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Za’atar Roasted Tofu With Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Lemony Tahini
![Za’atar Roasted Tofu With Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Lemony Tahini](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/11/11/dining/yk-zaatar-tofu/merlin_215246028_7b1d42a0-e2d9-4338-ae26-7a7e365b85f3-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1(14-ounce) package firm tofu, drained and patted dry
- 1(15½-ounce) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
- 1pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- Salt and pepper
- 3garlic cloves
- 2lemons
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1½tablespoons za’atar dry spice mix (see Tip)
- 1teaspoon dried oregano or marjoram
- ½cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼cup tahini
- 1tablespoon honey
- 1(8-ounce) bag leafy greens, such as baby spinach, baby kale or mixed greens
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the tofu into ½-inch-thick slices and place them on a kitchen or paper towel to dry out.
- Step 2
Combine the chickpeas and tomatoes on a half-sheet pan and sprinkle with salt and black pepper to season.
- Step 3
Using a Microplane or other fine grater, grate the garlic cloves and zest 1 lemon into a large bowl. Squeeze ¼ cup juice from the lemon (using the second lemon if needed) and reserve. Add the oil, za’atar, oregano and ¼ cup chopped parsley to the garlic mixture and stir to combine. Pour half of the marinade over the chickpeas and tomatoes, toss to combine and spread in an even layer. Roast until the tomatoes are just beginning to burst open and the chickpeas are warmed through, about 15 minutes.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, add the soy sauce to the remaining marinade and stir. Add the tofu slices to the bowl and carefully turn each piece to coat both sides. Allow the tofu to marinate while the chickpea mixture cooks, then nestle the tofu slices, topped with any leftover marinade in the bowl, among the chickpeas and tomatoes on the sheet pan.
- Step 5
Roast until the tofu begins to brown around the edges and top, the tomatoes have burst open releasing their juices and the chickpeas are golden brown and crunchy, about 15 minutes.
- Step 6
While the tofu roasts, whisk together the tahini, honey, reserved lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Step 7
Divide the leafy greens among 4 bowls. Dress the tofu, chickpeas and tomatoes on the baking sheet with 4 tablespoons of the tahini mixture and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup parsley. Divide evenly among the bowls and spoon additional dressing all over everything.
- Za’atar, the classic Middle Eastern seasoning, is a mix of savory dried herbs, sumac and sesame seeds. It can be purchased as a pre-made blend or made at home.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Nice weeknight meal.Added more tomatoes. Prepped in advance: marinated both the chickpea/tomato blend and sliced tofu all day. Dinner was ready in 35 minutes! Tahini dressing a bit flat-I added little cayenne and half clove grated garlic along with hefty pinch salt and some pepper. @James W:Roast Chickpea/tomato for 15 min, then add Tofu to sheet pan and roast for another 15 min.
Why does the recipe call for two lemons when the marinade only uses the zest of one (no juice as far as I can tell) and 1/4 c juice from the zested lemon for the tahini sauce? Could not figure out where the second lemon was supposed to be used.
The full 1/4 c of lemon juice goes into the tahini sauce in step 6. Only the zest goes into the marinade. The only reason you need 2 lemons is in case you can't get 1/4 c of juice from 1 lemon, which happens sometimes.
Adding all of the marinade to the sheet pan when you add the tofu makes for way too much oil. Instead, reserve the remaining half of the marinade; stir in the honey (or maple syrup), lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter, instead of the tahini. Thin it with a bit of water if you need to. This becomes your dressing. Delicious! Round out the bowl with steamed farro and sliced zucchini roasted alongside the tofu.
I was confused about the 1/4 a cup of lemon and decided to add to both tomatoes and tahini sauce. Instead of letting the tofu in the oven I air fried it and it was delicious and crispy.
This recipe is easy and delicious! I’d just recommend adding a little garlic to the lemon tahini dressing. I also added spinach and a little oil to the pan 5 minutes before it was done, instead of entirely raw greens, and served with some Spanish rice
For a vegan alternative for the honey, one might try agave or maple syrup.
Homerun! The za'atar mixes beautifully with the sweet roasted tomatoes and crunchy chickpeas. I love the tahini/honey sauce. There were lots of leftovers of the sauce and it will be good with any roasted veggies or crackers. I'm excited about making this again. It's a forgiving recipe too, not too precise. I can see it with firm tofu, extra firm, super firm, more lemon, served with good feta...lots of options.
