Spiraled Zucchini Summer Salad

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Recipe from Oh She Glows Every Day by Angela Liddon

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Serves 2

It’s been so hot here lately that I’m finding it difficult to want to heat up the house by turning on the stove or the oven.  Though there are a few steps to preparing this salad that must be done in advance, there’s absolutely no cooking whatsoever involved.  We loved the Marinated ItalianTofu which is served as is, no pan frying or baking.  The marinade serves as the dressing for the salad.  And, the Homemade Vegan Cashew Parmesan Cheese, well, yowzah!  It was so good!  The recipe for the cheese yields enough for other dishes and only takes 5 minutes to make.  Make plans to whip this vegan dish up for your friends and family, whether they are vegan or not.  They’re going to love it.

½ batch Marinated Italian Tofu

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 medium zucchini, spiralized*

1 avocado, pitted and sliced

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon Homemade Vegan Cashew Parmesan Cheese

1 to 2 Tablespoons oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped (optional)

Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

1 to 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds or pine nuts

Prepare the marinated tofu. Toss to combine.  Marinade in the fridge at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours.  (If the marinade solidifies, while chilling, simply let it sit at room temperature before serving until it liquefies again.)  Remove ½ of the tofu and the ½ the marinade and toss in another dish with the tomatoes.  (Use the other half of the tofu/marinade for another salad, wrap, snack or stir-fry.)

Spiralize the zucchini and roughly chop, if desired, to make it easier to eat.  Divide the zucchini between two large bowls.

Divide the ½ batch of the marinated tofu/tomato mixture between the two bowls of zucchini, using the marinade as the salad dressing.  Add the sliced avocado, basil, Homemade Vegan Cashew Parmesan Cheese, and, if desired, top with sun-dried tomatoes, red pepper, flakes and sesame seeds or pine nuts.  (To make this completely nut-free, use Homemade Vegan Pepita Parmesan Cheese and sesame seeds.

Nutritional Info: (According to my calculations)

1 of 2 servings (using Homemade Vegan Cashew Parmesan Cheese and sesame seeds)  

426 calories; 9.7 g fiber; 123.8 mg calcium; 12.0 g protein

*NOTE:  If you don’t have a spiralizer, no worries.  Just halve the zucchini lengthwise and then slice it very thinly OR use a vegetable peeler to make zucchini “ribbons.”