For years I have been recreating a dish I first had at a frequent college hangout. Keep in mind that I started college in the '90s—a time when you weren't a proper brooding adolescent if you hadn't at least experimented with vegetarianism. That dish—barbecue-tofu nachos—is a weeknight dinner I turn to two or three times per year, whenever I'm feeling nostalgic.
I've elevated it a bit since then—using really good tortilla chips, better cheese, adding extra vegetables, and creating a quick barbecue sauce from scratch. But recently, food editor Chris Morocco showed me a technique that's going to up my college-style nacho game even further.
Instead of pressing the tofu under heavy plates for half an hour, Chris simply takes the tofu block and squeezes it over the sink or a bowl to release the excess water trapped in the tofu's spongy interior. Eventually, the squeezing causes the block to begin to break apart. When all the water that can be released has been squeezed out, Chris tears the tofu into large, jagged-edged pieces, about one or two bites big. No knife required, no dutiful, perfect cubes in sight.
Chris then tosses those craggy pieces onto a sheet pan with a good amount of oil and a mountain of spices that even he says "looks like too much." (See photo at the top for reference.) He uses a combination of smoked paprika, coriander, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes, which gives this dish a Middle Eastern vibe, but the method would work with any combination of spices you love—from an Indian curry to a Puerto Rican sazón to Montreal steak seasoning to, yes, even an American barbecue rub. Just remember when you're experimenting to lay those spices on thick—the neutral flavor of the unadulterated tofu can take it.
The oiled, spiced, torn tofu is roasted at high heat until those fractured edges have turned crisp. The interior texture of the tofu is changed too. No longer bland and spongy, it becomes deeply flavored and almost custardy. Those rough edges do a better job at trapping the oil and spice than smooth cubes might, which allows the spices to really soak in and penetrate the nuggets of tofu through to the center.
To finish the dish, Chris piles the chewy, rich, crunchy-edged roasted tofu into warmed pitas slicked with a garlicky yogurt sauce and tops the sandwiches with crisp cucumbers, red onions that have been quick-pickled in seasoned rice vinegar, and a shower of fresh mint. It's a truly satisfying meal, regardless of whether or not you're a vegetarian.
Plus the technique can be applied to so many different tofu preparations. Since learning Chris's method I've been tearing, spicing, and roasting tofu to add to burritos, grain bowls, bold dinner salads, vegetable curries, and vegetarian appetizers. And, I'm not going to lie, I can't wait to throw them onto some nachos.