If my daughter had her way, I’d be using our haul from the U-Pick farm to bake blueberry-infused treats like Blueberry-Banana Bread, Blueberry-Oat Bars, and Berries and Spice Muffins every single day.
Unfortunately for her, blueberry season coincides with the time of year that I am least interested in turning on the oven, and even if the temperature were not in the mid-90’s, I wouldn’t want so many sweets around to tempt me into overindulgence. But I have to do something with the gallon of berries in the fridge, so I’ve been using them as often as possible in salads and other non-dessert dishes, like this tangy, sweet, and fiery salsa.
I call this “adult salsa.” While young taste buds, like E’s, might not appreciate the combination of fruit, onions, and peppers, D and I are big fans of fruit salsas, especially when they accompany grilled tofu. This salsa tastes best when chilled for a few hours so the flavors have a chance to blend, so yesterday, I made the salsa and started the tofu marinating in the early afternoon.
At dinner time, I tossed the tofu on my new toy, a George Foreman Indoor/Outdoor Grill, along with lemon-marinated zucchini, yellow squash, and portabella mushrooms. I served the tofu with the salsa on the side, for those who wanted it, and the vegetables on a bed of whole wheat couscous that I seasoned with the leftover lemon marinade. It was a perfect summer meal and, thanks to George, much cooler and less messy than dealing with charcoal.
Blueberry-Peach Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 peach
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 seeded and minced jalapeño pepper (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Put blueberries in food processor. Pulse 4-5 times until berries are coarsely chopped. (Some berries will remain whole; do not over-chop.) Cut peach into 1/2-inch cubes. Combine berries and peach in a medium-sized bowl with remaining ingredients. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Maple-Chili Grilled Tofu
Ingredients
- 14 ounces extra-firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari (use gluten-free, if necessary)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice , freshly squeezed
- 1/4 teaspoon Ancho chile powder (or other mild chili powder)
Instructions
- Wrap tofu in a lint-free kitchen towel and place a light weight (about 1 pound) on top while you prepare the marinade. Something flat like a book with a can of beans on it works well to remove some of the water from the tofu.
- Combine remaining ingredients in a large ziplock bag or bowl.
- Cut the tofu into 8 slices about 1/2-inch thick. Place them in the marinade, turning so that both sides of slices are coated with the mixture. Refrigerate for at least an hour, turning halfway through.
- Heat a barbecue grill, electric grill, or non-stick skillet; spray lightly with non-stick spray if necessary. Cook on each side until light brown. Serve with Blueberry-Peach Salsa on the side.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Sarah
This looks divine!! And thanks to the timing of the season, I have pretty much all the ingredients on-hand. I wanted to ask, though, did you have the blueberry salsa over the maple-chili tofu? Or was the tofu plain, or marinated in something else?
SusanV
My husband and I ate the maple-chili tofu with the salsa on top, though my daughter ate the same tofu without salsa. The marinating and grilling gives the tofu a lot of flavor, so it doesn’t really “need” the salsa–it’s just a nice extra for those of us who like things spicy.
Susan L
I loved the salsa! Thank you for sahring your wonderful recipies. What is your lemon-marinated zucchini recipe?
Kalynskitchen
This looks delicious, especially with tamari in the marinade. That’s one of my favorite flavors.
Trish @IamSucceeding
THAT looks and sounds really really good!! Thank you for sharing it!!
Kate
This looks so great, Susan!! Thanks for another amazing recipe. I visit your blog daily. 🙂
Laina
Hi, Susan. This looks delicious! Do you think freezing the tofu works better for grilling? Also, which model of the George Foreman grill did you purchase and do you like it; will you use it to make it worth the price? Thanks! 🙂
Misty
That looks fantastic! I had one of those grills for quite a while until I bought a gas grill, and at times I still miss it. Inexpensive, easy to use and fairly easy to clean, it’s great. Did you weigh down the tofu at all to get those great grill marks?
SusanV
No weight on the tofu at all. This is the first time I’ve used the grill and I was surprised at how dark the grill marks were. None of the little Foreman grills I’ve used did that.
Leslie Smyth
Thanks so much for mentioning this grill! Over a year ago I had to give up any and all barbecuing at home because doctors said it didn’t go well with 24 hour oxygen (something new). Explosive results? In any case, this makes grilling possible again and I didn’t even know such things existed – and here in Northern California temperatures have been averaging over 90. So, my new grill will arrive next week! THANK YOU so much.
