James Barber's Tofu on Pita

We discovered this recipe many years ago. Thinking about it, I guess it was the first recipe that we tried that contained tofu. And we fell in love with it at first bite :)
It is very simple & quick to prepare, inexpensive, very fresh and totally satisfying. It is on our menu list this week and we will be serving it with Tofutti's Supreme Sour Cream (Viva Granola Vegan Store now carries it, if you can't find it near you)... Plain soy yogurt is also good with this.

We have been making it for more than 10 years, have given the recipe to many people, including lots of non-vegans, and each time, we hear great feedback about it. It would be so good for our ego if it was our recipe, but it is originally James Barber's.

Mr. Barber passed away in 2007, sadly. You might have followed his CBC cooking show, The Urban Peasant. Not a lot of his recipes were vegetarian, and even less, if any, were vegan - honestly, I don't remember as I didn't even know what veganism was when I used to watch his show, back in the early to mid 90s. But I discovered tofu because of him (or I learned to really love it though his recipes) and loved how he had a no-nonsense approach to cooking. He gave great tips and you could even learn some trivia before and after commercial breaks. I loved that. So, I liked to watch The Urban Peasant and Mr. Barber encouraged me to cook without feeling too self-absorbed, focusing more on my natural love of food, experimenting and creativity.

Without further delay, here is this super yummy, peanuty tofu recipe! Try it and have fun cooking!

James Barber's Tofu on Pita

- 1 block of extra-firm tofu, cut into fries
- 1/2 to 1 white onion, sliced
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil - I love to use sesame oil for this but canola or sunflower works fine, too.

Brown or sauté the above ingredients in a heavy-bottomed frying pan.
When the tofu is golden and crispy on all sides, temporarily remove pan from heat and quickly stir in*:

- 2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- Juice of 1 lemon
- salt, to taste
- a bit of cayenne, or to taste

Put the pan back on the burner to heat.
Serve on/in pita bread garnished with crispy romaine leaves, spinach leaves, vegan sour cream or soy yogurt.

*You can prepare the little peanut sauce in advance and add it in all at once to "deglaze" the crispy tofu.