For your appetizers, Christmas and otherwise, today I suggest tofu and olive pâté canapés.
Do you remember the rustic tofu pâté? It was enriched with cannellini beans and for this reason I called it ‘rustic’, because it was great spread on slices of homemade bread and bruschetta.
But tofu pâté can be prepared in many variations, and can be presented on the holiday table.
My kids like tofu, and I’m glad because it’s a protein-packed food and I like that they appreciate some alternative foods.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 block tofu
- 20 olives (green and black)
- 1 clove garlic
- chili pepper (to taste)
- extra virgin olive oil (and/or water, as needed)
- sliced bread
Tools
- Food processor
Steps
Break the tofu into pieces.
Peel the garlic and remove the central sprout.
Rinse the olives from the brine.
Place everything in the mixer glass. If you decide to use chili pepper, you can add it at this stage. I usually add it at the end because I prefer to avoid it for my kids or use a minimal amount.Blend until you get a spreadable mixture. Tofu tends to remain grainy, but you can ‘convince’ it by blending for a long time (taking short breaks to scrape the tofu and olive pieces off the mixer walls) and possibly adding a little oil, a teaspoon might be enough. If using an immersion blender instead of a mixer, it may be useful to add one or two tablespoons of water.
Before using, store in the refrigerator for about an hour to let the tofu absorb the flavors.
Make canapés from the sliced bread using a cookie cutter. Needless to say, you can choose the shape you like best.
For your Christmas appetizers, you can take inspiration from my yesterday’s recipe and make your tofu pâté canapés in the shape of a Christmas tree. These days, Christmas-themed canapés are obviously very popular 🙂
But… if you want… you could also want to surprise, maybe not your guests, but certainly your kids… by serving canapés made like this:
My kids had a laugh, they ate with gusto and I didn’t waste a single crumb of sliced bread. In my house, anti-waste is practiced, as you already know, and it’s not a sad practice at all, in fact, sometimes it brings a smile!
Salt-Free Tips
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually reduce the salt, the palate must get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Sometimes allow yourself a break from the rule. It’s good for the mood and helps you persevere.
If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes with salt according to your habits.
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