Pistachio-Crusted Tofu with Shredded Brussels Sprouts

This recipe arose from a big bag of pistachios and a craving for Brussels sprouts. Don't be put off by the monochromatic picture; it looks better in person and could easily be accompanied by other colorful sides (mashed sweet potatoes, maybe?) if you're concerned about presentation. I served mine with some brown rice I had on hand. The tofu is crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside, and the shredded Brussels Sprouts are a tangy accompaniment. If you don't want to use nutritional yeast, I'm sure that bread crumbs would work. In place of the champagne vinegar, you could also try white wine or a bit of lemon juice.

Pistachio-Crusted Tofu
Makes 1 serving

• 1/4 cup pistachios, ground or chopped
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 package (2 ounces) extra-firm tofu, patted dry and cut into 2 slabs
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400°. Mix the pistachios and nutritional yeast on a plate. Coat each piece of tofu with the honey mustard (you probably won't need all of it- just enough for the coating to stick). Coat the tofu in the pistachio and nutritional yeast mixture. Place the tofu on a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, turning once.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts
Makes 1 serving

• 1 cup shredded Brussels sprouts (about 5 medium)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp champagne vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the shredded Brussels sprouts in the olive oil. Test a piece of the base of a cabbage, and once the sprouts are cooked through, turn off the heat and toss the sprouts in the champagne vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Fig, Blue Cheese, and Pistachio Salad Wrap

I don't think I had ever made a salad wrap before this week, but I've been making them every day for lunch recently. They can be put together so quickly, and are easy for me to take to campus when I don't have time to go home for lunch. Since my last post, I've come up with a better way to make the wrap, and that is to wrap it up in aluminum foil as I roll it. It allows me to transport the wrap without the salad falling out of one end since I like to keep one end open (which lets me put more salad in it). As I eat the wrap I peel the foil off in layers, and the wrap stays together beautifully.

This morning, right before I made the day's salad wrap, I told my roommate that I was developing an obsession with them, and her response was: "Eww!" But I explained that these are fancy salad wraps, not the Caesar-soaked lettuce wrapped in a tortilla that you'd find at one of our law school lunches. (That is, before the economy tanked and we stopped getting free food) She had to agree that lavash bread wrapped around spring greens, dried figs, blue cheese, and pistachios is an entirely different species of wrap.

If you have a Trader Joe's in your area, that would be a great place to get the main ingredients for your dish. They sell everything except the vinaigrette, and at great prices. If you don't want blue cheese, I think goat cheese and fresh mint would be a great substitution.

Fig, Blue Cheese, and Pistachio Salad Wrap
Makes 1 wrap

• 1 lavash bread
• a couple handfuls of spring greens
• 5 dried black mission figs, sliced
• 3 tbsp dry roasted pistachios
• 3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
• 2 tbsp Champagne-Shallot Vinaigrette

Mix it. Wrap it. Eat it.