Breaded Tofu Fillets

My husband absolutely loves these things.  I withhold them for special occasions, so now they can be found on the food pedestal.  The truth is, although tofu is way healthier than it's adversary (the forbidden meat), it's still considered a processed food.  I try not to use processed foods when I can avoid it, but this was a recipe I found in one of my first vegan cook books (Vegan Homestyle), and I just can't seem to shuck it.  Some compare these bad boys to "fish fillets", but I just let them be what they are.  Breaded and baked tofu fillets.  The texture is reminiscent of tender chicken breast, or tilapia fish fillets.

(GF) To make this dish gluten free, simply use a gluten free all-purpose flour for your breading.

Ingredients:

2 blocks of extra firm tofu

approximately 3 heaping Tbs. of Vegenaise or home-made vegan mayo

1 recipe breading meal

Breading meal

Mix the following in a closable container or ziplock:

1/2 Cup whole wheat flour (or gluten free flour)

4 Tbs. Nutritional Yeast Flakes (can be found at health food stores)

1 Tbs. Onion Powder

1 Tbs. Parsley

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Kelp Powder (optional, gives the taste of fish & is very good for you)

2 tsp. Lemon Zest (finely grate the peel of a lemon)

Breading Meal in a tupperware container, before being mixed

Tofu pieces before vegan mayo or breading meal, as you can see, they are not perfect.

Put vegan mayo coated pieces into batter and toss/cover

Notice that the pieces on the left have not been sprayed with oil yet

Directions:

Slice tofu into 4 fillets (width not length, to make them thin)

Pull tofu into large chunks, like chicken breast (Optional, you can also leave these in the rectangle shape and skip this step)(Pictured above pulled into imperfect, irregular pieces)

With a butter knife, or your clean hands, cover all the tofu with vegan mayo (I put tofu in a bowl, with vegan mayo and gently roll pieces around to coat them, careful not to break tofu up too small)

Once fully coated in vegan mayo, place in breading meal container to coat with mixture (I put in a large Tupperware bowl and shake it up with lid on)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place tofu on an oiled cookie sheet, and spray the tops of each fillet with your oil spray (I use organic olive oil), so that there is no dry flour visible on the tofu (don't worry about the bottom, the oil on the pan will soak in)

Bake on 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, no need to turn

Enjoy!

Makes 8 rectangle fillets, or 16 to 20 tofu "breast?"  Lol... I'm not sure what to call them :)

**Serves up nicely with garlic potatoes and something green!