Sofritas Burrito Bowl

The first thing I taught myself how to cook when I became vegetarian was tofu tacos. Tacos, burritos, and burrito bowls are dishes that are pretty simple to make and highly customizable to everyone's individual preferences. It's been seven years since I stopped eating meat, and this dish is still a favorite of mine.

Now before anyone has the chance to cringe and say "Ew, tofu," I want to go ahead and clear one thing up. Tofu is not weird. Despite its bad rap, tofu can be delicious if it is prepared correctly. So what is tofu? Tofu is a curd made from soybeans, and it comes in a variety of textures. For the purpose of this recipe, we'll be using extra firm tofu so that it holds up during the cooking process.

There are two ways to prepare this dish. If you're lazy- like I am most days- you can basically skip all of the prep work for the sofritas sauce and just prepare the tofu using a store-bought taco seasoning packet. Personally, I prefer to season the tofu myself and prepare the sauce so that I have more control over the flavor profile of the dish, but no one will judge you for wanting to take the shortcut and skip about forty minutes of prep work.

The first thing you need to do when preparing the tofu is to drain the liquid that the tofu is packaged in and gently press excess water from the tofu. To remove extra water from the tofu, place paper towels below and on top of the tofu and gently press down. Be careful not to press too hard or the tofu will crumble. Once the extra water has been removed, cut the tofu into cubes.

Next, mix together 1t smoked paprika, 1/2t chili powder, 1/2t onion powder, 1t cumin, 1/2t dried oregano, and salt to taste. Season tofu with spice mixture. Once tofu is seasoned, cook in a skillet with olive oil over medium heat until tofu is brown and crispy on the outside.

While the tofu is cooking, prepare the sofritas sauce. In a blender, combine 4 chipotle peppers, 1T adobe sauce, 1 1/2 roma tomatoes, 1T tomato paste, 1/4 cup white onion, 5 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4t sugar, 2 roasted poblano peppers that had been skinned and deseeded, and salt and pepper to taste. For those of you who don't know how to roast a poblano, rub the outside of the pepper with olive oil and put it in the oven on the low broil setting for about 15 minutes, turning the pepper occasionally. Once the skin of the pepper has browned, place in under a bowl for 10 minutes to help remove the skin. Then, peel the skin from the poblano and remove the seeds.

Once the sofritas sauce has been blended, add it to the pan with the tofu. Add in your choice of black or pinto beans to the pan to cook as well. Cook sofritas mixture over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 additional minutes to help thicken the sauce and allow flavors to combine.

When the tofu mixture has finished cooking, you are ready to build your burrito bowls. Personally, I like to start with a base of brown rice and then add the sofritas mixture. For toppings, I recommend lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, onion, lime juice, and avocado (as pictured), but really you can use anything you want. Go wild.

While tofu might seem like an odd or scary ingredient when cooking with it for the first time, it has the potential to be just as versatile and flavorful in your meals as any other meat product. Don't let your fear of something new and different stop you from trying this recipe. I'm sure it won't disappoint.