Zesty Tofu Wraps with Olive Tapenade

These yummy wraps make a great weeknight supper, or brown bag lunch.  I recommend making two batches of the tapenade; leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to a week, and would be great as a sandwich spread or an appetizer served on crusty bread, later in the week.

Ingredients:
For the tapenade:

• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup pitted oil-cured black olives
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

For the wraps:

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes halves, packed without oil
• 1 pound extra-firm tofu
• Cooking spray
• 1 and 1/3 cups (1/4-inch thick) sliced red onion
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 4 (9-inch) flour tortillas
• 4 cups trimmed watercress

1. To prepare the tapenade, place the kalamata olives, oil-cured olives, lemon rind, and olive oil in a food processor - pulse until minced (anywhere from 2 to 10 pulses, depending on your food processor).  Set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine 2 cups boiling water and the sun-dried tomatoes; let stand for 30 minutes, then drain and chop; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, drain the liquid from the package of tofu, and cut the tofu lengthwise into quarters.  Place the tofu slices on several layers of paper towels.  Cover with additional paper towels and let stand for 20 minutes - the tofu should be barely moist by the end.

4. Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Separate the onion slices into rings, and add to the skillet; saute for 5 minutes, until lightly browned.  Place in a bowl, and stir in the balsamic vinegar.

5. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, agave, rosemary, Dijon mustard, salt, and garlic.  Heat a skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add the tofu and cook for 6 minutes, turning to brown evenly on all sides.  Stir in the lemon juice mixture; cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

6. Warm the tortillas according to package directions.  Tonight I used the whole wheat flour tortillas from Maria and Ricardo's, a company I love because their tortillas are certified vegan.  Spread 2 tablespoons tapenade evenly over each tortilla.  Top each tortilla with 1 tofu piece, about 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, about 1/3 cup onion, and 1 cup watercress; roll up.

Nutrition Info:
4 servings (1 wrap), Calories 312

Tasting Notes:
These wraps were really yummy, but there was actually almost too much going on.  Both the tapenade and sun-dried tomato have big bold flavor - you might consider using one or the other but not both.  I liked the slightly pickled taste to the onions, but felt that there was too much watercress and not enough tofu (I recommend two tofu slices per wrap).  A couple elements of the recipe itself also seemed odd - it was a waste to pour so much balsamic over the onions, and the lemon-and-rosemary sauce felt wasted, since although the tofu cooks in it, the sauce isn't added to the wraps.  You might consider marinating the tofu in the rosemary mixture instead, to better capture the flavor.

Update: as mentioned in the intro, the tapenade can easily stand on its own as an appetizer with French bread, or on a sandwich. You'll be able to appreciate the strong bite of the oil-cured olives much more when the tapenade is not competing with all the other flavors in the sandwich.

Rating:
4