Hold The Mozarella! Caprese

Yes, we like cheese and attempt to emulate it quite often.  We especially like cheesy Italian fare and Caprese has always been a must for us as an appetizer. This is a pretty satisfying dairy free version. Buon Appetito!

Ingredients:
16-OZ firm tofu, marinated (directions & ingredients below)
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 Tblsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
Baguette*
Approximately 20 Basil leaves*
Approximately 20 slices of tomatoes(I used 3 med/small)*
Balsamic vinregar
Olive Oil
Pepper

*One slice/leaf per piece of tofu

I use a deep fryer at 375 to make my tofu.  If you don't have a fryer you may fry in a regular pan with olive oil.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Preheat fryer or prepare frying pan with oil. Prior to breading tofu, prepare basil, tomato, and bread. In a bowl mix flour, bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, and salt. Once oil is heated coat slices of marinaded tofu completely in  flour mixture. Fry tofu in single layer until golden brown on both sides (about 2 1/2 minutes in fryer.)  My fryer is small so I am only able to fit in about 7 pieces at a time. While I am cooking the remaining pieces I keep the cooked ones warm in the oven on a paper towel lined pan(this helps to get rid of some of the excess oil.)

My family likes putting their own together so I serve all ingredient separetely. If you want a better presentation you may layer the ingredients (bread, tofu, basil, tomato, drizzle vinegar & oil, fresh ground pepper.) 

Marinade:
2 Tblsp yellow miso
2 Tblsp nutritional yeast
2 Tblsp White Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tblsp Braggs
Water

In order to marinade the tofu you can either let it sit in marinade for a minimum of 3 hours or if you are in a hurry put it in an oven safe dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I have used both methods with the same results.

In a two cup measuring cup mix the above marinade ingredients until it's a smooth liquid.  Add water so entire mixture equals two cups. Mix together.  Drain package of tofu. Cut tofu so that you have 2" X 2", 1/4" thick squares ( I cut length wise and then in 1/4" cuts. Lay tofu down in container of choice and cover with marinade. If you need to layer tofu in container cover each layer before adding next layer of tofu.