Barley with Pan Roasted Radishes, Kale & Tofu
Adapted from Ruffage
Radishes are a new love of mine, and while I typically have them raw in salads, pan roasting takes them to a whole other level. Pan roasting is a great way to use up a bunch of radishes, or any radishes that don’t seem sufficiently crisp for a salad. I didn’t buy radishes with greens, but if you do and they look good, I recommend using them instead of kale. Barley compliments the radishes and greens really well, and fried tofu adds an element of crunch while completing the dish. As is usual, this recipe serves two but you can easily scale it for more if needed.
Make the Barley
1/2 cup barley - I use pearled barley which is “less healthy” but cooks faster. You may need to allocate more time for cooking the barley if you have hulled barley.
1 cup water
Splash of neutral oil (I prefer sunflower) or olive oil
Sprinkle of salt
If you have an instant pot, this set of ingredients will work perfectly for you. Place everything in the pot, and set it to high pressure for 20 minutes. Quick release, and If there is any leftover water, drain it and set the barley aside. If you are not using an instant pot, I recommend following the stovetop directions, which likely will not require any oil but may call for more water.
Fry the Tofu
Half a block of extra firm tofu
Neutral oil
Press the tofu for at least 30 minutes using paper towels and something to weight it like plates. I have thick reusable paper towels that absorb the water really well, and I stack two plates on top of the wrapped tofu. You can press the tofu for much longer if you want to start this earlier in the day, just leave it in the fridge. If you are using normal paper towels, you may need to switch them out if they get too soaked. If you are doing this on the spot, you can skip ahead to the radishes and kale while it presses, if you don’t mind multi-tasking later.
After the tofu is pressed and it has been patted down, cut it into cube-like shapes. Really small cubes will cook very fast, I usually go for around an inch for height/width/depth.
Pour a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium high heat until shimmering and hot.
Drop the tofu in carefully - there will likely be some splatter if there’s any water on the outside.
The first side may take up to 5 minutes to fry if the oil isn’t fully heated, but the remaining sides will go faster. Use tongs to flip the pieces around to get a good fry on all sides. A light golden brown is a good color and don’t worry if they’re not perfectly even on every side.
Move the fried pieces onto a paper towel-covered plate to dry. They will continue to crisp as they sit.
Roast the Radishes, Wilt the Kale & Assemble
1 bunch of radishes (about 1 lb)
1 bunch kale
Neutral oil
Salt
1/2 cup white wine (cooking white wine will do just fine)
1 tbsp butter (always vegan butter for me)
Wash the radishes and pat them dry before slicing into wedges or halves (I went for wedges).
Rinse the kale and rip into bite-sized pieces, leaving out any thick stems, and set aside.
Pour a very thin layer of oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium high heat until very hot.
Add the radishes carefully and sprinkle them with a little salt.
Leave the radishes for a minimum of 5 minutes before checking to see if the cooked side has the nice brown crust you want. If the crust is achieved, flip them and repeat for the other side, otherwise leave them a few more minutes.
After both sides have a nice crust, pour in the wine and let it start to simmer and reduce.
Once the wine is simmering, add the kale with another small sprinkle of salt.
Let the kale wilt while the wine continues to cook down, until the pan is nearly dry and the kale is tender.
Add in the butter and toss everything to coat.
Spoon the barley into bowls, top with kale and radishes, divide the tofu, and enjoy!
Leave a comment and let me know how your radishes were!