Loved this, but next time I will plate it on rice to soak up the lovely juices!
The roasted veggies and tofu and the marinade were delicious but serving them on top of salad greens did not work at all for me. I served the leftovers on top of farro (as another commenter suggested), which was great, and will add a green veggie next time.
Yes, some za'atars have mostly thyme and are not good at all. I always have luck with Teeny Tiny Spice Company blends.
Tofu did not get crispy in 15 minutes. Consider adding it all at the beginning.
I'm not sure but maybe just in case the lemons aren't juicy enough to get 1/4 c.
A delicious, vegetarian meal. Due to a last minute change in schedule, prepped ingredients rested in the fridge overnight. Other than that, recipe was followed as written. The tomatoes are amazing here! Even our teenage tofu-resistant vegetarian gave it a thumbs up!
I will say this is a delicious and easy recipe. We keep coming back to it. But as written it's a little overly complicated. Press, drain and cube the tofu. Toss it in the soy sauce only. Then toss everything together in the marinade (cut the olive oil in half), roast together on a sheet pan (I cook mine in a wok outside) and cook until it looks good. Serve over greens and dress. Also yeah you only need one lemon. Why say two when the second one is just backup lol?
Crazy good. Quick, easy dinner for two.
added turmeric to the chickpeas and tomatoes and harissa to the marinade, and then served with a little less greens + rice/quinoa mix as well as a tiny dollop of hummus mixed into my bowl of dressing! turned out extra good
YUM! Happy to find a new tofu recipe with a Mediterranean flavor profile. I made this rather impromptu and had all the ingredients on hand except the tomatoes. I subbed some chopped carrots for sweetness. I was worried it would be dry without the tomato juices but between the marinade and tahini sauce it was fine. I also mixed in some warm brown rice with the greens. Absolutely delicious, excited to make it again with the tomatoes.
Nice weeknight meal.Added more tomatoes. Prepped in advance: marinated both the chickpea/tomato blend and sliced tofu all day. Dinner was ready in 35 minutes! Tahini dressing a bit flat-I added little cayenne and half clove grated garlic along with hefty pinch salt and some pepper. @James W:Roast Chickpea/tomato for 15 min, then add Tofu to sheet pan and roast for another 15 min. Can serve over farro or rice instead of greens.
This dish is fantastic cooked as is! I make my own zatar which is easy and worth it because this recipe uses a decent amount of it.
A real keeper. I made this according to the recipe ahead of time. Put spinach with a little oil in the oven to heat up and served it with couscous, but rice would also work well. The tahini sauce was great. All in all, delicious and a definite veggie recipe.
A delicious combination. However, as others commented, way too much oil. Next time I'll use 1/4 C or even less rather than 1/2 cup olive oil.
I made this exactly as written, other than I only had half the tomatoes on hand. It was beautiful looking, but for some reason the flavors were not strong enough. The marinade tasted great, but the flavor wasn't strong on the tofu. I will try again, and play around more with the salt.
This was really good. The amount of olive seemed a bit too much, and I’ve been to Greek villages! They laugh at our little American drizzles of oil. Otherwise, will plan on making again. A lot of good plant protein and very satisfying.
We used Lisa’s recommendation for overnight marinading the tofu, tomatoes& chick peas. It was out standing. We added minced garlic, used a datil pepper hot honey in the dressing additional s&p. We also did sautéed Cajun shrimp and this is a definite repeat.
Adding chili crisp to top takes it to the next level if you like spice.
I now understand why this recipe has 5 stars - it pops. Didn't read the recipe sufficiently carefully and accidentally put the lemon juice in the marinade, but it worked. Incorporated several pieces of advice from the comments (thank you) and would recommend: (a) roasted the tofu separately from the chickpeas and tomatoes to help it crisp, (b) added garlic to the tahini sauce, and (c) served with sweet potatoes. This recipe is a winner and I will definitely make it again.
Discovered I was out of Za’atar, so used Herbes de Provence, and it was very tasty.
This was a lovely dish, with one caveat: it is vastly better being made the day before serving, and resting in its marinade overnight.
Made this 6/26/2024 - pretty easy and really enjoyed. We made over rice.
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