Greens: Braised greens with tofu, cashews and raisins

By blum099

Ingredients

• 1 pound kale (I used a large bunch of kale - no idea what it weighed)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (one slice of bread should be about right- use gluten-free bread if desired)
• 1/4 cup raisins (I use dried cranberries when making this dish for a certain raisin-hater)
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• one good sized carrot, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon natural sugar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (unseasoned)
• salt to taste, if needed
• freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Rinse greens, remove thick stems, coursely shred and set aside.
Place the tofu cubes in a small bowl and drizzle with one teaspoon tamari. Toss to coat all the cubes. Let sit five minutes.
Heat one tablespoon oil in wok or skillet. Add the tofu cubes and cook over high heat until browned.
Turn the heat down. Add the mushrooms, cashews and bread crumbs and sauté until they are lightly browned. Stir in the raisins. Remove mixture from pan and set aside.
Add the other tablespoon of oil to pan, shred the carrot right into the pan, increase heat to high and add the greens. Stir to mix, then cover and cook about three minutes until the greens have wilted but are still bright green. (Be careful not to burn them.)
Reduce heat, stir in sugar and vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the tofu mixture. Spread over polenta and serve.
Sometimes I spread the polenta on a large serving platter and place the veggies on top. You can decorate with parsley and olives.

The whole vegetable part takes about 15-20 minutes including prep time, so plan accordingly so you can have the veggies and polenta finish cooking about the same time. The kale part of the recipe is based on a recipe that I think was from the NY Times. I'm not sure though