This make one of the best spaghettis I ever ate, period. This is worth making for a special occasion, or if you wish to splurge a little. It is a LOT of olives for one recipe.

The only thing that’s long to make there is the tofu but it’s fully worth it, since the taste is a lot more interesting. If you only have time to use store-brought tofu, you should sauté it or it will be a bit too bland.

Ingredients (Yield : 2 servings)

100g (3.5oz) of fresh homemade tofu, cut in cubes

225g (8oz) of dry whole wheat spaghetti

1 cup of diced zucchini
1/2 cup of diced green pepper
1/2 cup of chopped green beans
1 teaspoon of olive oil

1 cup of pitted big green olives
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic
A few grains of ground black pepper

Preparation

• Cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package.
   
• In a hot pan, sauté the zucchini, peppers and beans with a teaspoon of olive oil.
   
• Put the olives, the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and ground black pepper in a food processor and chop coarsely.
   
• Separate the pasta in two portions and arrange on the plates. Top with the olive mix, the vegetables and the tofu cubes. Serve immediately.
   

Homemade tofu has a delicate taste that’s nothing like what you’re used to with store-brought tofu. I usually just chop it and add it to my food as is, it’s tastes good enough that it doesn’t need to be marinated or cooked.

You do need to buy or make a tofu press to make your own tofu. Mine was made by a small company named Passion Santé, and also doubles as a sprouter.

Tofu mold with holes on the left (covered with a cotton bag, and press on the right

Extracting the soy milk

To make a small 200g (7oz) batch of tofu, soak one cup of soybeans for 24 hours or more.

When you’re ready to make your tofu, drain and rince the beans. In a blender, grind one cup of beans with three cups of hot water to extract the milk.

Strain the milk through a cotton bag or a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a large cooking pot and press well to extract as much milk as possible. Do this until you run of of soy beans. The leftover pulp is called okara and used in some japanese dishes, but I usually just throw it away.

Separating the tofu curd and the water

Bring the milk to full boil slowly, stirring from time to time to make sure it won’t boil over and spill. It can be very sudden, so keep an eye on it.

When it’s ready, add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to curd the milk, remove the cooking pot from fire and let it cool for a few minutes. There are many others products you can use to curd the milk, but I have only tried the lemon juice since I like the lemony taste it adds to the tofu.

Pour the tofu in the mold carefully, fold the cotton bag over it and cover with the press. Push it with your hands to remove as much water for the tofu as possible and add a weight on top. I usually just use a big book as a weight.

Tofu curds, before pressing

After this, you can move everything in the fridge, pressing for at least 45 minutes. This will make a tofu that will hold together enough to cut in cubes, but a bit too soft to cook. So if you want a firmer tofu, you should press it for a few hours.

Fresh tofu, ready to be eaten

The tofu will keep in the refrigerator in water for about a week if you change water every two days.