A sticky ginger–soy glaze, toasty garlic oil and a squeeze of lime turn roasted kabocha and extra-firm tofu into an irresistible, make-ahead sheet-pan supper.
I didn’t mean to disappear on you. I’d intended to start the year with soup, as I always do. I made a lovely-but-not-lovely-enough winter minestrone and then a red lentil situation but neither really seemed spotlight worthy and it can be hard sometimes but I really don’t want to publish anything here I don’t want to sing from the rooftops about. All of our time is worth more than that. While I was debating my next soup move, my friend texted and said “Can u believe the wedding is two weeks away??” and I bolted straight up in bed because, well, no. I could not believe it at all. I mean, I knew I’d told her I’d make her wedding cake. We’d discussed the headcount and flavors they liked. I had a loose idea of it in my mind and looked forward to really getting started on it… in a couple weeks. Needless to say, this is where the rest of January went and I’m going to tell you all about it next week — it’s going through some rigorous retesting and is going to be worth the wait because it’s probably one of the most delicious cakes I have ever made. But still, let’s never go on a break again.
The other kind of thing you miss very much when you’re three Kitchen Aid bowls deep in buttercream is vegetables, especially those coated in salt, acid, and heat. and I received the wonderful Diana Henry’s (she of the Bird in Hand and How to Eat a Peach fame for highly cookable recipes) most recent cookbook, From the Oven to the Table, full of sheet pan-ish meals, last fall and my favorite thing happened: I immediately bookmarked four dishes. This is what we always hope will, that we’ll instantly shake off a cooking rut we may not even have realized we were in at the suggestion of something new. I made the salsiccia con patate e pomodoro (wonderful), melting baked onions (I think I undercooked them but the potential is definitely there), toad in a hole with leeks and cheddar (soon!), a Persian-spiced spatchcooked chicken (ditto), and now this.
This is fantastic. I’ve never combined tofu and winter squash before but it was my loss. Both are coated with a soy sauce-honey-ginger mixture plus chile flakes to taste and roasted halfway, and then you spoon a lot of garlic oil over, so it gets toasty in the second half of cooking but doesn’t burn. When it comes out of the oven, you scatter it with a three-fer of sesame seeds, scallions, and lime juice and you guys, my 10-year old asked for leftovers of this in his lunchbox today. I cannot offer a dish any higher accolades* than that.
Well, technically, if my much pickier 4 year-old asked for it, I’d probably have to be carried out on a stretcher, but for our own sanity, we don’t use 4 year-olds who routinely reject cookies as a yardstick for what is delicious.
Servings: 2 to 4 Time: 45 minutes Source: Diana Henry's From the Oven to the Table
Servings | Total time | |
|---|---|---|
2–4 | 45 minutes |
Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
Extra-firm tofu | 14-ounce package |
Winter squash (kabocha or acorn) | 2 pounds |
Honey or brown sugar | 3 tablespoons |
Soy sauce | 1/3 cup |
Crushed red pepper flakes | 1/2 to 2 teaspoons (to taste) |
Fresh ginger, peeled & finely grated | 1-inch piece |
Vegetable or peanut oil | 7 tablespoons, divided |
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper | To taste |
Garlic cloves, very thinly sliced | 6 |
Toasted sesame seeds | 1 tablespoon |
Scallions, trimmed & thinly sliced on the diagonal | 2 |
Lime juice | Juice of 1/2 lime |
Heat oven to 400°F. Drain your tofu and remove as much water as you can. There are two ways to improve tofu texture: freeze and then thaw it (best, but requires planning), or use paper towels and weight it down for about 5 minutes (faster). Either way, blot tofu before cutting.
Cut tofu into 1/2-inch slices and then in half. Halve and seed the squash (remove seeds with a spoon) and cut into 1/2–3/4-inch wedges. If using two pans, arrange squash on one and tofu on the other; if using one pan, puzzle them together snugly.
In a small bowl, whisk honey (or sugar), soy sauce, pepper flakes, ginger and 4 tablespoons oil. If using two pans, pour two-thirds of the marinade over the squash and one-third over the tofu and turn pieces to coat; if using one pan, use all the marinade to coat both. Season squash and tofu with salt and pepper.
Roast for 15 minutes, then turn squash and tofu using a thin metal spatula. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons oil with the sliced garlic in a small bowl and spoon this garlic oil over the squash and tofu. Return pans to oven and roast until the tofu is dark and the squash is tender, about 10–15 more minutes.
Serve directly from the pans or arranged on a platter. Scatter with toasted sesame seeds and scallions, and squeeze lime juice over the top.
To ensure the dish is gluten-free, use soy sauce or tamari labeled gluten-free.
To make it vegan, use sugar or another sweetener instead of honey.
If you try to cook everything on one large sheet pan, tofu may not get as crisp; two pans help with better browning.
Practical Tips
Tip | |
|---|---|
Freeze tofu ahead for best texture (or press with towels) | “The first … is freezing it… Once defrosted, it easily shakes off all of its water.” |
Use two pans for crispier tofu | “I tried to squeeze this onto one large (half-sheet) pan … my tofu didn’t come out very crisp.” |
Spoon garlic oil on halfway to toast, not burn | “spoon a lot of garlic oil over, so it gets toasty in the second half of cooking but doesn’t burn.” |
Finish with sesame, scallions and lime | “scatter it with … sesame seeds, scallions, and lime juice.” |
For gluten-free/vegan swaps | “use soy sauce or tamari labeled clearly gluten-free… to make this dish vegan, use sugar instead of honey.” |
