basil and Balsamic Vinegar salad dressing and Spicy Ginger Sesame salad dressing. While inspired by the recipes in Tofu Cookery, they’re based on tastes I love – dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, ginger and brown sugar.

Sundried Tomato, Basil and Balsamic Vinegar salad dressing

I love sundried tomatoes, but preferred the dried over the ones packed in oil. Luckily, I was able to find a big bag of them at either Sam’s Club or Costco (I can’t remember) that don’t need to be soaked in hot water, as they’re already soft. If you can only find ones packed in oil, cut back or eliminate the olive oil in this salad dressing recipe.

Makes 3/4 cup of dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound soft tofu
• 1 tablespoon high quality olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon sundried tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch of black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender or mini-food processor.
2. Blend until ingredients are combined and the dressing is creamy. If there are chunks of tomatoes in the dressing, that’s OK.

Spicy Ginger Sesame Salad Dressing

I love the ginger salad dressing that’s served at Japanese restaurants. This one comes close, though it’s creamier and spicier.

Makes 3/4 cup of dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound soft tofu
• 1/2 teaspoon Spectrum Organic Toasted Sesame Seed Oil
• 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated
• 5 drops of sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon of Big Tree Farms SweetTree Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, Blond
• 2 pinches of roasted black sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender or mini-food processor.
2. Blend until ingredients are combined and the dressing is creamy.

This Mama’s Tips

• When cooking with tofu, buy organic and non-GMO tofu if at all possible. At my grocery store, sometimes the organic stuff is cheaper than the tofu made from conventionally grown soybeans.
• You want to use a high quality, somewhat light olive oil, because you’ll be able to really taste it in these homemade salad dressing recipes.
• Big Tree Farms claims that their SweetTree Palm Sugars are one of the lowest glycemic index sweeteners on the market. To me, it’s a great alternative to brown sugar. If you’re diabetic or concerned about calories, substitute it with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Stevia Extract in the Raw or add liquid stevia to taste.
• If you want, use sushi rice vinegar – which is sweetened with sugar – instead of rice vinegar. Then adjust your sweetener accordingly.
• You can buy roasted black sesame seeds at many Asian grocery stores.
• Both sauces would make terrific dips for vegetables, for meat cooked in oil fondues, or for grilled meats and seafood.
• Most quantities are to taste. If you want to add more basil or sriracha, go for it! Experiment and have fun.
• If the dressing is too thick, add a little water or unsweetened soy milk.
• Put leftover in a container and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
   

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Posted on March 23, 2011 in Featured,Recipes and tagged as tofu

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