SusanV
I hope you enjoy the grill! I just found out about it recently from Nava Atlas, and I’m so glad I did!
DeeDee
Hi Susan`-> I see your are also a minder reader: I am feeling so lazy today and temperatures in RI have soared. Your Blueberry Peach salsa is the answer to our dining decision with family and friends. I am planning to saute red lentil burgers stove top along with a mustard greens salad and Turtle Mountain Coconut ice cream (vegan of course) for dessert. In fact, I’m going to make your salsa right now just to sneak a delightful taste. Thank you O’ Vegan Diva.
Mary
You were reading my mind! I was planning on grilling zucchini (so much in the garden right now) and tofu. I was wondering what to put on the tofu. It is to HOT to cook inside at all! We just picked blueberries, so here goes…Thanks, Susan.
JL Goes Vegan
This looks fabulous! And I’m so glad you mentioned the GF indoor/outdoor. My husband and I used a Coleman table top grill (just the two of us) and we have a foil divider to separate my food (vegan) from his. But we both enjoy grilled veggies and there’s just note enough room. Adding a GF grill is a great solution!
Mea
So glad I found this salsa recipe at this time and your advice on what to serve with it – what timing! I’m so glad I found your site, everything sounds delicious so far! Thank you… :o) “‘Tis the Season” (Now I just need a George Foreman, because I cannot stand to be outside when the heat index is over 100 degrees here in the Greater Cincinnati area.)
Cindy
This looks so beautiful as well as delicious. I’m definitely excited to try it. My husband and I both love fresh homemade salsas, and this is different from any others we’ve tried, as well as being perfectly in tune with the seasonal produce.
My thanks, as always!
Kate
This looks great! I love grilled veggies, veggie burgers, gardein, tofu, polenta, etc in the summer and this recipe looks wonderful (you know what I’ll be having for dinner tonight)… and this George Foreman looks like the perfect solution to the looming dilemma to moving back to an apartment at school. Thanks!
Kerri
My tofu and salsa are on the fridge getting ready to grill! I don’t like to cook and this was so easy and fast to make! I love blueberries and fruit type salsas (mango is my fave) so I was so excited to see this show up on my google reader. Can’t wait for dinner tonight. 🙂
Carolyn
The mid-Atlantic (at least my little chunk of it) is coming up on a solid two months of temps and humidity in the stratosphere, with only VERY brief interludes of reasonable weather, and I have been eating things that can be microwaved or minimally sauteed and not much else. Then your post comes magically to the rescue. Just ordered one of the indoor outdoor grills and cannot wait for it to arrive. There is a wonderful old Weber grill sitting on my deck producing nothing but spiderwebs because I can’t stand the thought of dragging out the charcoal either (actually, it’s sitting in a bin right beside the grill, so what I really can’t stand is the whole light-the-charcoal-and-wait-for-the-grill-to-heat-up ordeal). Susan, I think you just saved my summer!
Archana
Is there a Indian Equivalent for blue berries?
Heather Loves Healthy Vegan Recipes
mmmm, blueberry peach salsa sounds like a perfect alternative to mango salsa when I’m feeling bad about buying fruit that couldn’t possibly be local for me! great idea, thanks!!
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan
I just went to a U-Pick berry farm over the weekend and have a plethora of blueberries and blackberries. Thanks for the idea!
Pam @ Cooking world
Susan,
Wow looks yummy! have you tried freezing extra fruits or make a Jam for later on? I know how it is, as last season we had so much tomatoes, I used tomatoes for every type of recipe including disaster of making a tomato ice cream (won’t ever do it again) and family were scared of tomatoes for months. 🙂
Janet
Now this is what I call a combination of fruit and veggie based food.
Perfect for non vegetarian people to get into the habit of adding tofu in their daily meals.
I would say that kids would have a grand time with this because of the flavors mixed and matched perfectly, blueberry and peach salsa would make the taste of the tofu disappear. Most non vegetarians have not liked the taste of tofu.
Can’t wait to have this over the weekend.
By the way Susan, what other fruits could I have beside the one that you have, blueberry and peach?
