Serves a Party of 4
My lady and I decided to give this whole jerk tofu thing a shot the other night after thinking of the Jamaican style restaurant called Nine Mile we had enjoyed a few weeks ago. The food they serve there is honestly the best I’ve had in a long time, and had me questioning how the heck I could make a dish like that on my own.
After minimal research of some spices other people typically use for a jerk style dish, I picked out 10 lovely spices to make my own jerk seasoning to keep ready in my kitchen featuring cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, dried parsley, and a bit of coconut sugar.
To make the tofu, I added corn starch, tamari, and avocado oil to the jerk seasoning, then drained, chopped, and dipped the tofu to be baked on a baking sheet with some parchment paper and baked them in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. I flipped the tofu after about 10 minutes to ensure the pieces we evenly crispy.
As for the veggie linguine part, it was super easy and turned out to be the perfect match for the tofu. Before boiling the pasta, I whipped up a quick sauce out of fire roasted tomatoes, full fat coconut milk, salt, and pepper to be simmered with chopped yellow squash and a red bell pepper.
Finally, I garnished and topped this lovely dish with fresh chives and squeezed lemon juice.
Ingredients for the Jerk Tofu
- 15oz of Extra Firm Tofu
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Cumin
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Smoked Paprika
- 1 /2 Teaspoon of Onion Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Dried Thyme
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Dried Parsley
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Coconut Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon of Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
- 2 Tablespoons of Avocado Oil
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
Prepare the tofu by carefully draining the water using a clean rag or some paper towels.
Chop the tofu into squares, dip them in the jerk mixture, then evenly transfer them to a large baking lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 10 minutes, take them out and flip them, then bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Ingredients for the Veggie Linguine:
- 16 Oz of Linguine
- 28 Oz of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 13 Oz of Canned Coconut Milk
- 1 Teaspoon of Salt
- 1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
- 2 Yellow Squash
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- Fresh Chives (optional)
- 2 Lemons (optional)
Bring about 8 cups of water to a rapid boil, then drop in the linguine and cook until tender.
Add the fire roasted tomatoes and coconut milk to a medium pot and allow them mixture to heat up. Be sure to ONLY use the thick coconut milk and not the liquid at the bottom of the can.
Add in the salt and pepper, followed by the yellow squash and red bell pepper and allow the sauce to simmer for up to 6 minutes.
Chop the fresh chives and garnish them on top.
Squeeze about 1/2 of a lemon to finally complete your plated dinner.
Plant Sugar Kitchen 