Crispy Tofu & Peppery Shaved Celery

This is based on a dish from Mark Bittman's 101 Summer Salads. I've had this list magneted to our fridge for almost a year, but its recipes truly shine during the summer. I've tried about a dozen of these salads, and so far, they vary in greatness. But man, the tasty ones are so brilliant, it's worth some trial and error to sniff them out. The genius of these salads is their SIMPLICITY; their minimalist ingredients, instruction, and effort. Bittman gives you a great starting place and it's playtime from there. I had a lot of fun with this one. The celery is a refreshing crunchy contrast to the warm crispy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside tofu. It's filling, a standalone meal. You could throw in some orange juice and zest for the tofu glaze, serve over rice/quinoa or by itself.

INGREDIENTS
celery (1 stalk bunch) sliced a little thicker than paper thin; I use my mandolin for this, but can be done by hand or maybe with food processor attachment
organic (preferably sprouted) extra firm tofu (15.5 oz) pressed between paper towels with weight on top for at least 30 minutes to soak up the water (this allows the tofu to crisp up and absorb flavor better), then diced into small cubes
peanut or olive oil (1 T) or as much as you want; I always use as little oil as I can get away with
peanuts (1/3 cup) crushed
chili flakes (1/4 t)
freshly ground Szichuan or regular peppercorns
tamari or soy sauce
toasted sesame seeds
lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Beat some oil and tamari together. Spread the diced tofu out on a baking sheet then brush them with oil/tamari mixture. Pop in the oven and broil until golden crispy.
2. In the meantime, heat up oil in a small saucepan until slippery, then add red chili flakes to infuse the oil. After a minute or so, add the crushed peanuts and stir until golden and aromatic.
3. Toss shaved celery, sesame seeds, spicy peanuts, crispy tofu, fresh ground pepper, and tamari together, finish with squeezed lemon to taste.

Enjoy! xo, J