Roast Butternut & Tofu with Soya, Honey, Chilli & Garlic

Sweet, Sticky, Spicy (slightly) and delicious. There was nothing left last night when the family tucked in, not a morsel, so I suppose that means a 100% thumbs up.

The marinade will be good on ANYTHING so a good recipe to save!

Use lovely pumpkin when in season, Kabocha (green outside) or orange are my favourites.

I rarely press my tofu, but if yours are really wet you might want to lay it on some kitchen towel and place something really heavy ontop to drain off any excess moisture.

I prefer tamari to soy sauce. Tamari is made from fermented soybeans, its Japanese and contains no or little wheat and is therefore more often than not gluten free, for me, it has a less harsh taste than Chinese soy sauce.

We are going to roast the pumpkin and tofu separately at first and then together for the last 20 minutes, giving all the flavours time to mingle.

We ate this with some red & wild rice on the side and simple stir fried Asian greens.

Two medium sized baking trays (lined), large enough for the pumpkin to lay flat in a single layer but to ‘sit’ snugly in order not for the marinade to evaporate.

• 450g extra-firm tofu
• 1 large butternut, peeled, cut into chunks (if using pumpkin you can leave unpeeled)
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 3 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• zest 1 lime & juice to taste

Marinade

• 3 tablespoons honey/maple syrup
• 6 tablespoons tamari
• 2 teaspoons chilli flakes
• 3 tablespoons ginger, grated
• 125ml oil

Asian Dressing (optional)

• 1 chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons dark miso
• 1 tablespoons tamari
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated

1. Preheat oven 200c.
2. Drain the tofu and if very wet, pat dry with kitchen towel and cut into thick slices.
3. In a small bowl, mix the honey, soy, chilli, ginger and half (75ml) the oil together.
4. In two separate lined baking dishes (big enough for everything to lay in a single layer but small enough so the marinade is locked in), spoon 2/3 of the marinade over the pumpkin and mix with your hands and the rest of the marinade over the tofu (in its own dish)
5. Season the tofu and butternut and roast for 15  minutes. Mix the remaining oil with the garlic, turn over the tofu and the butternut and roast both together in one tray (the one with the most marinade) for final 10-15min until tofu is dark and pumpkin tender.
6. Sprinkle over sesame seeds, spring onions and lime zest and juice to taste. Serve with asian dressing on the side. Enjoy!