Apple Fennel Tofu with Ground Turkey

Pmorgan2

Hi there! I'm new here, but I thought I'd share my favorite dieting recipe.

(About 400 calories, 21g carbs from Apple and bell pepper sugars, 16g fat from meat and tofu, 36g protein, 8g fiber, and 13g sugar from apples)

6 Oz (0.75 Cups) Firm (or very Firm) tofu
4 Oz (1/4 lb) Lean ground turkey
1/4 Medium (maybe 3 oz) Gala Apple
1/2 Medium (maybe 2-3 oz) Red Bell Pepper
2 oz White onion
3/4 Cup low sodium chicken stock
1 Tbs Fennel Seed (fresh if you can get it)
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Proportions are to the best of my recollection and are just "ball park" except for the tofu and meat. ( I usually cook double these portions for two people).

-Tofu-
Press the tofu for about an hour or two. If you haven't done this, its pretty straight forward. I place a cutting board on the edge of my sink, and put a pot holder under the opposite side, creating a small decline into the sink for the water to run out. Then I place my block of tofu on it, and put another cutting board on top. I then place a hamburger press on it for weight, although school books, phone books, or anything else of a heavy and balanced nature works (maybe 2-5 lbs). This squeezes more water out of the tofu, making it more "firm". Doing this inside the fridge is better (dripping into a bowl or something), as I wouldn't recommend sitting tofu out in room temperature for over an hour.

After it has been pressed, cut the tofu into 1/4 inch cubes.

-Turkey and Veggies-
Julliene your red bell pepper and onions into whatever thickness and length you like (I like my veggies bigger).
Put some olive oil on a paper towel and very lightly wipe a medium frying pan or wok. Turn the heat up to about medium. Once its warmed up a little, toss in your veggies (should sizzle slightly when they hit). After about 2 minutes crumble up your ground turkey into small pieces (think spaghetti meat sauce) and add to the pan. Let it fry for about 3 minutes, or until most the pink has cooked through. Don't turn up the heat, as you don't want tough turkey. Turn the heat down to just above a simmer and add the chicken broth, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Do not cover.

-Tofu and Apple cooking time-
In a separate small frying pan, heat the pan up to medium with very light oil like the previous pan. Add the apples, there should be a very small sizzle. Throw in the tofu cubes. Make sure to stir regularly, but very gently. Do not cover.

Meanwhile, keep stirring the turkey and veggies in the broth. You want this to reduce down to at least half the starting consistency.

Once the tofu and apples have decently browned, remove them and set aside. Once the broth has reduced to by half, add the tofu and apples to it and leave it for about 1 minute. If the broth is still very watery, you can add some flour, guar gum, or agar agar to thicken it.

Serve on a plate and enjoy!

If the veggies seem soggy to you, you can cook them with the tofu instead of the broth. Definitely don't try to cook the tofu and apples in the broth though.

Its more filling than it seems, even without a real starch. Sometimes I use more tofu and cut out the ground turkey. you could try it without the apples if you want to cut out the sugar and carbs (still tastes good, but without that light sweetness).

Comments and changes are welcomed! Maybe this isn't as healthy as I think it is, but it works well for me!

chefchazz

sounds good. i can just smell the fennel and peppers sauteing. mmmmmm

tips on sharing a recipe, in my opinion, cut it down. alot of reading. not that i cant read(LOL) or anything...maybe its just my cheffiness, all about the quick jot down and shorthand .

thanks for the add btw