Pasta with tofu sauce: a comfort food.

'Tofu Pasta'

Tofu pasta (as my partner & I call it), has been a comfort food of ours for more than five years. Would you like to hear the story? Here goes.

For five years we lived in Japan, where tofu is cooked with in abundance. Prior to going, I was excited, in anticipation of not only the amazing tofu, but all kinds of real soy milk. Did you know you can buy black bean soy milk? It's REALLY GOOD!

Tragically, my tofu bubble burst when my then partner, now husband, announced he didn't like tofu, claiming "it tastes like sponge!"

Partial to a challenge and determined to make tofu a staple food in our house, I invented a pasta dish: complicatedly named 'tofu pasta'. In order to settle my husband's nerves, I invited him to watch me work my 'magic' in the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, he was yumming down the new dish, which has become our comfort food when returning home from overseas. In fact, Andrew even went on to perfect the dish and proclaims it's his most favourite ever.

So my cooking challenge for you today, dear folks, is to make tofu pasta for a tofu hating friend or frenemy. You can post your pictures or videos to Instagram using the hashtag #tofupastachallenge so we can see!

TIP 1: Don't tell them it's tofu.

TIP 2: The secret IS in the sauce, so don't miss an ingredient if you can help it.

Okay, now you are ready to get cooking! See below for the recipe. Happy cooking!

'TOFU PASTA' (serves 6)

Ingredients

Olive oil for frying
3-4 cloves garlic crushed
3-4 teaspoons pesto (Coles pesto works best)
1 bottle Barilla 'olive' pasta sauce
1 can crushed tomatoes
500g firm tofu mashed (Don't use silken. It will lead to disaster! Trust me.)
500g pasta (your choice, but I like penne)

How to make

1. Put water in a pot to boil pasta. When water boils add pasta, but don't forget to give it a stir every now and then.

2. Crush garlic using a garlic crusher if you can, as it really brings that yummy garlic taste out.

3. Mash tofu until it has a bread crumb consistency. In the past, I used a fork to do the job, but now I use a blender as it's much quicker and easier.

4. Heat olive oil in frying pan then add garlic. 

5. When garlic begins to brown, add tofu & pesto. Make sure the pesto is mixed well into the tofu.

6. After adding the pesto throw in the pasta sauce & tinned tomatoes. At this stage there should be a lot of liquid.

7. Check that pasta! If it is ready, drain it & rise in hot water. Cover pasta in the sieve and leave aside for now.

8. Keep stirring the pasta sauce. The trick here is reduction. The reduction of liquid concentrates the flavours resulting in yummy tofu sauce goodness! Keep stirring the sauce until there is no visible liquid left.

9. At this stage, you are nearly ready. Turn off the frying pan, get bowls out and put hot water from the tap through the pasta to heat it up (a chef's trick...but I never said it! ;-).  Distribute the pasta among the bowls, then repeat with the tofu sauce.

10. Now you should be ready to eat!! Oh btw, parmesan cheese goes down well with this one!