Vegetarians and meat eaters alike will enjoy this taste of the season!
Autumn arrived officially last week, and many of us in the north country feel more than a little cheated by the weather this year. Our summer consisted of rain, rain, rain, flooding, cold, and one exquisite week (well five days in a row) of really hot weather two weeks ago. There’s been so much rain, many hayfields have just been cut this past week because hay needs time to dry once on the ground; with the wet weather, that didn’t happen.
Let the color revive us!
Usually, I’m more than happy to welcome fall with its relief of crisp air and dazzling color after a long, humid summer. Still waiting! Picking apples on a sunny day is a gift of the season, especially if surrounded by beautiful foliage to lift our spirits. I’m thinking we’ll have a warm and lovely autumn. That’s my prediction at least. High 60s to mid-70s and sunny predicted for the next week so hope springs.
Early blossoming of fruit trees
As climate changes, one of the difficulties has been the early blossoming of our fruit trees. This is dangerous because even if we have 80-degree days in April, we often have frosts well into May, and this year our deep freeze came at the worst time with our apples and peaches suffering greatly at blossom time. Many orchards were hit hard, others recovered nicely and I’m happy to say there is picking about. Local peaches were hard to come by, but I was lucky enough to find some lovely pears that were quickly devoured, none kept long enough to put in a recipe so far, but I’ll be searching for more.
Yes, we have apples
We do have apples, beautiful apples of red, green, yellow, pink, and purple. I found a sweet little apple with a heart on it, and it cheered my own heart when I found it. I’ll make something tasty with you!
It was a good year for herbs
In my own back yard, I have an abundance of sage this year, and since sage and apples go so well together, they were destined to join forces in a seasonal dish. The flavor of the apples was enhanced with the addition of cider in the sauce, and since my cider happened to be on the tart side as well as the apples, I added just a touch of local honey. If your cider is sweeter, it probably won’t be necessary, so taste before adding. To keep this vegan, use agave or maple syrup, but taste to determine how much you need; you know what you like.
Add some crunch
Since everything is a little on the soft side, the addition of the walnuts is essential for some texture. If you have a tree nut allergy, substitute crunchy toasted pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, or soy nuts. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but many are pulled from the pantry and it all comes together quickly.
Hearty Tofu with Apples and Sage
Marinade, whisk together:
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce, low sodium
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tbsp. minced fresh sage leaves
- Splash of fresh pressed apple cider
The dish:
- 1 lb. extra firm tofu
- Cornstarch for dusting
- 2 tbsp. butter or vegan butter
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large shallots, sliced, about a cup
- 1 large sprig of sage, or about six leaves
- 2 tart apples, sliced, about two cups
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Sauce, whisk together:
- 1 cup fresh pressed cider
- 1 tbsp. more cornstarch
- 1 tsp. or so raw native honey, maple or brown rice syrup
- Zest of a lemon, about a tbsp.
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- Dash of hot sauce or cayenne to preference
Garnish:
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped a bit
- More sage leaves, chopped, and maybe some edible flowers
Press the tofu to remove excess moisture. A tofu press is easiest, but you can make your own – place toweling on a plate, add the tofu, cover with more toweling and another plate, then weight it down with a big can of tomatoes or a heavy pan. Let the tofu drain while you assemble and prep the other ingredients and make the marinade and the sauce.
Mix the marinade ingredients together and place in a shallow rectangular pan. Once the tofu is pressed, cut it into desired pieces (I made 12) and place in a single layer, turning them over so they are well coated. Let marinate for 20 minutes to an hour.
Have the rest of your ingredients prepped and ready to go, because it will happen fast.
When the tofu is ready, scrape off most of the marinade and dust all sides with the cornstarch. Heat a heavy skillet over medium high and add the olive oil and butter. Place the tofu in a single layer, and brown on both sides, adding a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
To the same skillet, add more butter and olive oil and toss in the shallots and sage, salt and pepper. Sauté until they are soft, but not colored. Add the apples and garlic, and continue cooking until the apples are softened but still have shape and texture. You don’t want applesauce here. Taste for seasoning.
Add the sauce, and cook for another couple of minutes, until it has thickened and has a nice sheen. Stir in the tofu gently along with the walnuts and remove from heat.
Place on a platter of brown rice or noodles, garnish with the sage, and dig in!
Happy Autumn!
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It sounds like a wonderful fall dish!
I’ve never pressed tofu. I must try this, whilst remembering not to let the sauce boil; it will go fluid again. Corn starch hates to boil.
Pressing the tofu gets all the excess moisture out and changes the texture. Of course, when you marinate it, you add some moisture back in, but then it is flavorful moisture!
Cornstarch can be tricky. You need to always dissolve it in a cold liquid before adding to the hot. You actually do have to bring it just to a boil, but only until it thickens, then you remove immediately from the heat. It is often problematic when reheating, unfortunately.
Thank you for another delicious recipe which is right up my alley! BTW – I wish that you could have sent us some of your summer rain. Our past four months have been drought, drought and more drought. 🙁
I know. As we’ve watched the weather nationwide, even worldwide, all we could think about was how we had so much rain and others were suffering from such a severe drought.
I always enjoy apple season and all the new recipes that come with it. Your Tofu with Apples sounds appealing!
