At breakfast, we break our fast after sleeping through the night. Served at the time of day when the body needs an easy wake-up and a chance to stabilize blood sugars, hard-to-digest foods like bacon and eggs or intense sweets like doughnuts jolt our delicate systems. Foods like these make us feel, at best, irritable, at worst, sluggish and lethargic. But here’s a great dish for those of us who want heartier morning fare, giving us a centered energy for the day, with long-lasting endurance from the plant protein.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegan butter substitute
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small leek, split lengthwise, rinsed well, and thinly sliced (or 3 to 4 scallions, thinly sliced)
- Sea salt
- 6 to 8 cremini mushrooms, brushed free of dirt, thinly sliced
- 1 carrot, julienned
- ½ roasted red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 pound extra-firm tofu, coarsely crumbled
- Generous pinch ground turmeric
- 2 tablespoons spring or filtered water
- 3 to 4 baby bok choy, rinsed well, bottoms removed, leaves separated from stems
- 2 to 3 sprigs fresh flatleaf parsley, coarsely chopped, for serving
How to Make It
- Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Melt the vegan butter with the olive oil and add the leek with a pinch of salt. Sauté the leek until limp, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and sauté until the mushrooms release their juices and begin to reabsorb them. Add the carrot and roasted pepper with a pinch of salt and sauté for 1 minute.
- Stir in the tofu and turmeric, season lightly with salt, and add the water. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the baby bok choy until the leaves just wilt. Serve hot, folding in the parsley just before serving.
