Adapted from Bittman, Mark. How to cook everything vegetarian. (2007). New York: John Wiley & Company. p 641.

My Comment: We’ve been incorporating tofu into our meals since we were

  first married… never mind how long ago that was. In those days we went to Erewhon (remember them?) and bought chunks of tofu out of a bucket; it wasn’t readily available in regular food markets. And mostly I stir fried tofu — so when I read Mark Bittman’s recipe for baked tofu, it seemed like it was time for a change.

The neat thing about the way Mark Bittman organizes his “How to cook…” books is that once you’ve got the basic recipe down, there are a gazillion variations on a theme, allowing for endless variations.

Bon apetit!

Ingredients:

Miso
Sake, white wine, vegetable stock or water
16 oz. block of tofu

Method:

1  Preheat the oven to 350 F. Dry the tofu with paper towels – don’t be too compulsive just blot the excess – and sprinkle with salt. Place on a tray covered with foil and sprayed with vegetable spray.

2. Bake for about 1 hour undisturbed. The tofu is done when the crust is lightly browned and firm. Remove and use immediately or cool, wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

The Miso Variation:

Thin a couple of tablespoons of any miso with either sake, white wine, vegetable stock or water just to brushable consistency. After blotting off the water, brush the tofu liberally with this mixture and bake as directed above.

Serves 4 or so.