Homemade Vegetarian Tofu Turkey With Stuffing Recipes

TOFU TURKEY I

Steps:

• Line a medium sized, round colander with a cheese cloth or a clean dish towel. Place the crumbled tofu in the colander. Place another cheese cloth over the top of the tofu. Place the colander over the top of a bowl to catch the liquid. Place a heavy weight on top of tofu. Refrigerate the colander, tofu and weight for 2 to 3 hours.
• Make the stuffing: In a large frying pan saute onion, celery and mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil until tender. Add the garlic, sage, thyme, salt and pepper, rosemary and 1/4 cup of the tamari. Stir well; cook for 5 minutes. Add prepared herb stuffing and mix well. Remove from heat.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
• Combine 1/2 cup sesame oil, 1/4 cup tamari, miso, orange juice, mustard and orange zest in a small bowl; mix well.
• Remove the weight from the tofu. Hollow out the tofu so that there is one inch of tofu still lining the colander. Place the scooped out tofu in a separate bowl. Brush the tofu lining with a small amount of the miso seasoning. Scoop the stuffing into the center of the tofu shell. Place the leftover tofu on top of the stuffing and press down firmly. Turn the stuffed tofu onto the prepared cookie sheet. Putting the leftover tofu side of the "turkey" (the flat side) down. Gently press on the sides of the "turkey" to form a more oval shape. Brush the tofu turkey with 1/2 of the oil-tamari mixture. Place the sprigs of rosemary on top of the tofu. Cover the "turkey" with foil.
• Bake for one hour. After one hour, remove "turkey" from the oven and remove the foil. Baste the "turkey" with the remaining tamari-oil sauce (reserving 4 tablespoons of sauce). Return "turkey" to oven and bake another hour or until the tofu turkey is golden brown. Place the tofu turkey on a serving platter, brush with the remaining tamari-oil mixture and serve hot.

VEGETARIAN STUFFED TOFU TURKEY

Steps:

• Line a medium sized, round colander with a cheese cloth or a clean thin dish towel. Mash tofu in a large bowl with your hands adding salt and pepper to taste. Place the crumbled tofu in the colander and press down. Place another cheese cloth over the top of the tofu. Place the colander over the top of a bowl to catch the liquid. Place a heavy weight on top of tofu. Refrigerate the colander, tofu and weight overnight or for 2 to 3 hours. Make the stuffing: In a large frying pan, sauté celery, 1 Tbsp. ginger, carrots and mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil until tender. Add the sage, thyme, salt and pepper, rosemary and 1/4 cup of the tamari. Stir well; cook for 5 minutes. Add prepared bread cubes and mix well. Add melted non-diary butter and mix well to moisten. Remove from heat. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet. Make the basting sauce. Combine 1/2 cup sesame oil, 1/4 cup tamari, 2 Tbsp. miso, 5 Tbsp. orange juice and 1 tsp. mustard in a small bowl; mix well. Remove the tofu from the refrigerator and remove the weight. Hollow out the tofu so that there is one inch of tofu still lining the colander. Place the scooped out tofu in a separate bowl. Brush the tofu lining with a small amount of the basting sauce. Scoop the stuffing into the center of the tofu shell. Place the leftover tofu on top of the stuffing and press down firmly. Turn the stuffed tofu onto the prepared cookie sheet. Putting the leftover tofu side of the "turkey" (the flat side) down. Gently press on the sides of the "turkey" to form a more oval shape. Brush the tofu turkey with 1/2 of the basting sauce. Place the sprigs of rosemary on top of the tofu. Cover the "turkey" with foil. Bake for one hour. After one hour, remove "turkey" from the oven and remove the foil. Baste the "turkey" with the remaining tamari-oil sauce (reserving 4 tablespoons of sauce). Return "turkey" to oven and bake another hour or until the tofu turkey is golden brown. Place the tofu turkey on a serving platter, brush with the remaining tamari-oil mixture and serve hot.

TOFU "TURKEY" WITH STUFFING

Steps:

• Mash tofu or mix well with hands. Be sure that all of the lumps are out.
• Line a 12" colander with wet cheesecloth over lapping the sides. Add the mashed tofu to the cloth covered colander, press down and cover with the overlapping sides. Place the whole thing in a large bowl. Cover the cheesecloth with a plate that fits inside the colander and place a 5 pound weight on the plate. Refrigerate and let sit for 2 to 3 hours. When time is up, start the stuffing.
• Saute' the onions, celery and mushrooms in the 2 tablespoons sesame oil.
• When soft, add the garlic and all the rest of the stuffing ingredients, except stuffing, mixing well. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add herb stuffing and mix well.
• Remove tofu from refrigerator and take off weight, plate and top of cheesecloth. Hollow out tofu to within 1 inch of the sides and bottom, placing the tofu in a bowl. Place the stuffing inside the shell and pack in firmly. Cover with the remaining tofu and pat down firmly. Turn stuffed tofu onto a greased baking sheet, flat side down.
• Gently press on sides of "turkey" to achieve a more oval shape. If desired at this point, you may mold "drumsticks" out of one pound of tofu, and place on each side of the "turkey".
• Mix up the basting mixture and baste tofu "turkey" with half of it. Cover the "turkey" with foil, and bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour.
• Remove foil, baste with all the remaining mixture except a few tablespoons and return to oven for 1 hour more, or until the "turkey" is golden.
• Remove from oven and use rest of basting mix.
• Using at least 2 large spatulas, move to a large plate. Serve with the gravy of your choice, if you wish, and cranberry sauce.