Thanks Jan! The husband said he would eat it again, so that’s a recommendation!
A delicious recipe! Can’t wait to try.
Thanks! It certainly tastes like Autumn!
Sounds absolutely delicious! What a wonderful fall dish. I will be tucking this into my recipe folder.
Hope you enjoy it Laurie!!
It looks so pretty and I do like all 3 of these items (sage, tofu, apples!). Your sage patch is gorgeous. I usually grow sage along with rosemary, basil, and dill but it did not happen this year!
If I am lucky, the sage will winter over and I’ll have tons next year! Fingers crossed.
I did not know sage would do that! Do you have to cover it?
I don’t protect it beyond letting leaves from the maple trees protect it. I have been pretty lucky with it wintering over, we are in Zone 5. The years when it doesn’t make it are the exception.
The marinade, apples, sesonings and honey do a lot for tofu.
Yes, they add the flavor where virtually none exists!
You’ve managed to bring out the best in Tofu in this dish. Apples and sage belong together! 🙂
Thanks Ronit! They really are a nice pair!
There are some wonderful seasonal flavours in here, I love the idea of apple and sage together. I’ve never eaten tofu (and I’m not sure I want to 😂) but I’m thinking this might work really well with the butternut squash we’ve just started harvesting instead?
You could definitely substitute a lovely butternut squash, or portobello mushrooms!
Apples and sage, great combination. The dish looks delicious.
Thank you! Everything went together beautifully, and tasted like fall!
What a delicious fall dish! I always look forward to new Apple recipes.
I sure wish we could have siphoned off some rain from you and sent it in a pipeline to the Southwest. They need rain terribly!
Thanks for the great recipe, my friend!
Yes, the rain has been very fickle this year, too much in one place and not enough in others. Awfully hard to predict!
That looks remarkable and I don’t normally go for tofu. Now sage and apples are high on my list! Oh how I love the fall, the crisp mornings, cool evenings. It’s my kind of weather! Hugs, C
Yes, fall and early spring are my favorites. I’m not a big fan of hot humid weather, unless i’m at the seashore!
Am smiling! First ate tofu way back in the Dark Ages in my early 20s – regularly being in Japan on business ‘formal’ dinners were a nightly occurrence and tofu just as nightly an offerin!1 It definitely was not au fait to pull a face and i truly learned to appreciate it but have rarely prepared it in a Western way – so, thanks heaps . . . as soon as I get good quality ingredients here Down Under . . . your dish will be on the table!!!
That’s a lot of personal tofu history Eha! I first ate it in my 20s as well, and I think it might have been in miso soup and I had no idea what the spongy little cubes were in my bowl!
I can’t say I’ve used sage very much at all, Dorothy. However, I shall put an end to this very soon.
I’m loving this recipe. The sweet, sour and tart mixture suits my palette exactly!
Just as a by the by: I enjoy crumbling tofu before marinating. I find the yummy flavours are greatly enhanced by having more surface to absorb it/them. Oh, I really now must get to the supermarket… 🙂
It sounds like you are hungry my friend!
Thanks for the crumbling tip!
I have recently been getting into Tofu – thanks for the recipe – my son may like this. I loved the apple with the heart on it too. They looked so good.
It was such a sweet little apple!
Wow, that looks amazing! Let’s hope I can find fresh sage this year. Thank you for sharing a vegan recipe. 🙂
Seek and you will find!!
Congrats on your apple crop and especially that special one with the heart. Several of our area farms have run out of apples already. That late frost sure did a lot of damage to local fruit trees.
Most were impacted around here too. I talked to one farmer and she happily told me she had a great crop, they only list 40%! Now, that’s looking on the bright side of things!
Happy Autumn to you Dorothy. Your dish is an excellent transitioning from the weird-weathered Summer and just before the upcoming holidays. Your recipe is a plus for vegetarians of varying degrees. 👍👍
Thank you! We eat a lot of meatless meals, and I try to make them appeal to my meat-eaters as well as vegetarians!
We haven’t had tofu in a while! Thanks for posting this one to remind me!
It’s easy to forget unless you have a plan!
Apples and Sage sounds wonderful!
Thank you! It’s a really lovely combination I’ve used in stuffings before, and it worked well here.
I never would have thought of pairing tofu with apples, but it sounds great! And so healthy too! 🙂
Thank you Nancy! It was a really pleasing combination!
The flooding of the farms here made for a slim CSA summer. For some reason we didn’t get the usual bumper haul of winter squash. The apples have been magnificent though. Fresh Empire taste worlds better than their stored counterparts. The craziest result of that rain has been a seven foot tall hydrangea bush. Never seen the likes! Never a big tofu fan. My daughter lives on it.
What a strange year it has been. I’ve found a great difference from farm to farm depending on how the floods hit and the late freeze. Some of our apple growers were terribly impacted, others right by the lake or a river, came out fairly well. The other crops are all over the place, but it was a great year for fennel and most of the berries!
I’m not a tofu kind of gal but my goodness does that look delicious. I would definitely give it a try Dorothy!
Thanks Diane! I’ll convert you to the tofu side yet!
Looks good 🤤
Thank you so much!
Most welcome 🤗