Sauce is precious, a crucial component of every cuisine. A sauce can add creaminess, sweetness, spiciness, herbaceousness, or whatever-ness you desire. If you ever need to breathe life into a dish, the secret is sauce.
This “dump it all in the blender and go” recipe is super speedy and features some of our favorite plant-based pantry essentials; it goes well on anything from burgers to grilled veggies, and it makes a delish dressing for potato salad. It’s smoky, slightly sweet, and extremely addictive thanks to healthy doses of sun-dried tomatoes and nutritional yeast. Both of these are rich in glutamate, the substance responsible for the taste sensation known as umami. The yeast, along with a block of silken tofu, kicks up the protein content.
Smoky Tofu Special Sauce
Yield: 1 ½ cups
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce block silken tofu
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup (about 5) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, from 1 can of chipotles in adobo
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
Procedure
- Blitz all the ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth and spreadable, 30 to 60 seconds. If it seems too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches a mayo-like consistency.
- Taste and adjust according to your preferences. The recommended 1 tablespoon adobo sauce will hit mild-medium heat. Upping to 2 tablespoons ratchets the spice up to medium-hot. You can also add whole chipotle if you’re really going for it. Prefer something sweeter? Add another tablespoon of maple syrup.
- Transfer any leftovers to a jar or reusable container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes and Substitutions
- We used Mori-Nu Organic Silken Tofu.
- No maple syrup? Use for honey or agave nectar.
- Any pickle brine works (and cuts down on kitchen waste!), but lemon juice, lime juice, or white vinegar will work too. We’re just looking to add acidity.
- An equal weight of mayonnaise or Greek yogurt can be substituted for the silken tofu.
- Other welcome additions to flavor-country: capers, relish, grated garlic
- Throw in herbs if you’ve got them. Anything tender-stemmed like cilantro, parsley, or dill would work great.
