I made Lemony Chickpea Stirfry!

Lately I just want to drench everything in lemon juice. It just makes everything taste better, right? Maybe it's because it's summer and I crave things that taste citrusy and fresh. Regardless, I was in a lemony mood the other day, and I found this recipe on 101cookbooks.com. This was delicious and very easy to make. Don't be dissuaded by my lengthy tofu tangeant.

Ok here it is, with copious comments:

Lemony Chickpea Stirfry

2 tablespoon ghee or extra-virgin olive oil (I used the latter.)
fine grain sea salt (I used a couple Tbs of Bragg's instead.)
1 small onion or a couple shallots, sliced
1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned is fine, if you don't want to cook up a pot of dried chickpeas)
8 ounces extra-firm tofu
1 cup of chopped kale
2 small zucchini, chopped
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
I added: garlic, soy sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee/olive oil In a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in a big pinch of salt, the onion, and chickpeas. Saute until the chickpeas are deeply golden and crusty. Stir in the tofu and cook just until the tofu is heated through, just a minute or so.

Ok extended interruption: I cooked the tofu separately to get it golden brown and crispy. I'll share my method with you because--don't want to brag but can't lie--I've been really good at cooking perfect tofu lately.

The first thing is to get as much water out of that tofu. I used a method mentioned in the blog before: wrapping the tofu in a paper towel and piling a few heavy books on time. Sounds crazy, but it works. Leave it like that for a little while, maybe 20 min. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in the pan. Add a couple minced cloves of garlic. The heat should be high. Then unwrap the tofu, pat it dry, and cut into small cubes. Throw them in the pan, making sure each piece has its own surface area. Splash on some soy sauce. Sprinkling on a little nutritional yeast also helps it get crispy, but it will come out fine without it. Let a sizzle a little, then check a couple pieces. When they're brown on the bottom, stir it up so another side cooks. Don't drive yourself crazy flipping every little piece. Just keep stirring them around--every side doesn't have to be exactly the same. Keep sizzling and stirring until it looks golden brown and perfect. DONE. Set aside in a bowl. Now back to the rest of the recipe...

Stir in the kale and cook for one minute more. Remove everything from the skillet onto a large plate and set aside. In the same skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of ghee/olive oil, add the zucchini and saute until it starts to take on a bit of color, two or three minutes. Add the chickpea mixture back to the skillet, and remove from heat. (Now add the tofu.)Stir in the lemon juice and zest, taste, and season with a bit more salt if needed. Turn out onto a platter and serve family style.