My vegan-comfort-food Sweet Potato Tofu Hash will warm your bowl and your tummy, for an instant cozy fall night. Blanket and slippers not included.
Home style Hash. My recipe combines maple mashed sweet potatoes, crunchy smashed almonds and shiitake mushrooms with a savory tofu scramble seasoned with an exotic blend of spices like cumin, paprika and saffron. Its packed with fiber, vitamins A and E, protein and stimulating spices – this dish screams “bowl-friendly comfort-food.” You can even bring it to a holiday feast – your hash will be a hit! Get the recipe…
Comfy Home or Holiday Hash. If you love braised tofu with a side of mashed potatoes, this is an easy way to comfort-ize your meal. It’s bowl-friendly! So curl up on a chilly cozy fall night with a big bowl or this-it’s a perfect one-bowl-wonder meal. It would make an amazing holiday side dish too. Forward this recipe to that family member who hosts the big holiday get-together and always asks you “what do you eat, what can I make you that’s vegetarian besides salad?” Or better yet, make it and bring it. You’ll want the ‘chef-hat’ credit on this one.
Healthy, Hearty, Happy. The bare bones ingredients scream healthy: local fall sweet potatoes, firm organic tofu, shiitake mushrooms, aromatic flat parsley and even a few raw almonds to add a crunchy texture (and vitamin E). The spices are all incredibly warming and work together to create a complex savory-spicy-sweet flavor. It’s cravable.
Sweet Potato Tofu Hash
vegan, makes 4 servings
1 ½ cups cooked sweet potato, diced (1 large potato)
15 ounces firm tofu
½ cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1-2 ounces raw almonds
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoon coconut or soy milk
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup parsley, chopped
½-1 teaspoon liquid smoke
2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon paprika
pinch of saffron
1 teaspoon fine black pepper
optional: you can easily add scallions or a sweet onion to this dish (just saute about a ½ cup diced into the tofu saute)
Directions:
1. First, you’ll prepare the tofu saute (it’s similar to a tofu scramble). The tofu will be in crumbles rather than perfect cubes. This allows for a true ‘hash’ texture. Get all your ingredients out.
2. Cook your sweet potato. I simply toss mine in the microwave for 5 minutes. But for a special holiday feast you may want to bake it in the oven so it gets that nice sticky caramelization. Set aside.
3. Ingredients prep: Chop the raw almonds, leave them whole – I did some chopped and some whole. Since this is a ‘hash’ I like to still be able to see some of the whole ingredients. It’s a hash, not a mash! Slice the mushrooms, chop the parsley and dice the onion (optional ingredient).
4. Turn your stove on med-high. Place your olive oil, 1 tablespoon soy or coconut milk and saffron into a soup pan and wait until it starts to steam and sizzle.
5. Add your mushrooms, onions, almonds and a pinch of your parsley. Saute for a few minutes, until mushrooms have shrunken in size.
6. Add you tofu to the pan. You can either rough chop it into cubes before placing in pan, or simply use a spatula to break the tofu block into ‘hash’ while it’s sauteing in the pan. Just be sure to break it into no larger than grape sized bits.
7. Add the salt, pepper, liquid smoke, cumin and paprika.
8. Saute tofu and veggies for about 3-5 minutes. You want all the seasonings and spices to penetrate the hashed tofu scramble.
9. Midway through your tofu saute, add in 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Keep hashing and sauteing. The edges of the tofu should start to firm up. You don’t want mushy tofu. If you have to cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes to cook with a gently braise, do that.
10. Do a taste test of the tofu. It should taste delicious on its own. adjust salt/pepper/oil/sweeteners to you specific tastes. I like mine a little smoky, a little sweet and slightly spicy. I made this again and added in a chopped jalapeno for an intense spiciness! Time to add the sweet potato.
11. Peel the cooked potato and slice it into rough cubes. Add it to your hash on the stove. Also add your last tablespoon of soy/coconut milk, and your last tablespoon of maple syrup. Do a gentle fold of the ingredients. Keep the heat at low-medium and allow the hash to cook for about 2 minutes. Fold every 20 seconds.
12. Turn the heat off. Add your chopped parsley and some more black pepper. Fold the parsley into the hot hash. You want the parsley to get warmed just enough so that the flavor is released, but the leaves are still a bit chewy and crisp.
13. Garnish with parsley. Serve when hot! You can place in a serving dish, cover and it will stay hot for a while-a great feature for holiday feasts and get-togethers.
Notes: You can also substitute one tablespoon of oil with vegan buttery spread, for a more ‘buttery’ taste.
You can use either maple or agave syrup. I like maple with sweet potatoes and spices.
Another nice flavor add-in would be garlic and or sage.
