Lemon garlic tofu with zucchini
Golden tofu and tender zucchini tossed with juicy tomatoes in a bright lemon, garlic and oregano pan sauce, a light Mediterranean skillet dinner that still fills you up.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $3.15 a serving
- 420 calories
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 package extra-firm tofu, drained
- 2 zucchini, cut into half-moons
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ¾ tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 420 calories, 28 g protein, 22 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $3.15 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No extra-firm tofu? Firm tofu works.
- No zucchini? Yellow squash works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Wrap the tofu in a clean towel and press it under something heavy for 15 minutes.
Timer: 15 min
Cut the tofu into 1-inch and with the cornstarch and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heat
Fry the tofu, turning every few minutes, until on most sides, about 10 minutes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 10 min
Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
Move it to a plate.
Add the rest of the oil, the zucchini and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook about 5 minutes, turning once or twice, until in spots and just tender.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Spread the zucchini out and leave it alone for a couple of minutes at a time, or it steams instead of browning.Turn the heat to medium, add the garlic, oregano and pepper flakes, and stir 30 seconds, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Add the tomatoes and the last ¼ teaspoon salt and cook about 2 minutes, until they start to soften and turn juicy.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Return the tofu, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and black pepper, and until everything is coated in the pan juices.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heat
Scatter with parsley and serve right away.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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