My love language is food and I love to make delicious food for my loved ones. This recipe is a little more involved so I like to save it for special occasions like a Valentine’s Day dinner. The tofu hearts are delicious and so cute!
This recipe is loaded with plant-based protein in the crispy tofu hearts and the silken tofu that is mixed into the beet alfredo sauce. The antioxidants in the beets give the sauce a beautiful pink hue. You can control the intensity of the color by how much sauce you add to the pasta. I used about half of the sauce and froze the rest for another meal.
The almond ricotta is a favorite recipe of mine that I enjoy using on pasta, salads, pizzas, sandwiches…basically on everything. You can also sub this out for store-bought plant-based ricotta if you need to save some time.
Also, you will notice that you have a lot of extra tofu from the tofu hearts depending on the size of your cookie cutter. I broke the extra tofu into pieces and used the leftovers from my breading ingredients to make crispy tofu nuggets. These are great on their own and as toppings on salads.
Crispy Tofu Hearts with Beet Fettuccine Alfredo and Almond Ricotta
Equipment
- large stock pot
- Medium skillet
- baking sheet
- cutting board
- Chef's Knife
- high speed blender
- Mixing bowls various sizes
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 16 oz fettuccine
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium beets
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 16 oz silken tofu drained
- ½ cup water
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Crispy Tofu Ingredients
- 14 oz package extra firm tofu
- 1 ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- salt & pepper to taste
- ⅔ cup cornstarch
- ⅔ cup plant-based milk of choice
- Avocado oil for frying
Almond Ricotta Ingredients
- ¾ cup blanched slivered almonds
- ½ Tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
- juice from half a medium lemon
- 2 Tbsp slightly warm water more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Chop up beets into cubes, spread over a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil
- Bake for 35 – 40 minutes turning halfway through then remove from oven and set aside
- While beets are cooking prepare the tofu hearts by slicing the tofu into 4 thin slices and using a heart cookie cutter to cut a heart out of each slice
- In a bowl combine the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, fennel seeds, and salt and pepper to taste
- Put the bread crumb mixture in a large shallow dish, put the cornstarch in a similar dish and the milk in a bowl; this is your breading station
- Using one hand for the wet ingredients and one for the dry, first coat each piece of tofu in cornstarch. Then dunk it quickly in the plant-based milk, and then coat it in the breadcrumb mixture. When each piece is coated to your liking, set to the side
- Put a skillet on medium heat and add the oil. You want the oil to be about ½” deep in the skillet
- To test when your oil is hot enough, put a tester piece of tofu in the oil. If it sizzles upon contact, the oil is ready.
- Use tongs to place tofu hearts in the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden and crispy
- Remove the tofu with tongs and place the pieces on a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain any excess oil
- Make almond ricotta by placing all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until ingredients are well mixed and mostly smooth scraping down sides in between blending to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated. You want the mixture to have a little bit of texture. Add water by Tbsp if needed
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and cook pasta until al dente according to the package directions
- In a medium skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat
- When oil is shimmering add the onion and cook 5 – 7 minutes until softened
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant and remove the skillet from the heat
- In a blender combine the onion mixture, silken tofu, beets, water, lemon juice, and salt
- Blend until very smooth; about 2 minutes
- Toss the pasta with the desired amount of sauce
- Portion onto plates topped with two crispy tofu hearts and a dollop of almond ricotta
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @anothervegan.foodblog on Instagram and hashtag it #anothervegan.foodblog.