As a tomato-fearing vegetarian who doesn't like eggs nor olives, Spain is one of the countries I find it hardest to crack. It's the most appealing of things to get together with some close friends and find a cosy, hidden little restaurant for tapas...oh. I'll have the bread please. And lots of Rioja.
I always argue that within the cuisines where meat dishes may be the most well known, there is always a delicious, tomatoless veggie option to keep the world going round, something that for some reason, a lot of people refuse to believe. Spain is the country I have struggled most with in this regard, so it's the one I wanted to visit first (visit metaphorically - I'd be a much happier tomatophobe if I'd actually got to go there). So, all thoughts of La Tomatina in the recycling bin, I put on my thinking sombrero to make...
Patatas Bravas (with roasted tofu and cheese sauce)
Patatas Bravas is one of the tapas dishes I can just about salvage in a restaurant, by asking them to serve it with aioli as opposed to the traditional spicy tomato sauce (easier than, 'can you take the fish out of this calamari', or 'have you got this chorizo in vegetarian?'). What I aimed to do with this detomatation was swap the offending fruit with a happy red pepper, and hence stick to the traditional bright red and spicy elements that should technically come with this dish.
To serve, rather than experimenting with all the other tapas (because, you know, one step at a time) I decided to make roasted tofu, breaded with semolina, and a cheese sauce that, due to lack of supplies, I made with a wholemeal flour - this actually worked out pretty nicely!
1) Marinate the tofu.
I only had an hour or two to do this, it would have worked much better if I'd been able to do it in the morning or the night before. Essentially you're making a dressing: mix the the garlic, lemon, mustard, and herbs together well, with a tablespoon of olive oil, then taste to see if it's to your preference. I threw in a bit of white balsamic for good measure. Drain and cut the tofu into four pieces - first in half, and then slice the halves. Skewer with a cocktail stick then spread with the marinade, cover and leave.
2) Pre-heat the oven to 175C. Boil water in a large saucepan. While you're peeling and cubing the potatoes, stick the peppers in the boiling water, whole. I cubed the potatoes unevenly - I prefer it like this. When they're done take the peppers out (be careful!) and put the potatoes in for about 10 minutes. If you want to skin the peppers, which is very much recommended, do it now.
3) Pour all the potatoes into a well-oiled roasting tin, and coat with 1tbsp of the oil, plus salt, paprika and pepper, then toss to coat. Stick in the oven for about 45 mins. Make the coating for the tofu and then stick them in too: spread the semolina on a plate with paprika, cayenne if desired and salt (I used celery salt). Coat the tofu pieces and then roast, about 35 mins.
4) In a saucepan heat the rest of the oil. Fry the onion which has been chopped. While this is softening, chop all the peppers, trying to retain all the juice, and crush the garlic. After about 5 minutes, add these to the pan and stir. Add the chilli flakes (more or less if you like, according to your taste). Simmer for about 5 mins until it's all softened, then add the basil and blitz up in a blender. I like to keep it chunky, but go with what texture you like. Keep on a very low heat to keep warm.
5) The cheese sauce takes no more than 10 mins, so start it towards the end of the roasting time. Put the butter and flour in a small pan over a low heat, and mix continuously with a wooden spoon until it comes away from the edges and forms what almost looks like a dough. Take off the heat and add a little bit of milk, stirring constantly. Gradually add all the milk then put back onto the heat, adding the grated cheese, and stir until thickened. Taste to see if you want to add any seasoning.
6) Serve! I plated the potatoes and tofu next to eachother, and drizzled the cheese sauce over and around them, with rocket. Snip some more chives and grate a little bit more smoked cheese to top.
Served: the tofu and sauce lasted two portions, but there was plenty Patatas Bravas to make something for two people the next day.
Took: quite a long time. Prep was easy, about 15 mins, but roasting time and multitasking means this isn't something I'd want to make on a school night
Things that went wrong: tofu should have marinated longer, no question. The thing I expected to go wrong - the use of wholemeal flour in the cheese sauce - actually brought a really nice flavour.
Experiment: éxito! I don't know if I stuck to a strictly Spanish cuisine... but it still went very well with a glass of Rioja.
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