Vegetable & Tofu Stack

Tonight I was craving vegetables. I also had a limited budget but had been drooling over menu offerings of a couple of fine dining establishments around the world. So I took inspiration from something I saw and made my own version. Ta-da, I call it the 'Jack Stack!'

It was wonderful. Very filling and satisfying. I ended up with extra vegetables that I'll use up tomorrow in a salad for lunch. And the bonus was it only cost $12 to buy the ingredients. Though, it helped that I already had a bit of feta begging to be used up. And, of course, a well-stocked pantry!

Ingredients: 

• Extra-firm tofu
• 2 Potatoes
• 1 yellow onion
• Pre-cooked squash/pumpkin (I used 1/2 a butternut) 
• Large red bell pepper (capsicum)
• Feta cheese
• 2 Portabello mushrooms
• A ripe avocado
• One tomato
• Extra virgin olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt & black pepper
• Fresh basil & salad greens for garnish

Method (as best I remember)

• Roast red pepper & let "sweat" in ziplock bag 'til skin peels off easy (or you could buy pre-roasted red peppers but what's the fun in that?)
• Cut vegetables/tofu/feta into pieces of similar size and/or thickness
• Lightly parboil spuds
• Grill tofu in olive oil for a few min on each sides 'til golden brown
• Place tofu, mushrooms, onions, and squash in a pan, drizzle with olive oil and bake in 180c/350f oven 'til warmed through and onions are soft

Assembly

I put a generous handful of salad leaves on each plate, then alternated layers of veggies and tofu. To make serving easier, use a bamboo skewer to hold the stack together. 

Garnish with a little more olive oil, some chopped tomato, a few hunks of fresh avocado, fresh basil, salt and pepper and a generous drizzling of a balsamic reduction. I made this by lightly simmering some balsamic vinegar until it got nice and thick. 

This is a very forgiving recipe. Use whatever veggies you have handy and experiment with seasonings. You could also use fresh mozzarella cheese or even grilled halloumi. 

Serves 2 as a main meal, or probably 4 as a first course if you made them smaller. 

Enjoy!