Suzi
Oh my gosh, that salsa is so beautiful! Have you tried it with corn tortilla chips?
SusanV
I ate the leftovers with crackers, which was what I had available. I think it’d be great with tortilla chips.
Magda
That looks absolutely fabulous, I love tofu, it’s so versatile and fits to so many different dishes.
Magda
By the way, I made tofu few times but never put heavy object on them before. Does it change the consistency or the taste of tofu? Do you do it only when you grill tofu or in general to all kinds of recipes that call for tofu?
SusanV
Pressing it for a few minutes is a way to get some of the water out of the tofu so that it picks up more of the marinade. You can also press it for for a longer time and make it denser and more chewy. I find that if I buy good extra-firm tofu, all it needs is a little bit of pressing to be dense enough for my taste.
denielle
Thank you for sharing this recipe Susan. I made this for dinner tonight and just had to head to your site immediately after I finished to tell you how wonderful this was, and so easy to prepare too. The tofu and salsa were so flavorful!
SusanV
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know.
Sarah
wow! that is the most BEAUTIFUL salsa I’ve ever seen!
Jennifer June
Amazing! It looks incredible, I can’t wait to try it out.
Linda Hart
Awesome dinner! I served the zuccini on quinoa. thanks!
Jaime
What is your take on the whole unfrumented soy issues? It seems to me eating unfrumented soy(tofu, soy milk, etc) are just fillers since unfrumented soy releases a blocking agent that does not allow for absorbtion of nutrients? I love tofu and soy milk and am now contemplating giving it up?
ivanskie
this is a great idea. traveling around made me even heavier than before, especially when i traveled to southeast asia, where the food is just great!
but here in viet nam, the choices are really good, and vegetables here are really cheap, i think the cheapest in all the places ive been too. more and more, i eat vegetables than meat, and i am feeling so much better! i feel lighter too. veggies just give you the feeling of fullness all the time, and then the fiber does wonders to my digestion. try broccoli sautee. or greens in light vinaigrette.
im telling you, it’s awesome. they have buffet everywhere here, and im just so grateful that the buffet here are healthy.coz i know even if i stuff myself with a lot of caesar salad with tuna (without the heavy dressing) , im still gonna be ok…
so who cares about counting calories? eating healthy is really cool. if in case you need to know where i get my ideas from, please visit this site i found the other day, they have great ideas.http://www.howtogainweightthehealthywaynow.com/more from you!!!
Jackie
Looking forward to trying the Maple-Chili Grilled Tofu as I see that we now have maple syrup in our local health shop again.
Maddie
Thanks for the great recipe! My family and I loved this. I didn’t have any blueberries or peaches so I subbed blackberries and nectarines and it still turned out delicious. I will have to try it with blueberries and peaches next week.
Michelle Whitley (Coach Chelle)
That looks so yummy!! What a great summertime recipe, gonna cook that for my hubby this week while the kids are away…he’ll love the Blueberry-Peach Salsa for sure. Delicious.
Tamara
That looks delicious! I’m going to try that this week.
janet
I made a few modifications, but really liked this dish. The salsa was delicious!
I wrote about my experiences (and substitutions) here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/maple-chili-grilled-tofu-with-blueberry-peach-salsa/
Julie
We had this last night – it was good and I’m eating the leftovers for lunch today. I really love telling my co-workers I’m having Grilled Maple Chili Tofu with Blueberry Peach Salsa for lunch, it’s so gourmet!
If I make this again, I will cut way back on the parsley and onion – those flavors were a little overpowering and too “earthy” for our tastes. We actually liked the sweetness of the blueberries and peaches on their own with the tofu. YUM – thanks!
Laura Berman
I loved it. I admit at first I had no lemons so I put white wine vinegar and a bit of balsamico into the marinade instead. Then I went and got a lemon, since I need jalapeno / something one cannot find in Bregenz, Austria. So I got a bottle of lousy salsa that supposedly had jalapeno in it and put this in the salsa and the chipotle, too. It was wonderful! Kind of like a savory version of blueberry pancakes.
Rebecca
I am thinking about adding tofu to our meal plans and was wondering if anyone had a good suggestion about brands or flavors? I live near a whole foods store and they have field roasts and other types and i wanted to pick a popular and tasty brand. Thanks for any tips…