Miso Glazed Tofu Medallions over Lemon Herbed Quinoa with an Avocado Chia Cream

What a long name for a fairly simple dish!

These look a lot like scallops, but they're in fact tofu that I free-handedly carved into medallions with a paring knife. Make these for mom as a light and summer-y Mother's Day lunch?



If you need additional ideas for Mother's Day, take a look at the afternoon tea party I wrote about two years ago, plus these breakfast (sweet and savory!) ideas:

 

Mother's Day Tea

Almond Crusted Milk Bread French Toast with Caramelized Bananas

Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Pancakes with Maple Almond Butter (vegan, gf)

Caramelized Banana Pancakes (vegan, gf)

Apple Turnovers (Naturally Sweetened)

Rustic Watercolor Berry Banana Cake (gf, can be made vegan)

White Cake with Raspberry Compote, Lemon Curd, and Buttercream Frosting

Vegan BBQ Pork Buns (Cha Siu Bao) (vegan)

Breakfast Nachos (gf)

And for lunch/dinner ideas, check out these archives: Sides/Salads, Mains, Asian Recipes, Gluten-Free, Vegan

Now for today's recipe: 

Recipe: Miso Honey Glazed Tofu Medallions
(for 3 medallions, increase ingredient measurements for glaze if making larger batches)
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1 block of firm (or extra firm) tofu
1/2 tsp honey (you can use vegan honey or maple syrup)
1 tsp miso paste (I had a sweet miso on hand, and it worked great!)
1-2 tsp warm water
smoked paprika, for color
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

oil, to cook with

Cut the tofu into 1-1.5 inch layers. Wrap a paper towel around each layer, gently pressing to squeeze water out. Cut out 3 circles with a small biscuit cutter (or free-hand it with a knife!). Mix the miso, honey, and warm water together to make a glaze.

Heat 1-2 teaspoons of oil in a medium, non-stick pan over medium high heat. Once the oil begins to sizzle, brush the miso glaze over one side of the tofu medallions and carefully place the medallions into the pan, glaze side down.

Once the bottoms begin to turn golden-brown, brush additional glaze over the tops and flip. If the tofu isn't flipping easily, they might not have developed a golden-brown crust well enough (let them cook for longer before flipping!). Sprinkle with smoked paprika and freshly ground pepper. Remove tofu from pan when the both sides are golden brown.

Recipe: Lemon-Herbed Quinoa
(for a 1/2 cup serving; increase ingredients accordingly for larger batches)
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1/4 cup of quinoa (dry), cooked in 1/2 cup of boiling water (or 1/2 cup cooked)
1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped

Toss the cooked quinoa in the lemon juice and fresh parsley. (I like the quinoa to be very bright, so I'll add some more lemon juice to taste).

Recipe: Avocado Chia Cream
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3 tablespoons of chia seeds
1 cup of water

1 ripe avocado
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil

Mix and hydrate the chia seeds in water. Leave to gel up for at least 1-2 hours (overnight is the most convenient).

In a blender, add the avocado flesh, 1/2 cup of the hydrated chia pudding, 1/2 the lemon juice. Blend, adding additional chia pudding to loosen mixture if necessary. Add additional lemon juice and olive oil to taste or for an even looser consistency.